Dive Brief:
- Mobile technologies continue to drive change in retail both online and offline, but the brick-and-mortar store is still a coveted perk, UPS’ fourth annual "Pulse of the Online Shopper" survey found.
- Given the choice, consumers prefer the option to return items that they purchased online when a retailer operates in both channels, the report says.
- The survey polled more than 5,000 consumers and was released Wednesday at the Internet Retailer Conference + Exhibition (IRCE) in Chicago by UPS and comScore.
Dive Insight:
The survey revealed that physical store locations are now playing a vital role in the fulfillment of online orders and driving incremental purchases.
Almost half (48%) of the more than 5,000 consumers surveyed reported using in-store delivery of an online purchase in the past year, and 45% of them made an additional purchase at pickup. Consumers returning an item also want the option of a brick-and-mortar presence, with 61% preferring to take an item bought online back to a store, and more than two-thirds (70%) buying an additional item while there.
“One of the advantages multichannel retailers have over the Amazons is the physical store,” Bala Ganesh, director of marketing for UPS, told Retail Dive. “They have to leverage that.”
Mobile devices still face challenges in conversion, with 38% of respondents saying that product images aren’t large or clear enough, and only 30% making a purchase via mobile. “There are constraints on how big mobile can grow,” Gian Fulgoni, co-founder and executive chairman emeritus of comScore, told Retail Dive. “The negatives all come back to security and screen size.”
E-commerce consumers are also increasingly open to alternate delivery options, the survey says. Only one-quarter (26%) of respondents last year said they want packages delivered to a location outside of the home, and this year, that figure rose to 33%.
