49% of US consumers believe the best thing that retailers can do to improve the shopping experience is to better integrate in-store, online and mobile shopping channels, details a survey conducted by Accenture. That notion is shared by 48% of consumers in the UK, Germany, France, Sweden and Brazil, and 38% in China and Japan. The results point to a desire for an increasingly seamless cross-channel experience, where personalized experiences are provided across every engagement channel.
For example, 53% of consumers want to receive unique pricing, automatic discounts, free returns, or pre-sales based on their loyalty/purchase history – across all channels. Similarly, 53% want to be able to earn and use their loyalty rewards in-store, online or on a mobile device.
Consumers also expect integration of product, promotion, and pricing across channels: 51% expect product assortment to be the same across the channels, while 49% share that view of promotions and 63% of pricing. Nevertheless, there seems to be higher expectations placed on the online channel: 81% expect product assortment to be the same or less in-store, while 83% expect price (including tax and delivery) to be the same or more in-store.
Other Findings:
- US respondents are more likely to say they like to shop in a physical store (86%) than online (52%) or via a mobile device (11%), when shopping for apparel. American teens seem to feel the same way.
- 94% of US consumers find in-store shopping easy, compared to 74% for online shopping and 26% for mobile shopping.
- 89% of US respondents said it is important for retailers to let them shop for products in the way that is most convenient for them, no matter which sales channel they choose.
- 73% of US respondents reported showrooming at least once in the 6 months prior to the survey, a figure that rises to 77% among respondents in the European markets and Brazil, and 85% among those in China and Japan.
- Same-day delivery is important or very important to only 24% of US consumers, aligning with research from Boston Consulting Group showing similar apathy to same-day delivery.
About the Data: The data is based on a survey of 6,000 consumers across 8 countries, conducted in November 2012. There were 750 respondents in the US.
