Online shopping to hit £50 billion by 2018
E-retail is set to grow by almost 50% over the next five years – and will be worth over £50 billion in 2018, according to new research from Verdict.
The research suggests that one of the key drivers for the growth is the fact that an increasing number of shoppers consider online shopping to be as enjoyable, or even more enjoyable, than traditional shopping.
In a survey of over 10,000 online shoppers, only 4% more people considered physical shopping to be more enjoyable than online, compared to a 25% gap 18 months ago.
“Rather than push online spend outdoors, the rapid adoption of touch screen tablets and smartphones has moved online shopping into the living room,” said Verdict lead analyst Patrick O’Brien.
“67% said they shopped from their living room, indicating that second screening has had a major impact. This, together with the ability to browse on smartphones wherever you are, and social media, has made online shopping a much more immersive and interactive experience than it was only a few years ago, when more shoppers tended to be restricted to desktops typically located away from the living room.”
While mobile devices are playing a major role in the rise of ‘showrooming’ – the use of smartphones to check prices of competitors while browsing in stores – their impact is also being felt in the home.
“Rather than making consumers agnostic about where they make their purchases, smartphones and tablets are used in stores mainly to check prices and product details,” added O’Brien.
“The idea that showrooming customers are wielding their smartphones in stores to purchase from rival retailers en masse is a myth. Only 2% of online shoppers say they have purchased while at a retailer, but 97% say they shop online at home and 15% at work. Mobile phone users generally prefer to wait until they are on a secure and trusted network before committing to a purchase.”
The research also found that 12% of all online spend is via tablets, spending an average of £527 per person per year.
