Online retail has raised fears for the high street, but research on shifting consumer shopping habits offers hope to traditional retailers. 

Online retail has raised fears for the high street, but research on shifting consumer shopping habits offers hope to traditional retailers.

It’s a commonly held belief that online retailers grow at the expense of the High Street. However, recent research into consumer shopping habits has revealed that UK shoppers today are planning to make more purchases in a physical store than they did two years ago.

In a survey of 750 UK consumers conducted by Accenture at the end of last year, 13 per cent said they planned to increase their in-store purchasing, compared to just six per cent in 2012. This shift in consumer habits suggests that traditional high street shopping has the potential to enjoy resurgence rather than the continuing state of decline that is so often reported.

Resurgence of physical retailing

Savvy online shoppers are actually looking to visit retail outlets more frequently, indicating that the store retains a competitive advantage through offering increased levels of convenience and choice. Gone are the days where people shop online looking only for bargains as over 75% of respondents said they now expect in-store and online pricing to be the same.

Consumer attitudes and expectations towards store-based and online retailing are changing. Consumers today see these shopping channels as complimentary to, rather than in competition with each other. The rise of ‘click & collect’ is evidence of just one way where the store is holding its own as part of the modern shopping experience.

Mobilising the online experience

The research also found that the ability to check product availability online before travelling to a store is the service 35 per cent of UK shoppers believe would most improve the shopping experience. This is unsurprising, given that consumer interest in accessing in-store services via their mobile devices increased between 2012 and 2013.

In this context it is easy to understand why shoppers ranked making the in-store shopping experience highly important — at 35 per cent — compared to just 19 per cent who cited improving online shopping. This proves that, while the store still has much to do to live up to the standards of choice and convenience established with the popularity of online shopping, there are more opportunities for traditional store to compete with the virtual world than ever before.

Helen Merriott, managing director, retail, Accenture