Survey: Consumers prone to 'discover' products online but would rather buy in-store

BOSTON — According to a TimeTrade survey released Monday, 85% of consumers prefer shopping in a physical store vs. online, including 70% of consumers who would prefer to shop a brick & mortar Amazon store versus Amazon.com. And in-store expertise drives purchase volume: As many as 90% of consumers are more likely to buy when helped by a knowledgeable associate. 

 

And it's not just old-school baby-boomer shoppers who are spurning online for that in-store shopping experience, the survey found, because 92% of responding millennials plan to shop in-store in 2015 as often or more than they did in 2014.

 

The survey data suggests that shopping trends are favoring the brick-and-mortar model, despite perceptions that the rise of e-tailers would jeopardize the physical retail store, TimeTrade reported. “The bottom line is customers value the personal experience of the physical store,” said Gary Ambrosino, CEO of TimeTrade. “We found that shoppers have done their shopping or discovery online, then go into the store to get help with their final purchase decision.”

 

Given this information, TimeTrade recommends that retailers employ a cross-channel strategy that converts an initial inquiry into a high value, in-store experience. Once in the store, retailers must give customers prompt service with a knowledgeable store associate.

 

"With exponential adoption rates of mobile devices, harnessing the opportunity across the customer journey will be the ultimate game changer,” said Sheryl Kingstone, director at 451 Research. "Retailers need to bridge digital interactions with brick and mortar interactions with new innovative technologies along business process changes.”

 

“We see retail convergence – the coming together of digital and physical retailing – as a game changing trend,” Ambrosino said. “Traditional e-tailers are opening brick-and-mortar locations because they understand very well the highly personal service they can offer in a store and traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are creating more personal, digital-savvy experiences in the store to better serve today’s shopper.”