The majority of US consumers are increasingly changing retail channels during their shopping experience and plan to research and purchase more frequently via their mobile devices while free shipping continues to drive purchasing decisions, the fourth UPS study ‘UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper’ showed.
Conducted in cooperation with the digital data measurement company comScore, the customer experience study looks into e-commerce preferences of American consumers. These include mobile trends, social media impact and the integrated buying experience of shopping in physical stores and online, also known as omnichannel retailing.
Free shipping remains the most important option during checkout according to 77% of online shoppers. More than half (60%) have added items to their cart to qualify for free shipping.
According to the report, only 62% of consumers are satisfied with the online returns process: 67% review a retailer's return policy before making a purchase while 66% want free return shipping. The majority (58%) want a hassle-free "no questions asked" return police and 47% would like to have an easy-to-print return label.
What is new in this year’s study surveying 5,000 US consumers earlier this year is that most consumers (93%) like to shop at small local retailers, with 61% of the respondents favouring these locations because of the unique products they offer while 49% said they couldn’t find what they needed from traditional stores. 40% said they wanted to support the small business community
The study also revealed a strong trend towards cross-border shopping, with 40% of the respondents having purchased from retailers based outside the USA. Nearly half (49%) of them named better prices as the main reason for favouring foreign shops while 35% couldn’t find the items they were looking for at the US stores.
In terms of the shopping channels, US consumers tend to switch between different channels during their shopping experience. Better prices (57%) and selection (49%) were cited as top reasons for purchasing online after researching an item in-store. Nearly half (48%) of online shoppers have used ‘ship to store’ in the past year, and 45% of those consumers made an additional purchase when picking up their online purchase.
When making a purchase online from a retailer that has an online and physical store, 39% of consumers who make returns prefer to ship the product back while 61% prefer to return the item to the store themselves. When making an in-store return, 70% purchase an additional item compared to only 42% who make a new purchase while processing an online return.
Most of the survey respondents continue to use personal computers to shop and compare prices and complement their use as they become more comfortable using mobile technology: 41% use their smartphone for research while 30% make purchases. Online shoppers appreciate the convenience of smartphones on-the-go and in-store. Smartphone users plan to make more purchases on their device in the next year, the study further revealed.
The study results have also shown that retailers need to continue to advance their mobile platforms as 38% who have a mobile device but do not use it to make purchases said product images are not large or clear enough, and 30% said it is hard to compare products. Many consumers connect to shopping activities through social media with 43% reporting they discover new products on social media sites. Facebook is the most influential channel but shoppers also embrace visually-oriented sites such as Pinterest.
Compared to last year's study, more consumers are open to alternative delivery options. In 2014, 26% said they prefer to have packages delivered to locations other than their home. This year, the figure rose to 33%. When being not at home to sign for a package, 32% want it to be shipped to another convenient retail location.
"The future of retail is driven by ever increasingly sophisticated and savvy shoppers who research at home and in a store, but more are turning to mobile as capabilities improve for online product display and promotion," Alan Gershenhorn, UPS executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said. "They also want more flexibility and alternate delivery options. The UPS Access Point Network and UPS My Choice meet these needs by giving consumers more control and flexibility with their home deliveries."
