Study: Holiday shoppers not ready to mobilize
Mobile commerce is getting a lot of attention, but may not play much of a role in the 2015 holiday shopping season.
According to a new survey of more than 1,500 U.S. consumers from Accenture, only 2% of holiday shoppers are planning to do the majority of their holiday shopping on mobile devices, with most (43%) citing privacy and security issues as a major reason.
Online is the preferred shopping option (by 54% of respondents) as compared to in-store where a retailer has a presence in both channels, although one in 10 think they will use a particular channel depending on what they are purchasing.
Reluctance to use mobile does not extend to other emerging technologies. Sixty-one percent of consumers surveyed say social media will have some influence on their purchasing decisions, with the 18 - 44 age demographic being the most influenced by social media. Key reasons for social media’s influence included being able to see what’s trending in real-time and what other shoppers are buying (cited by 46%) and feeling the ads and offers on social media are highly relevant to them (cited by 33%).
And although consumers have mobile security concerns, they are increasingly open to sharing personal information with retailers in order to receive personalized offers. Fifty-one percent are willing to share personal information, up from 33% in 2014. Meanwhile, 24% are unsure and 25% are unlikely to share personal information.
When it comes to enticing shoppers to share their personal information and shopping preferences, respondents revealed that discounts and coupons (cited by 72%) are the most popular catalysts, while rebate schemes (cited by only 23%) are the least likely to entice them.
Additionally, when considering channels, email and in-store promotions (cited by 53% each) are the channels where consumers feel they are most enticed by offers and coupons.
Consumers are increasingly using more than one channel in their shopping journey. Sixty-nine percent of U.S. shoppers are likely to participate in ‘webrooming’ (shopping for products online before visiting the retail store to make their purchase) and 65% are likely to participate in ‘showrooming’ (visiting a store to review a product before purchasing it online).
Among those likely to take part in webrooming, top reasons for doing so included preferring to touch and feel the product before purchasing it (cited by 49%), wanting to make sure a product is in stock before going in-store to purchase it (cited by 46%) and to avoid paying for shipping (cited by 42%).
For those consumers purchasing items online and picking them up in-store, 67%, up from 57% in 2014, are likely to buy additional items during their in-store visit. Females between the ages of 25 - 34 are the group most likely to buy additional items when using the in-store pick up option.
When it comes to technology enhancing the in-store experience, most consumers ranked digital coupons as the most important technology, followed by self-service payment options and kiosks with digital set-ups.
Additional trends highlighted by the survey include:
• Fifty-six percent of shoppers prefer to be targeted proactively with discounts and deals, compared with only 20% who prefer to seek out deals themselves.
• Among benefits offered by retailers, 39% of shoppers plan to take advantage of competitor price matching on the spot, while only 18% plan to take advantage of lay-away.
• Top frustrations keeping consumers from purchasing more goods online include: shipping costs (cited by 60%); not being able to see, touch and feel the product (cited by 49%); shipping delays (cited by 36%); and security concerns (cited by 29%).