Only 29% Prefer to Shop In-Store: The Shift in Consumer Behaviour

Much has been speculated about the shift to online and the impact of the pandemic. But how has shopper behaviour really been shaped in the longer-term?

We know that the pandemic initially forced people online due to restrictions with shopping in-store, however what we can see is that this has led to shoppers who may otherwise not have shopper online becoming more comfortable in the online space. Power Retail’s latest Trajectory Report found that almost half of all online shoppers (46%) are more comfortable shopping online than last year. This is higher than the 42% who said they have long been comfortable with online shopping.

Source: Power Retail Trajectory Report #26, August 2021

Half of all online shoppers said they have increased their online spend in 2021. Given a massive 68% of online shoppers said they increased their level of online spend last year, that we are still seeing the majority increase their level of spend (on top of 2020 increases) says much about the current landscape and shopper behaviour. A third of online shoppers (33%) have maintained their level of spend online (which again, given the boost in 2020, is impressive). Only the minority (17%) have decreased their spend online this year. With some suggesting that 2021 levels would recede to pre-pandemic times, that 88% have increased or retained their level of spend online shows this has not eventuated.

Source: Power Retail Trajectory Report #26, August 2021

So why are shoppers spending more online? The vast majority (71%) of online shoppers prefer to purchase online rather than in-store. This number has increased noticeably in the last year (up from 62%). The flip side of this of course is that the number of online shoppers who prefer to shop in-store has also dropped, from 38% in 2020 to just 29% in 2021.

Power Retail also surveyed shoppers about what stops them from shopping online, payment methods, intent to spend and more! Find out this and more in the latest Trajectory Report, free to Power Retail Switched On members.

WHAT YOU GET FROM THIS TRAJECTORY REPORT:
Current e-commerce revenue and forecasting, traffic levels, average conversion rate, payment preferences and more! 

These fortnightly reports draw from the aggregate, anonymised benchmarking data of over 10 million online sessions per month from a broad cross-section of Australian online retailers, PLUS fortnightly survey data collected from a panel of over 1 million online shoppers.

Find out more about a Power Retail Switched On membership today!