Shoppers across the board are more likely to shop online than in-store, a recent survey carried out by Tealeaf shows. E Commerce sales in the UK have surpassed those of shop sales for the first time.
The survey, carried out online by over 2000 people aged between 18 and 55+, shows that people of all ages are more likely to research a product online than in-store, with over 82% doing their research online. It also shows that people are more likely to purchase retail goods online than in a shop, with the exception of 18-24 year olds – possibly because people are less likely to have a credit or debit card with which to shop online at this age.
The survey shows that upwards of 80% of people use their computer to research travel and holiday plans, compared with less than a quarter who will visit a travel agent. More than two thirds of people will then go on to pay for travel arrangements online, with less than 1/5 buying their holidays from high street travel agents.
More than a quarter of people over 45 still shop using catalogues, whereas less than 12% of people aged between 18-34 do so. Conversely, 18-34 year olds are more than twice as likely as 45-55+ year olds to buy online using the mobile web on a smartphone, with a somewhat unsurprising 2% of people over 55 using this method.
The mobile web, on both smartphones and tablets, is most likely to be used for research by 25-34 year olds, followed closely by people aged 18-24 and 35-44 – with over 36% of people in these age ranges doing so. Fewer than 10% of people over 55 use the mobile web to conduct research on either a smartphone or a tablet.
People aged 25-34 are also the most likely to purchase things on their smartphones, with 29% doing so using the mobile web, and 20% doing so using an app. While people across the board are far more likely to use the mobile web than an app to do research on their mobile devices, the gap narrows when it comes to actually buying something, particularly with the younger three age groups. Fewer than 5% of people above 55 will use a mobile device to purchase anything.
Overall, we’re seeing a dramatic rise in the number of people using the web to both conduct research and purchase items, with online sales now creeping higher than those in-store. This pattern is particularly prevalent among those in their twenties and thirties, with the older generation tending to stick to the more traditional modes of shopping. For sustainable e-commerce solutions speak to Vino today.
