M-commerce, Social Media & 'Research Online, Purchase Offline' Lead Retail Trends

Consumers worldwide are increasingly using multi-platform devices, especially mobile, to enhance their in-store shopping experience, according to a consumer study by global marketing and technology agency DigitasLBi.

The research entitled ‘Connected Commerce: A Snapshot of the Modern Shopper’, looks at the multiple screens and data streams that affect the purchase behaviour of consumers across 12 countries: Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the USA.

Half of survey respondents worldwide* agree that the use of smartphones has changed the way they shop. 34% of smartphone users have made a purchase via their smartphone, and 72% of smartphone users report using their smartphone while inside a store. China leads the way in terms of m-commerce with 76% of smartphone users making a mobile purchase in the last three months, compared to 35% respectively in the US, UK, Germany and Singapore. The percentage of mobile shoppers is smaller in France (20%), the Netherlands (18%) and Belgium (15%).

 

Increasingly, people are now using the internet to enhance their shopping experience: 88% of consumers around the world* Research Online, Purchase Offline (ROPO). This behaviour is seen in 90% of people in 11 of 12 countries. However, the store remains the fundamental point of contact, and it is the third source of information preferred by worldwide consumers (14%), who expect to take advantage of online services while in-store.

On a global scale, 19% of consumers report leaving a store after consulting their smartphone and learning that a product they want is cheaper elsewhere, while a further 29% of consumers say they would consider doing so (showrooming). The price component is essential: nearly two in three people surveyed reported that a price difference of at least 5% would make them leave the store; if the price difference increased to 10%, 88% of consumers would leave. 

Marcus Mustafa, Global Head of User Experience at DigitasLBi said: “This research shows that the proliferation of digital devices is having a huge impact on the way we shop. We’re not just using these devices to purchase items online – we’re using them to augment our in-store shopping choices, so there’s a real opportunity for retail brands to tap into this behaviour and create location-specific real-time digital products and services which enhance the in-store experience.”

Social media’s influence and social sharing varies widely, with China leading 82% of Chinese social network users say that social media has influenced their behaviour; in Singapore the figure is 74%; Spain, Italy and the US show a respective average of 55%, while the average for the seven remaining countries is 42%. Four in five Chinese social network users also say they buy more products of brands they follow on social media.

Sharing news of purchased items through social channels is most common in China, where 78% of social media users have shared a purchase via a social network. In contrast, in the UK and Germany, an average of 35% have done so. In Singapore, Italy, Spain and the US, between 40% and 50% of users have shared a purchase via a social network. 49% of global social network users who have ever shared a purchase on social networks did it “just to let their friends know”.