Consumers are forecast to spend £42.4bn this Christmas, a £1.5bn increase on last year caused by a growing customer engagement with digital technology as retailers adopt a multi-channel model.
Recent statistics from Deloitte see sales rising by 4 per cent year on year, with online spending accounting for 13 per cent of sales during December, but 50 per cent of total market growth.
Some 40 per cent of physical shop sales – equivalent to £15bn – will be digitally influenced, meaning consumers will use some form of digital technology to inform or facilitate their purchase
“Growth in the influence of digital on physical retail has been driven by consumers’ desire to access information on products and services, compare prices and increasingly pay and transact via digital devices,” said Deloitte head of retail Ian Geddes.
So, retailers that have invested in app development as an alternative to in-store shopping – to catch those pesky online shoppers – may find that the digital experience needs to be integrated into the in-store shopping experience too.
“As investment in in-store digital technologies increases, such as mobile payments to facilitate faster, more convenient transactions and beacon technology to track shoppers in-store and deliver personalised messages and promotions, so will the digital influence on the physical environment,” Geddes said.
“Just as physical retailers have benefited from the growth of click-and-collect, technology investment in-store will increase the number of shop visitors who buy and how much they spend, as well as help join the online and offline worlds,” he added.
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