Boundaries between online and offline shopping disappear - the product determines the place of purchase
According to a Nielsen study, more and more consumers no longer separate analog and digital shopping. However, there is also a trend toward fresh produce, which is being ordered online more and more.
This is the result of the Connected Commerce study by Nielsen, a global performance management company that provides information and insights into consumers' media and consumption behavior. In 63 countries around the world, the study investigated how consumers feel about online and offline purchasing, which products they buy on which channel, and how they find out about them. The study also shows which digital technologies consumers already use when shopping.
"The boundaries between online and offline retail are becoming increasingly blurred. Stationary stores are opening up more and more to online activities and are becoming increasingly digital. The strict separation between online and offline has had its day in the minds of most consumers, and they are increasingly shopping across the board," says Judith Kuiper, Managing Director Nielsen Switzerland.
The product determines the point of purchase - Durable products as digital door openers
66 percent of the Swiss say they have bought travel on the Internet at least once (Europe 47%). Event tickets follow in second place with 56 percent (Europe 41%) and fashion with 56 percent (Europe 52%). Judith Kuiper: "It is striking that these values are even above the European average. For everyday goods, however, online purchasing has not yet established itself to the same extent. One of the reasons for this is the comparatively high density of stores in Switzerland. The incentive to buy online is still relatively low for most people if the nearest stationary retailer can be found right next door."
Consumers prefer to buy some products in stores and others online. Most products that are predominantly purchased online are services and technology products. On the other hand, the Swiss most frequently buy packaged foods, fresh foods and wine and beverages in stores. All these products have one thing in common: the proportion of consumers who buy them predominantly online is very low. More often, a combination of online and offline purchases is preferred.
"Shelf-stable products and services have been something of a door opener for e-commerce and continue to be popular. However, we are seeing that online food purchases are also becoming more popular, and traditional supermarkets as well as pure players like amazon are stepping up their activities," Kuiper says.
Digital tools for shopping in the supermarket
Regardless of whether consumers ultimately buy offline or online, the use of digital aids in everyday shopping is becoming increasingly diverse. More than a third of the Swiss already use self-service checkouts (36%, Europe 23%) and almost one in two can imagine doing so in the future (41%, Europe 55%). Even though only eight percent of the Swiss have so far ordered online to pick up the product in the store (Europe 11%), 47 percent can already imagine doing so in this country (Europe 50%). Fourteen percent use online shopping slips and almost half can imagine doing so in the future (48%, Europe 56%).
Fresh meal at the touch of a button as a newcomer to digital shopping
Online retailing is also giving rise to new forms of food shopping. "Cooking packages are a good example of how analog topics such as selecting specific foods for a dish can shift into the digital world. As a result, entirely new forms of commerce and business are developing. The ingredients are delivered directly to the home, including the recipe," says Judith Kuiper. "Restaurant delivery services and cooking packages strike a chord with consumers who are looking for practical and individual solutions that not only save time but also best suit their personal lifestyle. This now goes far beyond the classic pizza delivery service." More than one in ten Swiss consumers say (16%) they have ordered cooking packages or restaurant deliveries online (Europe 19%).
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About the study
The Nielsen Global Connected Commerce Survey was conducted between October 31 and November 18, 2016. Nielsen surveyed more than 30,000 consumers in 63 countries across Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Africa and North America. The sample is quota-weighted by age and gender for each country based on their respective Internet users. It thus represents the country's Internet users and has a maximum global variation of ±0.6 percent. This Nielsen online survey is based exclusively on the behavior of respondents with Internet access. Internet penetration varies by country. For a country to be included in the survey, Nielsen requires that at least 60 percent of the population, or ten million people, have Internet access.
