E-tailers with physical stores
outperform those without: Report
Publish Date: May 12,
2016
Retailers with robust
omni-channel strategies backed by physical stores generate the most online
sales, according to a survey of 1,000 consumers conducted April 8–10 by ICSC
Research. “By now it has become readily apparent that the relationship between
online retail and physical stores is not strictly an either-or proposition,”
said Jean Lambert, ICSC’s director of research. “Omni-channel retail has
integrated the platforms to a far greater extent than was deemed possible even
a few years ago. Talk of one type of consumer versus another no longer makes
sense, since each platform ends up being used on the consumer journey.”
Roughly 70 percent of
those surveyed said they had made a purchase online in the 30 days previous,
with expenditures averaging $178.30 each and sales taking place at
all types of online retailers. Nearly 80 percent of the respondents
between the ages of 35 and 44 said they had made a purchase online — the
survey's highest-represented age bracket to do so.
Online retailers with
physical stores tended to draw more traffic, according to the survey, and those
with click-and-collect capabilities drew even more. Nearly 50 percent of the
respondents said they had bought online from a retailer with a physical
presence. Just over 36 percent used the click-and-collect method: buying online
and picking up in-store. Roughly 35 percent of the respondents purchased things
online and then had the merchandise shipped to their homes.
Respondents were
likelier to spend more at those retailers that have physical stores. On
average, they spent $90.60 each online at retailers with a physical presence,
versus an average expenditure of $87.70 on the part of those buying from pure
online retailers. Respondents over age 18 said they had spent $47.30 on average, buying
online and opting for in-store pickup, versus $43.40 for those who bought
online and then had the merchandise shipped home. Of those buying online for
in-store pickup, 42 percent said they had spent additional money at least once
at the same store, at an adjacent establishment, or at another store within the
same shopping center. Among those who said they spent additional money when
picking up online purchases in-store, 42.1 percent said their total spending
came from the original purchase, while 57.9 percent said their total spending
came from additional purchases.
As far as online
shopping is concerned, Amazon.com rules the barnyard — some 80 percent of the
respondents’ online-only spending occurred at Amazon. This equates to $70.60
each spent during the 30 days previous. Only $17.10 each on average was spent
at all the other pure online retailers.
Men seem
overwhelmingly to prefer Amazon, with expenditures there of $102.70 each, on
average, versus $40.80 each among women. Respondents with household income of
$100,000 per year or higher spent three times as much on Amazon as those with
household income of $35,000 per year or lower ($131 versus $43 each, on
average, respectively).
Lambert concluded: “It remains impossible not
to think of physical locations as central to the whole enterprise — no longer
merely a point of sale, but now transformed into a fulfillment center, a
showroom for experiencing products, the creator of a ‘halo effect’ enhancing
the retailer’s image in its trade area and a powerful branding mechanism.”
Email
Print
