Consumer Behavior

Few consumers satisfied with in-store, online shopping experiences

Photo: Adobe Stock

January 12, 2024

Just 9% of consumers are satisfied with the in-store shopping experience, and just a touch more, 14%, feel the same about online shopping.

That's a prime finding of an IBM study regarding consumer expectations and the growing gap between shopper demands and what retailers currently offer.

The third biennial consumer study, "Revolutionize retail with AI everywhere: Customers won't wait," surveyed nearly 20,000 global consumers, according to a press release on the findings.

One encouraging data point, given the AI tech dominance in the news, is that 80% of consumers surveyed who haven't used AI for shopping expressed an interest in using the technology for various aspects of their shopping journey.

Consumers polled appear eager for AI enhancements like virtual assistants (55%) and AI applications (59%) as they shop. Six in 10 consumers surveyed also said inflation has impacted how they shop, with 62% saying that price is a top reason they switch stores or brands.

"In the face of rapidly shifting consumer expectations and the stark realities of today's economic picture for households, the retail sector is presented with an ongoing challenge — and an unprecedented opportunity," Luq Niazi, global managing director at IBM, said in the release. "We are seeing that today's consumers, faced with more choices and channels than ever, are increasingly making their purchasing decisions based on the cost and the quality of experiences that retailers provide. Leveraging advances in AI technologies, retailers can forge ahead into a new era of commerce and fulfillment, leading with innovation to create shopping experiences that are intuitive, unified, personalized and efficient."

Additional findings include:

• Consumers surveyed want greater variety of products available (37%), more information about products (26%), and faster checkout (26%) in stores. Most consumers surveyed (65%) are supplementing their in-store experience by using mobile apps while shopping — demonstrating a trend toward a digitally integrated in-store experience.
• Online retail isn't immune to criticism; two-thirds of consumers discover new products via the web, yet many have expressed dissatisfaction with their online shopping journey, citing challenges finding the products they want (36%), not enough information about products (33%) and a cumbersome return process (33%).
• Consumers showed a strong interest in using AI technology to enhance various aspects of their shopping. Most consumers (59%) said they would like to use AI applications as they shop and four in five consumers who haven't used the technology for shopping reported an interest in trying it. Personalization and targeted offerings are in demand, with 52% of consumers surveyed interested in receiving information, advertisements, and offerings from stores that are relevant to their specific interests. Yet there remains a stark satisfaction gap for current AI assistant users surveyed. Only about one-third of responding consumers who have used virtual assistants are satisfied with the experience and nearly 20% were so disappointed that they don't want to use virtual assistants again, signaling a mismatch between current tech offerings and shopper expectations.