Youngest shoppers most likely to buy in-store as seasonal purchases begin

LONDON, UK, September 4, 2019 — A new international study by Bazaarvoice, conducted among 2,500 respondents in the US, UK, France, and Germany, finds younger consumers ages 15-24, as well as older consumers (65+), state they will complete the majority of their gift buying in shopping centers.

In fact, when paired with shopping data from across the Bazaarvoice network of 6,000 brand and retailer websites, the study identified Europe as the leader in mobile shopping with 67% of traffic coming from this channel during the holiday season, compared to 59% in the US.

The contrasting data from the consumer survey states only 5% of respondents plan to do the majority of their holiday shopping via mobile. This discrepancy may indicate that consumers may not realize how much they actually use their phones to shop during the holidays.

Sophie Light-Wilkinson, VP Marketing EMEA at Bazaarvoice comments, More and more we’re seeing consumers rely on mobile to verify products they’re considering in-store. With the majority of shoppers around the world (63%) stating they will complete the bulk of their holiday purchases online, digital marketers must interrogate any assumptions they’ve made about the online path to purchase.

In the UK, almost a third (32%) of consumers claim they will complete ‘the majority of purchases’ in physical shopping centers. In particular, they are more likely than the global average (26%) to pick traditional mass merchants such as John Lewis and Debenhams (30%).

The Black Friday experience

Assessing the appetite for peaks such as Black Friday, the study reports four in five UK consumers shop for gifts on sales days, making the local market considerably more focused on this style of shopping than the US (63%).

Moreover, 29% of UK consumers kick-off their holiday shopping on Prime Day (the online discount day that took place on July 15th this year). Not only does this mean gift buying has begun, but the UK sees the earliest start to holiday shopping. By comparison, just 19% of US consumers have started by this point.

However, UK consumers, alongside their global counterparts, are just as likely to report long checkout lines (68%) and overcrowded stores (59%) as reasons for not shopping in store. In particular, UK respondents are more likely to identify pushy sales people as a pain point around the in-store experience (39%) compared to the global average (32%).

Convenience tips and tricks

When asked how brands could improve the holiday shopping experience, UK respondents picked improved convenience (61%), such as self-checkout and the option to buy online and pick-up in-store. Faster, more efficient shipping solutions were also chosen by 56% of respondents.

Likely due to brand reputation as a retailer offering convenience and fast shipping, Amazon is the most common place that shoppers will purchase their holiday gifts this year (49% globally).
So how can brands get ahead? The research also identifies customer reviews, photos and personalized recommendations would improve the holiday shopping experience for nearly a third of UK consumers (31%).

According to Bazaarvoice’s annual research, product pages with at least one review experienced a 354% increase in conversion rate and a 446% lift in revenue per visitor compared to product pages with no reviews, whether or not visitors engaged with the review content.

At a time where authenticity is being called into question across the entire e-commerce space, it’s a crucial area for brands to develop real differentiation, Sophie Light-Wilkinson concludes. Whether online or in-store, consumers have come to expect real customer content, including photos, reviews, and answers from shoppers like them, at every step of the shopping journey. In our annual client survey, more than half of respondents say consumer reviews drive in-store sales and increase brand loyalty.

To find out more, please download the full report.

Methodology

This report draws on shopping activity data from our U.S. and European clients in our network of over 6,000 brand and retailer websites. All pageview, submitted questions, user-generated content interaction rate, traffic, and order data is from 2018. Comparisons to a typical day are defined as a monthly average of September 2018. “Holiday” or “holiday day” or “holiday season” is derived from monthly average of November and December 2018.

To complement the data from the Bazaarvoice Network, we conducted a consumer survey of 2,500 adults (18+) — 1,000 consumers in the U.S. and 500 consumers each in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom — for the purpose of understanding consumer holiday shopping behavior across different demographics and regions.

About Bazaarvoice

Each month in the Bazaarvoice Network, more than a billion consumers create, view, and share authentic user generated-content including reviews, questions and answers, and social photos across more than 6,000 global brand and retailer websites. From search and discovery to purchase and advocacy, Bazaarvoice’s solutions help brands and retailers reach in-market shoppers, personalize their experiences, and give them the confidence to buy.

Founded in 2005, Bazaarvoice is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with offices in North America, Europe, and Australia. For more information, visit www.bazaarvoice.com.