DS Smith research flags Covid powered rise of the fusion shopper

Covid-19 restrictions have lead to the birth of a new type of consumer – the fusion shopper, according to research from DS Smith.

They are splitting their time across bricks and mortar, online, and Click & Collect, leaving retailers and brands under huge pressure to keep up.

DS Smith research, involving 2,000 Brits, shows that in an average month Brits shop in-store five times, online four times and use Click & Collect twice and the latter is growing fast. 42% of people are more likely to have used this service during the pandemic.

At the same time, however, their experience hasn’t always been smooth. Indeed, 29% of Brits said that online was their preferred shopping method and 49% described Click & Collect as “the worst of both worlds”.

32% of Europeans don’t like queueing in stores. Using smart labels or QR codes on packaging could eliminate queuing and save time. Read more: https://t.co/9uVU5vtXtG pic.twitter.com/4C5Rqtvf1h
— DS Smith (@dssmithgroup) July 20, 2021

To help brands adapt to this new environment, DS Smith has teamed up with behavioural Scientist, Professor Ivo Vlaev, from the University of Warwick Business School, who comments: “People’s expectations of brands haven’t changed.”

“Yet as we shift to a blended model of shopping, retailers who want to keep brand loyalty need to ensure that no matter how someone is shopping that they keep the same experience.”

“For both Click & Collect and online shopping, packaging can be a way of elevating that experience.”

“For example, box designs can help with frictionless payment in-store and Click & Collect can be improved with boxes creating smart personalised IDs making collection easier, quicker and even more personalised.”

While in-store shopping still remains Brit’s current preferred method, it is not without its frustrations.

46% don’t like being in crowded stores. Two fifths are irritated by long queues. And 43% find online shopping less stressful.

The key issues, meanwhile, with Click & Collect include the hassle of travelling to a shop to pick up the item (21%), having to wait to collect the product (19%) and doubts about the quality of the item (19%).

For online shopping, the frustrations include having to pay for their deliveries (42%), not knowing when items will arrive (28%) and bad packaging meaning that their purchase is damaged on arrival (20%).

To combat these frustrations DS Smith’s innovation team and Professor Vlaev have conceptualised future packaging that could help retailers and brands with their blended offerings.

For example, smart labels or QR codes on packaging which can be scanned with a smartphone camera. This would eliminate the need for queuing for purchases, as consumers could scan their items themselves and pay online.