Top Places to Shop
The rise of ecommerce in recent years cannot be denied. In fact, the ecommerce share of retail sales has been increasing over the past few years and is forecast to grow even further in the coming years.
But what does that mean for shopping habits?
Top places to shop in 2023
The latest data shows that despite the internet age we live in, brick-and-mortar stores remain consumers’ top place to buy things. Nearly half (43%) of global consumers say that they carry out the majority of their daily and weekly purchases by visiting a physical store in person, making brick-and-mortar stores the most popular place to shop.
The preference for visiting physical stores is driven by consumers’ want for better social interaction. In fact, it is listed as the biggest pro of in-store shopping, with as many as 81% of consumers saying they shop in-store to enjoy improved personal interactions.
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73% of consumers say they shop in-store because they experience better customer service from shop personnel, and 71% say they do so because it offers more secure ways to pay.
There’s no question that the internet and the growth of ecommerce are changing the way consumers shop. Despite the online options, visiting a store in person, picking out items of interest, and purchasing them on the spot continue to prove popular among consumers. The share of consumers shopping in-store has hovered between 40% and 49% since 2016, with its peak of 49% coming in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced brick-and-mortar stores to close.
Popular places to shop online
As the ecommerce share of retail sales increases year after year, it should come as no surprise that, more and more, consumers are taking to online shopping to acquire items.
Aside from visiting a physical retail shop, consumers today are also taking advantage of the internet, which is why many consumers’ top places to shop are now online.
The most popular places to shop online include mobile or smartphones, which 34% of consumers say they use for their weekly and daily shopping. This number has been rising in recent years, growing from just 12% in 2016.
PCs and tablets are also very popular places to shop for consumers, with 23% and 15% of them using these shopping channels respectively.
Even though they aren’t as popular as shopping on smartphones or in-store, usage of PCs and tablets has also been increasing. In 2016, 19% of consumers used their PCs to shop, and just 12% did so on their tablets.