As shoppers become increasingly channel agnostic, hopping from digital
platforms to high street stores as they see fit, driven by mobile, a new
purchasing behaviour has been brought to light. New research from online
aggregated fashion and beauty promotion service SalesGossip has shown this
new shopping behaviour emerging among UK consumers, earning them the name
(S)hoppers.
According to gathered data by SalesGossip, UK shoppers are continuously
moving from mobile, to tablets to laptops and bricks and mortar stores to
browse, search and shop. Recently hitting one million users, the mobile app
and online service reports that more and more shoppers are seeking a higher
level of integration between their online, mobile and in-store experiences,
but are not afraid to move from online shopping to physical shopping as
they see fit.
66 percent of SalesGossip members actively use the online service to locate
in-store promotions and deals, which suggests their focus is not only fixed
on online retailers. In addition, 55 percent of the service’s members use
two or more devices to browse and shop online, with mobile traffic growing
50 percent faster than website traffic.
Elizabetta Camilleri, Co-Founder and CEO of SalesGossip believes that
‘pureplay’ shoppers don’t exist anymore, adding: “There is only one
category of shopper; you cannot split them into online shoppers and
in-store shoppers anymore; everyone is on the new digital to physical
spectrum. The rise of smartphones and ecommerce platforms has allowed
shopper behaviour to evolve and now, we can clearly see our (s)hoppers
moving between digital and physical channels depending on what’s most
convenient for them at any point in time.”
Mobile shopping is especially popular with (s)hoppers – over the last year,
SalesGossip noted an increase of 44 percent in the number of mobile
transactions, up from 12 percent in 2013, with mobile representing 20
percent of purchases made through all channels SalesGossip in 2015 so far.
Data also shows a 27 percent year on year increase in click-through rates
from mobile, double the increase from web. “With consumers increasingly
embracing mobile to browse, search and shop, it’s an incredibly exciting
time for the industry But it’s important to note that it is just one part
of the omni-channel experience; mobile is not a magic bullet,” added
Camilleri.
“These new (S)hoppers span all the new and traditional channels so covering
off every touch point as never been so important to retailers. (S)hoppers
expect to easily find location information on any digital device they are
using or a trip to that store might simply not happen. They expect to find
online what they saw in-store; they expect to find in-store what they saw
in a magazine or whilst browsing on their tablets. A joined up
communication strategy covering all touch points is essential in targeting
this new breed.”
“(S)hoppers have far from abandoned the high street but they’ve likely done
their research before reaching the store and so their expectations are
simply different, and higher, than the window shoppers who came before
them. Retailers are starting to understand this and cater to these
expectations will receive their cash and loyalty in return.” SalesGossip
adds that 25 percent of its traffic is from non-UK members, suggesting that
(s
)
hoppers may also be a global phenomenon rather than a UK-only.