Thursday, April 6, 2017
Despite all the talk about online shopping, most consumers still prefer to shop in brick-and-mortar stores, according to new research from Market Track.
In a nationwide survey of more than 1,200 primary household shoppers, the majority of respondents indicated that they prefer making most purchases at a physical location. However, for all 16 categories surveyed, 80 per cent of respondents also said they would do online price comparisons, signaling a true shift to the age of the “channel-less shopper,” the Retail Leader reports.
According to the study, consumers said they were more likely to research and comparison-shop prices online for big-ticket items such as computers, tablets, electronics and major appliances, before going in-store to ultimately make a purchase.
“Even with consumers indicating their preference to purchase items in-store, the highly competitive online environment is impacting brick-and-mortar results. Decreases in profit margins can be attributed to shoppers being armed with more pricing and comparison information,” said Traci Gregorski, senior vice-president of marketing at Market Track. “With real-time price data and other online information such as ratings and reviews at their disposal, it is much easier to decide which retailer to visit and which brand to buy.”
Adding yet another dimension is the rising consumer adoption of mobile. This is especially true in the “digital native” groups where they have never known a world without the Internet and online shopping, the report says.
Eighty-seven per cent of shoppers surveyed said they shop on Amazon, with more than one in three saying they shop on Amazon at least once a week, with the majority indicating “selection of products” as the main driver for shopping on the site.
Click here to see the complete results of the study.
