News

Consumers shopping earlier, physical retailers top favorite

Photo by istock.com

November 22, 2019

Not only are consumers shopping earlier this year — well before Thanksgiving thanks to retailers launching holiday sales as Halloween hit — they're very likely to shop at retailers with a physical presence. About one-third of consumers will start before sitting down to the annual turkey meal and 68.7% will hit a brand storefront, according to a JLL Retail research report.

"This year we are continuing to see the merging of retail channels with 68.7% of responses showing that consumers will shop at a retailer with a physical presence — whether that's in-store, online, or picking up in-store after an online purchase,” said Greg Maloney, president and CEO of JLL Retail, in a release on the study findings.

Research highlights include:

• 43% will spend over $500 on gifts this year.
• The top five retailers are Amazon (38.1%), Walmart (36.2 %), Target (29.6%), Kohl's (10.1%) and Macy's (8.0%).
• Consumers will use multiple channels to shop: 52% will buy in-store compared; 42.3% will buy from an internet-only retailer.

“This year has really shown that the trend of omnichannel retailing is here to stay," said James Cook, Americas director of research, JLL Retail, in the release. "Convenience is a driving factor and it's essential for retailers to provide that convenience to consumers by fully blending their channels and optimizing their supply chains in order to provide the best holiday shopping experience for consumers."

Mobile phones will also play a major role. While fewer shoppers will use phones for online ordering compared to last year (46.8% vs. 50.3%), more will use their phones for reading product reviews, checking store inventory, and making in-store payments.