The NPD Group polled a group of consumers to gauge their holiday 2018 shopping plans, and participants indicated more interest in brick-and-mortar shopping than last year.
A total of 3,605 people in the United States completed the “Holiday Purchase Intentions Survey.”
Unsurprisingly, 77 percent of survey-takers said they would do some of their holiday shopping online.
But notably, six out of 10 people said their shopping plans included in-store shopping at brick-and-mortar retailers, a 3 percent increase from last year. Forty-two percent indicated they would patronize mass merchant and discount stores, 24 percent said they would shop at national chains and 23 percent at department stores.
“While their sales are growing, retailers selling primarily online shouldn’t rest on their past success,” said The NPD Group’s Chief Industry Advisor Marshal Cohen. “They have to continue to create and find ways to close the deal more effectively and reduce the number of digital shopping carts abandoned before the final sale is completed.”
The NPD advised that retailers continue to emphasize creating the best omnichannel retail experience possible, particularly since product research happens primarily online, rather than on TV or in magazines and catalogs.
Cohen continued: “The traditional division between online and in-store retailing continues to shift and blur. Traditional store retailers are upping their online games these days, while they are also finding ways to drive traffic to stores with improved efficiency, more entertaining shopping experiences and better value.
