eBay has commissioned a new study in which Deloitte tracked the browsing habits of consumers across various mobile devices. It covered their behavior in terms of using on-to-offline services. The findings were that these consumers were 30% more likely to research the product online before they decided to make a purchase.
Nevertheless, the study found an increase in value of up to 50% more when carried out through a single channel.
Super Shoppers!
So, what and who are these ‘Super Shoppers’? Well, labeled by Deloitte and eBay, these consumers make up 18% of people who shopped most frequently. However, this 18% actually accounted for a massive 70% of all UK retail sales over the course of 2013, and they spent over £200bn.
Consumers are in the driving seat
Tanya Lawler, vice president of eBay in the UK, said that customers’ expectations are constantly rising. They are demanding ever higher levels of convenience and better customer service.
People have come to expect your online channel and store to be joined up – and they lose patience very quickly if they aren’t! For example, customers now expect to be able to buy online and collect at their local branch of your store, or make a return in the store.
Social media matters
The study also revealed that 29% internet users like to follow their favourite brands and retailers across social media channels. This is significant, because 22% said they were influenced by this social media. Positive recommendations or reviews also heavily influenced customers. It encouraged 30% of people to make a purchase and engage actively with the retailer or brand after that purchase,
Online vs offline research in shoppers
Whilst the study found that 31% of customers like to visit the store before making a decision to make a purchase, 34% preferred to look online and then purchase in the store.
Ian Geddes of Deloitte said that what sets the ‘Super Shoppers’ apart from the rest is that account for a much larger share of total spending. However, they research before they decide to buy through a wider range of channels. They also use more resources to investigate potential purchases.
So, he suggests that brands and retailers can target this potential goldmine of a group by creating a boarder presence over a wider range of channels.
Does this mean the high street suffers?
On the contrary. The report found that online operations have lead to £9bn of sales in bricks and mortar stores in 2013.
It’s not a question of online vs offline retailers
Jacob Aqraou, eBay senior vice president of EMEA, said that customers are finding that a combination of online and offline retail works well for them. It gives them the best of both worlds. They can shop and browse online using various devices, but they also want to pick up or browse in stores. So, retailers should take advantage of this fact and reach out to potential customers across all channels, or miss out on potential sales.
