Brits still in favour of ‘touch, try, buy’, BigCommerce
Despite the continued growth of e-commerce, more UK consumers (63%) have shopped in a physical store in the last six months than online (48%), according to new BigCommerce research.
The company surveyed 3,000 individuals living in Australia, the UK and the USA. 28% of Brits said the ability to touch and try on an item was the primary reason to shop in-store rather than online, followed by convenience (19%) and speed (10%). 16% indicated that not being able to touch or wear a product in advance was one of their least favourite things about online.
86% of respondents in the study shopped on Amazon within the last six months, followed by eBay (57%), Facebook (14%) and Instagram (10%). A third said price was the main factor for using the former. This was followed by convenience (26%) and ease of shipping (16%).
Brits expect to return up to a quarter of items they’ve bought online, with clothing being the biggest category (43%). Businesses that have a physical store as well as an online one should look to product returns as a sales opportunity, BigCommerce argues.
While 44% of those returns are simply mailed back to the brand, 24% of Brits choose to return in-store. Furthermore, two-thirds of the latter also browse or shop in the store afterwards.
“Customers increasingly behave in an omnichannel fashion by switching between channels during the purchase journey – checking prices via mobile while standing in store, for instance – but, as a whole, merchants are still trying to figure out the best way to enable retail experiences that create an ongoing connection with customers regardless of channel,” says Mark Adams, Vice President and General Manager of Europe at BigCommerce.
Retailers need to reflect and support this behaviour, ensuring customers get a great experience every time, he concludes.
