What do you like most about visiting malls and stores for shopping? Feeling the instant joy of touching new clothes, jewelry, wearing shoes, or holding the latest gadget in the palm of your hand? Excitement and eagerness are too much to let go off, especially during the holiday season — can’t wait to experience the newest purchase.
Well consumers, think again. A new survey finds that eight out of ten Americans are now online shoppers.
What could be possible drivers behind the trend? Time constraint, better deals or perfunctoriness of the consumer society? Let’s see:
A Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults says Americans are incorporating a wide range of digital tools and platforms into their purchasing decisions and buying habits. Here are some of the findings as told by the Research Center this month:
“The survey finds that roughly eight-in-ten Americans are now online shoppers: 79% have made an online purchase of any type, while 51% have bought something using a cellphone and 15% have made purchases by following a link from social media sites. When the Center first asked about online shopping in a June 2000 survey, just 22% of Americans had made a purchase online. In other words, today nearly as many Americans have made purchases directly through social media platforms as had engaged in any type of online purchasing behavior 16 years ago.
“But even as a sizeable majority of Americans have joined the world of e-commerce, many still appreciate the benefits of brick-and-mortar stores. Overall, 64% of Americans indicate that, all things being equal, they prefer buying from physical stores to buying online. Of course, all things are often not equal – and a substantial share of the public says that price is often a far more important consideration than whether their purchases happen online or in physical stores. Fully 65% of Americans indicate that when they need to make purchases they typically compare the price they can get in stores with the price they can get online and choose whichever option is cheapest. Roughly one-in-five (21%) say they would buy from stores without checking prices online, while 14% would typically buy online without checking prices at physical locations first.
“Although cost is often key, today’s consumers come to their purchasing decisions with a broad range of expectations on a number of different fronts. When buying something for the first time, more than eight-in-ten Americans say it is important to be able to compare prices from different sellers (86%), to be able to ask questions about what they are buying (84%), or to buy from sellers they are familiar with (84%). In addition, more than seven-in-ten think it is important to be able to try the product out in person (78%), to get advice from people they know (77%), or to be able to read reviews posted online by others who have purchased the item (74%). And nearly half of Americans (45%) have used cellphones while inside a physical store to look up online reviews of products they were interested in, or to try and find better prices online.”
I think that should conclude this update with the evolving consumer habits during holidays. But don’t forget to check out for more socio-economic trends and commentaries in the days ahead. Happy Holidays!
FEATURED IMAGE above shows Garden State Plaza Mall, Photo Credit: Original uploader Nightscream via Wikimedia Commons
