A new report suggests that online shopping is not going to kill the high street.
Online Vs Instore has been published by The Market Creative, and found that 75% of consumers wouldn’t desert the high street for digital.
Nearly half (47%) said they preferred to get a feel for products in person, while 23% enjoyed the social side of going to the shops.
Speaking to more than 1000 shoppers, the Manchester agency was trying to understand the relationship between shopping in-store and online.
18% believed that stores should develop a “more community spirit than consumerist feel.”
“Declining footfall and shop closures paint a gloomy picture of the high street. But we shouldn’t underestimate just how much we as a nation love the experience of spending time with friends and family out shopping. The need to see and try products in the flesh will also continue to send shoppers out into towns and city centres,” said Sue Benson, managing director at The Market Creative.
“A call for retailers to focus more on their communities and less on consumerism means building a richer experience, promoting shopping together, delivering an exceptional service, and encouraging play and engagement on a deeper, less transactional level.”
60% of shoppers said they preferred to go in store at some point, with 88% adding that staff on the shop floor had a big influence on whether they enjoyed shopping.
Shopping purely online was preferred by 40% of those questioned.
