News

Tech plays bigger role in consumer purchase, altering shopping experience

In-store sales remain vibrant and account for more than nine-tenths of all retail spend, reveals new retail transaction study findings.

September 10, 2015

Very few, if any, retail transactions are not untouched by some method of technology and the trend is crafting a much different shopping experience for buyers and sellers these days, with eight of 10 purchase decisions made using a digital device, states a new MasterCard report.

Yet in-store sales remain vibrant and account for more than nine-tenths of all retail spend. The online study is based on a survey of 11,337 conducted in July 2015.

"Getting smart about smart shoppers is paramount to a retailer’s success, yet shoppers consistently report they’re frustrated that retailers don’t get it," stated Mathieu Loury, senior VO of Merchant Solutions for MasterCard Advisors, in an announcement on the study, which is available for download.

The study also reveals some global retail trends, including that Brazil’s consumers are the most active researchers when it comes to shopping, and that in the U.K. and U.S. the more consumers research before buying the fewer brick and mortar stores are they likely to visit.

"The good news is that the solutions exist to both analyze and answer these expectations — meeting your omnishoppers every step of their empowered journey, and creating an ecosystem that propels them forward,"Loury said.The MasterCard Retail CMO’s Guide to the Omnishopper combines data from thousands of shoppers worldwide with transaction-based insights from MasterCard.

Other key findings include:

• Technology use in shopping is almost universal: Eighty percent of consumers report using technology during the shopping process, such as smartphone apps for price checks, "click-and-collect" services to buy online and pick up in-store, and in-store technology to research or order a product. In addition, six out of 10 are doing more research online today than two years ago.
• Brick-and-mortar stands strong: The omnishopper chooses physical stores for better customer service and a faster, more social buying experience. This might be a contributor to ecommerce’s relatively flat growth as a share of total retail sales (7.5 percent globally).
• Consumers want specific inventory, and a seamless experience: Today’s shoppers know what they want. The top frustration — cited by 73 percent of respondents — is items not being in stock, underscoring the importance of inventory management for retailers.
• Consumers feel smarter and get more value: Fully 80 percent of global consumers claim to be getting more value, both in-store and online.
• Merchants are primed for omnishoppers’ loyalty: Despite having nearly endless choices a click away, only 26 percent of shoppers like to try new merchants. This can pose a challenge for retailers trying to attract new customers. Just 20 percent say technology has led them to consider a new retailer.