According to a new survey, a quarter of U.K. consumers feel that their online shopping experience is "significantly better" or "slightly better" during the holiday shopping period, thanks to special deals and a bigger range of products on offer. Just seven percent feel that it gets worse.
In comparison, almost half (42 percent) feel that their in-store experience deteriorates during the holiday. Crowded stores, long lines and limited number of staff to deal with requests were some of the main reasons.
The survey of 2,000 online consumers from eDigitalResearch and IMRG also found that almost all respondents (96 percent) will shop online this holiday period, with 48 percent purchasing at least half of their holiday gifts on the internet.
Of smartphone owners, 44 percent said they will consider doing some of their holiday shopping online. In 2010, only 35 percent of smartphone owners said that they would consider doing holiday shopping from their devices.
The 2013 UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper report, based on a survey of more than 14,000 consumers globally, also found rising satisfaction with the overall online shopping experience. U.S. consumers rated the online experience the highest at 83 percent.
The UPS survey, conducted by comScore and released last week, found that seven out of 10 of online consumers prefer accessing their favorite multi-channel retailers through a digital channel. Of those surveyed globally, 46 percent said they are less likely to comparison shop when using a mobile app, and 47 percent want a coupon/promotion sent to them because a retailer knows they are in-store or nearby.