Study: The ins and outs of online shopping

E-commerce is generally popular with consumers, but some offerings are better received than others.



According to the Walker Sands 2016 Future of Retail Study, based on a survey of more than 1,400 U.S. respondents, most consumers shop online with some level of frequency. Forty percent shop online once or more a month, 21% one- to two-times a week, and 7% three or more times a week. This means that about two-thirds (68%) shop online at least monthly, while only 4% shop online one- to three-times a year.



For retailers who want to encourage more e-commerce activity, top enticements to shop online include free shipping (88%), one-day shipping (69%), free returns/exchanges (68%), easier online returns (58%) and same-day shipping (49%).



Respondents have different preferences for what channels they use to purchase what products. Consumers favor online over store purchases for books (68%), electronics (67%), and office supplies (51%). However, brick-and-mortar is the preferred channel for purchasing food/grocery (92%), CPG (77%) and clothing/apparel (76%).



Looking at some emerging omnichannel commerce technologies, the survey found that for respondents who have never used in-store mobile tracking and push notification services (such as beacons), the top incentive to try them would be discounts/coupons (61%). Other popular incentives include loyalty rewards (47%) and faster checkout (34%).



Concerns preventing consumers who have never used in-store mobile tracking and push notification services include privacy and fear of message overload (64%) and security (55%).



When asked what products they would consider shopping for using virtual reality technology, respondents’ popular choices included clothing/apparel (57%), electronics (41%), and household goods (40%).



Usage rates of popular mobile payment apps for in-store purchases are relatively low, including Android Pay (19%), retailer mobile app (12%), Apple Pay (11%), Samsung Pay (3%) and MasterPass (2%).



Eighty-six percent of respondents have some level of concerns over mobile pay. Specific concerns include security (61%), privacy (58%), and mobile payment not accepted widely enough (31%).