Published
Oct 27, 2018
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Blended retail comes into its own for the holidays

Published
Oct 27, 2018

The NPD Group’s recently released “Holiday Purchase Intentions Survey” has revealed that with 77% of consumers planning to do at least some of their holiday shopping online, retailers are increasingly moving towards a model mixing the online and physical shopping experiences.
 

AFP


The results of the survey, which reflect the responses of 3,605 US consumers, found that 70% of respondents are planning to shop at online-only retailers, while 42% will be shopping offline at mass-merchants and discount stores, 24% at national chains, and 23% at department stores.
 
Perhaps most interestingly though, six out of ten respondents stated that they are planning to shop both in brick-and-mortar stores and online, up 3 percentage points compared to 2017.

“The traditional division between online and in-store retailing continues to shift and blur,” said NPD Chief Industry Advisor Marshal Cohen in a release, “Traditional store retailers are upping their online games these days, while they are also finding ways to drive traffic to stores with improved efficiency, more entertaining shopping experiences, and better value. Online retailers are also finding ways to blur the retail divide in their own ways, offering lower prices and shipping options that get products to consumers faster than ever.”
 
A survey conducted by the  National Retail Federation in April previously identified the importance of this trend, particularly among younger consumers, who have high expectations for cross-platform integration that effectively mixes on and offline retail.
 
Nonetheless, Amazon and other primarily online retailers still top the charts of intended retail destinations, with online shopping intent up 4% since 2017. Online shoppers also plan to spend around 50% more than consumers planning to shop only in physical stores, with an average spend of $748, compared to $492 among offline shoppers.
 
Amazon also plays a key role in product research, with more than half of those surveyed stating that they are planning on using the platform for this purpose. A further 37% said that they would use consumer reviews and search engines to do so, reemphasising just how important digital channels are at different stages of the shopping process.
 
Fear of package theft is often cited as a disadvantage for retailers operating mostly through e-commerce but the majority of survey respondents said that they were still planning on having items delivered and left outside their homes, despite 17% having had a package stolen in the past, suggesting that this fear may not be quite as important a consideration for consumers as might be anticipated.
 
However, Cohen warned that online retailers shouldn’t rest on their laurels, highlighting the large number of digital shopping carts abandoned before the final sale is completed and warning that they “have to continue to find ways to close the deal more effectively”.
 
The “Holiday Purchase Intentions Survey” can be read in full on NPD’s website.

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