Mood Media and Retail Week launched a study (downloadable with registration) on the British consumer and found that 75% of all Britons prefer to shop in a store rather than online, as stores offer shopping experiences that online stores cannot. Also, 71.2% of British respondents said they would want to buy at the same number of retail stores as they did last year. In addition, respondents are optimistic about their own purchasing power with 76% expecting to have more financial resources available this year, than last year, although retailers are expecting a fall in customers during 2017.
For the study, Moodmedia and the weekly Retail Week surveyed a total of 2,000 consumers from the UK and Northern Ireland on their purchasing behaviour. In addition, interviews were conducted with selected store managers and retail managers.
For the 18 to 24-year-olds, 92.6% would prefer to visit a store with music and visual stimuli, and 34.2% use their smartphones when shopping for social media activities. Around 90% of the 18 to 34-year-olds, claim to use their smartphone when they shop, with 27.1% using it to compare prices.
Of the 2,000 consumers surveyed, 56.3% said they would like to receive redeemable promotions on their phones when in store. This was most marked in the 18-24 age group, with 80.5% interested, and in the 25-34 category, where 78.7% agreed.
For new technologies, 47.9% of respondents would like to see promotions in VR, on interactive screens and see personalised offer on their smartphones.
Shoppers in Oxford Street in London
