Shoppers Still Spending Bulk of Holiday Budget In-Store

Posted on by Beth Negus Viveiros

holiday-snowmanThe lines will be long and traffic will be a pain, but consumers still anticipate spending the majority of their holiday budget in brick and mortar stores, according to a new holiday survey from Deloitte.

More than half of respondents (55%) are shopping at malls this holiday season, but nearly three in 10 (28%) will visit malls less this year. Among those shopping less at malls, the top three reasons are crowds (49%), better prices elsewhere (42%) and avoiding traffic (36%).

Not surprisingly, the top three detriments to shopping in a physical store were long lines (40%), too much traffic (26%), and stores not carrying the merchandise they want (25%).

However, consumers who shop in-store tend to be more loyal than online shoppers. Roughly half (51%) indicated that if they couldn’t get a product in-store, they would try to buy from the same retailer either online or at a different location.

When asked which store-return policies they found most desirable, respondents favored flexible options such as the ability to return items to any store, regardless of purchase location (25%), refund options other than store credit (23%), and no receipt required (18%). Another indicator of a desire for convenience was that 18% of consumers wanted to be able to return items in January that were purchased from October to December.

Consumers do feel that when they enter a store, they are well informed: 58% say they are better connected with consumer information than store associates. But, nearly half of respondents said that well informed store associates were at the top of their wish list of things to inprove the shopping experience.

If an associate isn’t up to the task, shoppers are ready to help themselves 63% plan on using in-store self-help tech, such as price checkers (59%) or self-checkout (56%).

Smartphones are empowering retail shoppers. Seventy-two percent will go to the store with their phone by their side, with 58% planning to use it to find a store location and 52% using it to check prices.

Of those shopping online, nearly seven in 10 (69%) will be using a tablet. Sixty-five percent will use it for shopping or browsing, and 57% expected to use it to make a purchase. Deloitte forecasts that digital interactions will influence 50%, or $345 billion, of retail store sales this holiday season.

“In-store shopping continues to be an important part of the traditional holiday shopping experience for many consumers,” said Alison Paul, vice chair and retail sector leader, Deloitte LLP, in a statement. “For retailers, gaining a competitive edge depends on pulling multiple levers to encourage consumers to shop at one store over another. A satisfying in-store experience, an intuitive website, the right in-store innovations, informed store associates, the ability to influence purchases through mobile—all of these elements and more help distinguish successful retailers from the others.”

 

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