IBM research: hybrid shopping booms amid Covid outbreak

A new IBM survey of over 19,000 consumers across 28 countries shows hybrid shopping is on the rise as habits consumers adopted out of necessity during the Covid-19 pandemic become routine.

Retailers must become more agile to meet customers where they are, integrating digital and in-store experiences, IBM says.

72% of respondents say they use the store as all or part of their primary purchase method.

Top reasons respondents choose to visit a store include touching and feeling products before buying them (50%), picking and choosing their own products (47%) and getting products right away (43%), though what in-store shoppers are looking for varies by product category.

27% of people report hybrid shopping is their method of choice, and Gen Z consumers surveyed are most likely to be a ‘hybrid shopper’ compared to other age groups.

The study also shows that sustainability has become increasingly important to purchase decisions and brand preferences since 2020.

Purpose driven consumers, who choose products/brands based on their values like sustainability, are now the largest segment of consumers surveyed (44%).

62% of respondents are willing to change their purchasing habits to reduce environmental impact, up from 57% two years ago.

Half of respondents say they’re willing to pay a premium for sustainability – an average premium of 70%. This is roughly double the premium from 2020.

However, there’s a gap between intention and action – only 31% of respondents say that sustainable products made up most or all of their last purchase.

“While many surveyed consumers still place high value on the traditional in-store shopping experience, they also now expect the flexibility to build their own shopping journey – according to the behaviours prevalent to their age range, available tools and the product category they are looking to purchase,” says Mark Mathews, Vice President of Research Development and Industry Analysis at the National Retail Federation.

“This ‘hybrid’ approach is a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour.”

Luq Niazi, Global Managing Director IBM Consumer Industries, comments: “Despite the impact of Covid-19, our experience with clients shows many leading retail brands are continuing to rapidly transform operations, customer experience and supply chains with technologies like AI, hybrid cloud and blockchain to help serve these multiple customer preferences.”

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