One in three Brits use the high street just to window-shop, using mobile phones to compare prices, save details for buying online at home or make purchases, according to new research.
The study, commissioned for digital wallet provider Skrill as part of its Future of Money campaign, uncovers an evolving shopping ecosystem, where the high street, online and mobile co-exist to deliver an all round experience.
Although 82% of British adults bought online in 2012, the Skrill research reveals the high street is still playing a role in driving today’s behaviours. When out shopping, 22.8% of Brits have compared prices on their mobile, while a third have saved the details of an item in store in order to complete check-out on the web (33.6%) or have seen something in a store but ordered it online at another time (33.8%).
A small, but potentially significant, 7.4% of high street shoppers have even used their mobile phone as an alternative check-out and purchased goods whilst in store, a figure that rises to 10.1% for those aged 25-34 years.
Siegfried Heimgaertner, Skrill CEO commented: “Our research has uncovered an emerging generation of shopper, one who is combining their mobile device with the internet to reach an alternative retail check-out process.
While we see cries of the ‘death of the high street’, consumers continue to leave the house for shopping inspiration, even if they then make the purchase via a smartphone or at home on the computer. As a result, we see an opportunity for high street retailers to turn browsers into buyers whilst in-store.
We expect this trend to continue as people look to remove traditional cash and card transactions, replacing them with online and mobile payments such as Skrill 1-Tap, for added speed and convenience. It will be fascinating to see what’s in-store for the future of shopping, with physical stores, online and mobile all incorporated into the retail experience.”
Methodology
The Skrill research data was supplied by OnePoll from an online survey of 2,000 UK adults weighted by gender, age and region.
Source: Skrill
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How many retailers have a strategy and the resources to act just as a showroom on the High Street ? This is particularly for the small and medium size retailers. The big multiples such as Tesco or Walmart/Asda don’t form a viable High Street.