The Survey Says!

Several recent surveys confirm what we all know, and that is there is a consistent up-tick in on-line shopping.  Several articles published in a recent issue of Internet Retailer Magazine, indicates that “more people are shopping online, more frequently”.  To prove this point the median year over year online sales growth among the Top 1000 retailers was 10.5% last year.  Also noted is the fact that more consumers are flocking to Amazon.com because of their massive selection, competitive prices and Prime Membership Program benefits.

Earlier this year Internet Retailer queried 500 US adult online shoppers to get a better sense of their purchasing preferences.  Some interesting facts in addition to the continued growth of online shopping, more folks are shopping on mobile devices and are expecting “Free Shipping.”  63% of the survey respondents indicated they made more than half of their purchases on the Amazon site.

Other interesting survey facts:

• 60% of survey respondents indicated they, or a member of their household were Amazon Prime members

• 89% of the folks stated that they thought online shopping was safe

• 32% said they would pay the shipping costs if required

• 49% stated that at time of checkout, if their orders did not qualify for free shipping, they simply ordered more to meet the free shipping threshold

• 54% said they ordered products online, but opted to pick up the merchandise at the store

So with web sales increasing 15.1% in the first quarter of 2016 and totaling $86.3 billion in the same quarter of 2016, it’s clear that this is a trend that will continue to grow.

An interesting observation which comes from this survey and other online buying statistics is the obvious need for all retailers to continually and consistently improve the online buying experience of their customers.  Having said that, we question whether some retailers really understand what their customer expectations really are.  All retailers would be wise to follow the “Amazon Effect” to better understand why so many folks flock to the Amazon.com website to purchase products as they are obviously the “leader of the pack.”