A new survey of UK consumers provides brands and retailers with actionable insights into when, where, and how they shop online, ahead of the festive season. ChannelAdvisor Corporation, a provider of cloud-based eCommerce solutions, has published the results of its 2022 E-Commerce Consumer Survey.
The research measures the shopping behaviours of over 5,000 respondents in the UK, US, Europe and Australia. The global survey found consumers in the UK trust Amazon for product research significantly more than any other channel. Social media was found to be the least trusted platform.
The results of the survey offer brands and retailers actionable insights into the current perspectives of online shoppers. It found 48% of consumers in the UK trust Amazon for product research, compared to 4% who trust social media. Despite this lack of trust in social media, 22% of respondents discovered products through sites like Instagram and TikTok.
The survey results also revealed how inflation and rising costs are affecting consumer purchasing decisions. In addition to their priorities when conducting online research before or during an in-store shopping experience. Despite the cost of living increasing, three-quarters of UK consumers claimed they are spending the same amount or more online as they were compared to last year.
“To stay competitive and agile in this changing environment, brands and retailers must first understand how, where and why consumers are shopping,” said Mike Shapaker, chief marketing officer at ChannelAdvisor. “There are certainly encouraging signs for those operating in the UK as, despite strong headwinds, consumers are still spending online. While consumers continue buying online, these purchases will be more considered. It is important to understanding how these decisions are made, will be vital.”
Key UK findings
- Amazon has become the top channel for consumer research. Nearly nine out of ten consumers using the eCommerce platform for assessing products.
- Retail media ads are influencing consumer purchase decisions with 41% of respondents saying they’d purchased after seeing an Amazon advert.
- The 2022 festive season will continue to involve heavy online research and purchasing activity because of consumers’ shrewd spending philosophy.
Journeys involve more activity across retail sites and marketplaces
- 85% of UK consumers use multiple digital touchpoints during their buying journey.
- 71% of consumers tend to use multiple marketplaces on a regular basis for browsing, shopping or buying.#
- 16% of consumers regularly use three marketplaces on a regular basis for browsing, shopping or buying. 11% use four or more
- 33% of consumers have purchased an item from a foreign retail site or marketplace in the past 12 months.
- These purchases are more frequent among younger consumers (54% of 18- to 25-year-olds) than older consumers (19% of consumers aged 65+).
- 47% of UK consumers have used click and collect in the past 12 months.
Marketplaces are the most common channels to discover products
- 89% of UK consumers browse items on marketplaces or retail sites without the direct intention to purchase something.
- 42% of UK consumers “discovered” products they’ve purchased in the past 12 months by browsing marketplaces.
Retail media advertising essential for product awareness
- 32% of UK consumers have clicked on a sponsored or promoted ad that they saw on a marketplace or retail site in the past 12 months. This lags behind other regions as the global figure is 10% higher.
- This activity is higher among younger shoppers (60% of consumers aged 18-25 and 49% of consumers aged 26-35).
- 41% of consumers have purchased an item on Amazon after seeing an ad for that product on Amazon.
Amazon is the top channel for research in the UK
- In the past 12 months, consumers have researched products on these sites
– Facebook: 22%
– Instagram: 21%
– Google: 78%
– Amazon: 88%
– eBay: 63%
Pricing is a major factor for consumers before making a purchase
- 83% of consumers usually compare prices before making a purchase.
- 99% of consumers consider price a somewhat or very important factor in product selection.
- 64% of consumers indicated their reason for researching products online before or during shopping in-store “often” involves checking prices.
The 2022 festive season
- 85% of UK consumers plan to spend the same amount of time or more shopping for festive gifts online compared to last year.
- 20% of 18- to 25-year-old consumers plan to conduct festive shopping research on social media sites.
Enterprise Times: What this means for business.
Consumer behaviour during the last few years was forever altered by the global pandemic and the experiences that the various policies and lockdowns had on shopping and spending. Though by-products of the pandemic continue to ripple through the global retail landscape — such as currency fluctuations and supply chain challenges — a number of significant, evolving eCommerce trends have emerged that brands and retailers should keep top of mind as they navigate the next chapter in our industry.
This is an interesting report with useful information broken into key demographic and geographic segments — about modern consumers’ digital journeys. It includes where and how consumers browse for product options, research a specific product, compare prices, find alternatives to unavailable products and much more. The report provides a useful consumer perspective benchmark for brands and retailers.
