Consumer Behavior

Most consumers tap smartphone in product research

Photo: Adobe

November 7, 2023

A hefty number of consumers, 87%, are using their smartphone to research a product while in-store at least some of the time, and 66% of shopper migrate from in-store browsing to online purchase.

Those are top findings from a benchmark survey from 1WorldSync Data, a product content orchestration platform provider.

More shoppers are also shopping online with 66% of shoppers purchasing an item online in the last 2 months that they only ever bought in-store on previous shopping excursions.

"In today's retail landscape, online and in-store shopping experiences are intrinsically intertwined, each bolstering the other to meet the evolving demands of modern consumers," Steve Sivitter, CEO of 1WorldSync, said in the a press release on the findings. "The boundaries between digital and physical retail channels are dissolving, giving rise to a 'phygital' shopping era where consumers seamlessly merge online and in-store shopping to make informed in-store purchases and vice versa. This interconnected ecosystem reflects the future of retail, demonstrating the complementary and indispensable relationship between online and brick-and-mortar platforms in enhancing customer experience and choice."

The survey also revealed that despite the overwhelming presence of influencers on popular social channels, only 40% of consumers report acting on an influencer's recommendation in the last 12 months.

Additional findings include:

• 23% of consumers are shopping less with delivery services/courier apps this year compared to 2022, indicating consumers are more comfortable visiting stores and restaurants in person than they were prior.
• Despite their growing popularity, 46% of shoppers have never shopped at budget or fast-fashion e-commerce sites like Temu or Shein, citing the perception of poor quality products, untrustworthy reputation and unfamiliarity as reasons why they have not shopped with the budget-friendly sites.
• 48% of consumers will stop shopping from a brand after making two to three returns, with more than half of shoppers citing misleading or poor product content as the reason fueling their returns.
• The average shopper predicts they will do approximately 60% of their holiday shopping online, a reflection of the continued trend toward e-commerce, driven by convenience and a wider variety of choices.

This survey was conducted online and polled 1,500 online shoppers in the U.S. and Canada over the age of 18.