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A new study by logistics company Ryder System Inc. reveals what retail experts have been reminding brands all along: Omnichannel is the way to go.
The study titled “The Influence of Omnichannel Excellence on Consumer Behavior” found that 61% of consumers shopped in-store mainly because they actually enjoyed the experience, including being able to try items on and compare products.
- Meanwhile, 35% said they preferred in-store shopping because they didn’t want to wait for their e-commerce orders to arrive in the mail.
As always, there were of course some products customers just prefer buying in stores, like apparel and cosmetics.
- The study found 41% of cosmetics shoppers said they either like buying them at a physical store or a department/convenience store.
- As for apparel, 54% said they like buying products in the same physical locations.
And to whoever said brick and mortar is dead, the irony is shoppers even preferred physical stores for their online returns.
- The study found 55% of the 1,306 US shoppers surveyed said they preferred returning online purchases in stores, while 40% said they end up buying additional items when picking up or returning online purchases.
This does not mean online or mobile are not important but instead, they seem to complement each other: 77% of shoppers said they searched for products on their mobile devices while they were in-store, while 69% compared the prices of the items with nearby stores, and 58% checked for availability at other stores.