Shoppers get phy-gital
In their study, ‘Discover the Phy-gital Shopper: A Survey by Mindtree’ (.pdf), the global I.T. and outsourcing firm found that shoppers in the U.S. now mix and match physical (phy-) and digital (-gital) shopping in ways that are convenient to them.
According to Mindtree, such behavior has “flipped the traditional supply and demand model” in that “demand now discovers supply”.
Their survey of 2,400 U.S. consumers found that 60% combine in-store and online purchases and expect a seamless experience across all channels. Furthermore, a third (33%) want to be able to take advantage of in-store technology to locate products and lessen check-out times to speed up the shopping experience.
To make the most of their shopping experience, nearly all (90%) are willing to share personal information. However, social media doesn’t get a look-in with just 4% saying they want to network on social with retailers.
According to Doug Stephens, Retail and Consumer Futurist; Founder of Retail Prophet, ecommerce will become “increasingly physical, tactile and immersive” while the in-store experience will be “significantly more web like, connected and data-rich”.
“In time,” says Stephens, “the lines between the two formats will become so blurred it will be difficult to know if the retail experience we’ve just had was digital or physical.”