Our lives have changed dramatically over the past year due to the global pandemic. Social distancing has become a part of everyday life, many of us have had to adapt to working from home and our shopping habits have changed significantly. Since the UK went into lockdown last March, non-essential shops have been closed for long periods of time, meaning both businesses and consumers have had to adapt.
Online shopping has been increasing in popularity over recent years, due to its simplicity and efficiency and sadly, it has resulted in many highstreet stores having to close. As our shopping habits have now taken a more online approach rather than visiting physical stores, CallCare wanted to explore this in detail and see exactly what consumers want from an online experience.
During 2020, which shopping methods were the most common for buying essentials?
The survey carried out by CallCare found that during 2020, shopping online was the most common way of purchasing essentials with 51.38% of the vote. It’s no surprise that visiting physical stores is still very popular and will continue to be post-pandemic. The survey revealed that 43.25% of respondents were still happy to do their shopping in store, whilst many people felt more comfortable acquiring their essentials online.
For some people, it has still been important to try and support local businesses and produce. Although the figures were significantly less than those shopping online and in physical stores, local retailers made up 3.50% of the vote, whilst 1.13% of people bought from farm shops.
Which shopping methods have you been using to buy non-essential items?
As the country was told to stay home and only leave the house for essential items including shopping for essentials, it created a huge online demand for non-essential items. The methods for online shopping followed the same pattern as they did for essential items, but the gap between each method was more significant. A staggering 67.50% of shopping was completed online, compared to 25.37% which was completed in physical stores.
These figures alone go to show just how much online shopping increased during 2020 and it’s unlikely the demand is going to decrease. It’s important that businesses take note of these findings and adapt to the future needs of consumers.
It’s crucial that a brand has good relationships with its customers and it’s important for them to understand exactly what consumers value. According to CallCare’s survey, 52.25% of people said that value for money is what they look for the most in a brand. Reputation was also seen as a good quality to have with 18.63% of respondents in agreement, as well as good customer service at 14.63%.
It’s predicted that over time, more and more shopping will be completed online and if anything, the events of 2020 have accelerated this shift. Now is the time to see how consumers are shopping and adapt their business for a future which is predominantly online.