Despite the steep trajectory of online shopping, the world's shoppers have yet to let go of the traditional retail store, according to a new global report by Capgemini, a leading worldwide consulting firm. In a survey of over 18,000 consumers who shop online from 18 countries, 72 percent of respondents said the traditional retail store is still a very important place to shop and make purchases compared to 67 percent preferring the Internet. Only 14 percent of respondents strongly indicate the physical store has become less important.
Still, 51 percent of these consumers expect to spend more money shopping online than in physical stores in the future. In addition, smartphone shopping has grown significantly. Interestingly, there is an expectation that the online price will be lower than in-store or even catalogs.
One surprising data point: Shoppers find social media less important in following retailers than two years ago. Kees Jacobs, Global Digital Proposition Lead, Capgemini Digital Customer Experience, comments: "Despite the surge in Facebook’s ad revenues and marketing innovations like Twitter’s new ‘Buy’ button, there is definitely a question mark over where and how ‘social’ fits into the shopper journey. Social media is most relevant in the ‘awareness’ and ‘choice’ phases of shopping journeys (which is especially the case in fashion) but much less in ‘transaction, delivery and post-sales’. Our report suggests that retailers still have work to do at every stage of the purchasing journey in order to make social media play a useful, valuable role in buying a product or service."
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