Consumers plan to keep shopping online, despite stores reopening

As economies reopen and tourism resumes, the vast majority of shoppers are expected to continue to shop online, according to research from Qubit, a leader in AI-powered personalization.

The findings were released from a survey of 1,500 U.S. and U.K. consumers that highlight the remarkable trends in changing shopper behaviour as a result of the effects of a lengthy global pandemic. Despite the opening of stores around the world, 85.9 percent of consumers plan to continue shopping the same or more online. Furthermore, the survey reveals that the 2021 holiday season could be the biggest yet for online shopping.

Online shopping surged 25.7 percent globally in 2020

27.7 percent of UK shoppers (32.4 percent in the U.S.) expect to shop more online than during last year’s holidays. However, customer experience challenges remain as 87.6 percent of consumers say they are faced with an overwhelming amount of product choices some, always or most of the time.

“While 2020 was record-breaking for online shopping, we are seeing that global circumstances have espoused persistent changes in shopper behavior,” said Tracey Ryan O’Connor, Chief Revenue Officer at Qubit. “Many consumers have grown accustomed to shopping online. This is extremely important for brands to be aware of as they begin planning for the 2021 holiday season, which may outpace 2020’s gains online considerably. To fully leverage the growth in ecommerce, retailers must factor in how consumers shop to meet customer expectations on the experiences they deliver, ensuring they’re aligned with current shopping trends.”

Additional survey findings from Qubit include 64.1 of consumers will continue to shop online for fashion with 47 percent shopping online for beauty.