How Effective are Bricks and Mortar Retailers in Today's Online Landscape
Internet penetration has reached a plateau at around 70% of the population. Shopping is a key activity for anyone with online access – 90% of those with Internet connections say they have bought something in the last year.
And the popularity of buying online has increased in spite of the recession. Some 42% of consumers say they have bought more than last year against 16% who say they have bought less.
But the recession has hit the willingness to buy higher ticket price items and there has been a small net reduction in the number of people buying higher value goods.
Internet penetration has reached a plateau at around 70% of the population. Shopping is a key activity for anyone with online access – 90% of those with Internet connections say they have bought something in the last year.
And the popularity of buying online has increased in spite of the recession. Some 42% of consumers say they have bought more than last year against 16% who say they have bought less.
But the recession has hit the willingness to buy higher ticket price items and there has been a small net reduction in the number of people buying higher value goods.
The most enthusiastic online shoppers are those in the 25-45 age range. They are the group that is most time pressured and has taken on most commitments. The 18-25 year-olds tend to prefer going to shops.
Satisfaction with online shopping is high and there is a general perception that the quality of service is very good. But the young (under 25s) are noticeably more impatient than older age groups.
Delivery ought to be one of the major problems for any form of home shopping. That is why there is a high take up of services such as Argos’ which allow customers to reserve goods and then collect them from the store (22% say they do that). But other alternatives, such as collecting from a local C-store, or having goods delivered to work are much less popular (3% and 5% respectively).
The slowdown in online fashion sales is forecast to make itself felt in 2010, as growth slows to 8%, taking the market to £4.27 billion. This is the slowest rate of increase since Mintel started monitoring the online fashion market.
The online fashion market has been driven above all by the rise in internet penetration, but in the past year, this has begun to stall at around 71% of adults. At the same...
Internet penetration has reached a plateau at around 70% of the population. Shopping is a key activity for anyone with online access – 90% of those with Internet connections say they have bought something in the last year.
