eDigitalResearch
and IMRG found that 44% of smartphone owners have said that they will consider doing
some of their Christmas shopping online, with over half of these (64%) planning
to purchase more gifts and Christmas items from their device than they did
during the festive period in 2012. The survey of 2,000 online consumers also
found that almost all respondents (96%) will shop online this Christmas, with
48% purchasing at least half of their Christmas shopping on the internet.
The
results highlight the need for retailers to ensure that all their touch points
– no matter how many they operate – are accessible to everyone in order to
maximise Christmas sales.
The survey
also found that a quarter (25%) of consumers feel that their online shopping
experience is ‘significantly better’ or ‘slightly better’ at Christmas time
thanks to special deals and a bigger range of products on offer. Just 7% feel
that it gets worse.
In
comparison, almost half (42%) feel that their in-store experience deteriorates
during the festive period with busy stores, queues and a limited number of
staff to deal with requests some of the main reasons that people feel high
street shopping at Christmas is worse than any other time of the year.
The
quarterly eCSI study has been tracking people’s Christmas shopping habits since
2008 and has found that consumers are increasingly turning to the internet and
their online devices for better deals and more choice as household budgets
continue to be squeezed.
Derek
Eccleston, Commercial Director at eDigitalResearch, says: “Back in 2010 just
35% of smartphone owners said that they would even consider doing Christmas
shopping from their devices. This Christmas, retailers are likely to see
more festive purchases through mobile sites and apps than ever before. As a
result, retailers and brands need to ensure that they are ready for the usual
Christmas shopping spree and provide a seamless shopping experience no matter
what channel a consumer uses. The customer experience has to be right from the
offset – from a simple, yet inviting homepage right through to fulfilling
orders on time as promised and ensuring that gifts arrive in time for the big
day”.
Andy Mulcahy, Editor at IMRG, adds: “It is little wonder that
such a high percentage of people (64%) say they are planning to do more
shopping through their phones this Christmas; we’ve seen sales through mobile
devices (smartphones and tablets) grow rapidly over the past few years,
accounting for 23% of online sales in Q2 of 2013 with site visits at 34%. To
put in perspective the rate at which confidence in the channel has grown, three
years ago at the start of 2010, sales through mobile devices stood at just 0.4%
of online sales.”
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