A growing percentage of consumers are shopping both online and in stores for everyday items in categories including food and beverages, health and beauty care, and household cleaning products, according to new research from GfK.
According to the firm’s annual “FutureBuy” report, omnichannel behavior for key categories has increased significantly over the past year.
- Forty percent of consumers purchased beauty and personal care items online and in stores compared to 32 percent in 2016;
- Twenty-three percent bought packaged food and beverages up from 14 percent;
- Twenty-seven percent purchased over-the-counter remedies versus 21 percent the year before;
- Twenty-five percent bought household cleaning products compared to 15 percent.
When it comes to purchasing online, savings is key, according to the study. Fifty-four percent cited saving money most frequently to explain their choice of shopping destination.
As a point of contrast, saving money was only mentioned by 29 percent of those who bought in stores. Often cited factors also included being able to see an item before purchasing it (47 percent), getting the product sooner (43 percent) and buying an item as part of routine shopping trip (35 percent).
Those seeking further proof of the efficacy of an omnichannel strategy may look to yesterday’s announcement by Amazon.com that it will open pop-up shops at select Whole Foods stores in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois and Michigan. Amazon announced that more than 100 Whole Foods locations currently carry its Echo, Fire and Kindle devices.
“The goal for marketers and retailers should be to give shoppers the options they need for increasingly busy schedules — be everywhere your customers are, giving them the freedom to shop when and where they like, and they will embrace your brand,” said Joe Beier, EVP of shopper and retail strategy at GfK.
Mobile devices are becoming increasingly important when it comes to researching and making purchases in stores and online.
Adobe recently forecast that web traffic on smartphones and tablets (54 percent) will be higher than desktops (46 percent) for the first time this holiday season. While the study authors expect desktops to account for about two-thirds of online sales for Christmas, they found a correlation between “fast mobile growth” and “fast revenue growth” at higher performing companies.
