Online shopping has never been easier. But the majority of American consumers want the tactile experiences offered by physical stores.
Long Live The Brick-And-Mortar Store
Everyone knows online shopping has never been easier or more accessible. But despite the surge in e-commerce capabilities, mobile applications and other theologies — including voice-activated shopping and the proliferation of many stores online — the majority of American consumers still want the tactile experiences offered by physical stores.
The ability to see, touch and feel products as well as take items home immediately rank highest among the reasons consumers choose to shop in stores versus online, according to Retail Dive’s Consumer Survey. For the first question in a six-part series looking at consumer shopping habits, the surveyed 1,425 U.S. consumers via Google Surveys about the reasons why they choose to shop in stores over online.
By a fairly wide margin, the primary motivation for shopping in stores is to see and try out products before purchasing. However, some notable differences exist among shoppers, depending on their gender, age and location.
Women Want to See – Men Want to Take
In particular, female shoppers overwhelmingly want to see, touch and feel products before buying them. Males, on the other hand, skew more toward the immediate satisfaction of taking items home with them.
When breaking down the data further, significant differences exist between genders when deciding whether to shop online or in stores.
Online Availability Continues to Bring Consumers In-Store
Technology is driving changes in consumer shopping behavior; shoppers still rely on brick and mortar locations to make the majority of their final purchases.
With two decades of e-commerce under our belts, 2015 is a good time for retailers to look at how people are making their purchases.
Today, the majority of shoppers put far more consideration into what they buy, using online tools and research to acquire goods they get in physical store locations.
Successfully Serving Digitally Savvy Shoppers
According to a 2014 Cisco study, 80% of shoppers use digital means when shopping. Through the Internet, shoppers are able to educate themselves about everything from material sourcing and brand heritage to product reviews and pricing. This means that retailers must work harder than ever to meet their customers’ demands. Digital has a huge impact on shoppers’ path to purchase. According to a new PwC study, nearly 40% of consumers make a purchase in-store at least once per week. Of these shoppers, 65% report that they shop in-store to avoid delivery fees, 60% shop in-store in order to receive a product immediately, and 61% choose to shop in-store because they want to see the items in person. There can be many other reasons to shop in-store, including shopping locally, attending in-store events, and receiving personal consultations and information.
Retailers should especially note these following three things:
- As they are more educated about their purchases, consumers expect retailers to offer quality products and exceptional service.
- While online will continue to grow, store purchase will not stop. Retailers should create superb online and brick-and-mortar shopping destinations that match in tone, aesthetics, and brand promises.
- Consumers have specific reasons for shopping online and in-store, so retailers should find out how to provide what their customers want from each channel.
While it is hard to say exactly what the future of shopping holds, it is clear that within the next few years, we can expect the same trend to continue. Retailers should work on getting to know their customers and how they shop so they can fulfill their customers’ needs. This means that retailers should not only offer the products and services their customers want, but also a presence where their customers are — both online and offline.
Online vs. Brick & Mortar Stores
As the client you have the option of buying furniture from stores in the city (Manhattan, Queens, etc.) and/or in neighboring areas (e.g. Long Island, New Jersey, etc.). However, please keep in mind that you will often be paying more (i.e. higher prices) when we shop from such brick-and-mortar stores, compared to what may be available from online stores. Online stores may have a wider selection on hand and, potentially, also offer better prices – although online shopping does of course make it more difficult to get a good understanding of the quality, color, texture etc. of each product.
I am happy to discuss with you the online vs. “real” store options for each item we are shopping for, so you can make a decision on an item-by-item basis.
~ Charlie A. Bolivar – Charlie’s Designs LLC.