SDL Campaign Management & Analytics, a provider of technology that enables retailers to combine, analyze and understand consumer behavior across purchase channels, conducted a survey that examined the habits, beliefs and behaviors of the modern shopper. More specifically their intention and preference around the holiday season – in other words appetites toward the holiday shopping experience.

Breaking the survey down, there were two groups of participants that were asked a series of questions to determine the expectation of consumer shopping habits. The first group was made up of more than 1,300 people in the United States and the second group consisted of 2,000 adults in the United Kingdom.

The overall findings of the more than 3,000 consumers surveyed are outlined in the following report. Key takeaways from the data that are detailed in this report include:

• In-Store versus Online Shopping This Holiday Season
• Product Quality For Price Is A Positive Influence This Holiday
• Poor Product Quality and Availability of Customer Service Rep Negatively Impact Experiences
• Majority of Holiday Shoppers Prefer to Shop On Personal Time
• People Are Not Using Social Media to Learn About Gifts

SDL Campaign Management & Analytics Finds Difference Between U.S. and U.K. Preferences for InStore versus Online Shopping This Holiday Season

According to the survey, U.S. holiday shoppers prefer an in-store experience to online shopping while U.K. consumers plan to spend the majority of their shopping budget online this December.

In the United States, the online shopping preference trailed in-store experiences by less than a twopercentage point margin, but the data is noteworthy, overall, because online shopping has appeared to outpace in-store shopping more recently.

The U.K. research put online shopping ahead of instore, with 54.2% of spend going online. While these groups differ in their preference, the overall results point to the importance of retailers to focus on omnichannel retailing.

In fact, all indicators are supporting the point that while Cyber Monday numbers were up this year, shopping in a physical store isn’t going away. Industry estimations state that e-commerce transactions reached around $1.5 billion during Cyber Monday up from last year, according to comScore.

According to an article in Wired “The National Retail Federation says its survey results show spending over the Black Friday weekend topped $59 billion. Divided across four days, that’s nearly $15 billion per day. Even if a full $1 billion of those sales each day took place online, that’s still less than 7% of total spending. This is consistent with e-commerce’s share of consumer spending any other time of year. All of which leads to a less-than-revolutionary dog-bites-man headline: People still shop in stores. A lot.”

While there is a split between the U.S. and U.K. preferences for shopping in-store versus online, overall in-store experiences are preferred by both U.S. and U.K. consumers as a way to interact with a product. And, many research gifts in-store before buying through a different channel.

Additionally, for more than half (54.8%) of adults older than 55, U.K. s h o p p e r s spend will be in-store, while more than two thirds (66.7%) of all age groups have c o m p a r e d in store and online prices for items while on the High Street.

Following are the top three responses that most influenced IN-STORE preferences for both U.S. and U.K. consumers surveyed by SDL Campaign Management & Analytics:

[Download PDF to see Table]

Convenience and price are the top factors influencing holiday shopping decision making online in both the United States and United Kingdom. Following are the top three responses that most influenced ONLINE preferences for U.S. and U.K. consumers participating in the SDL Campaign Management & Analytics survey:

[Download PDF to see Table]

Interestingly, nearly 10 percent (8.9%) of U.K. online shopping will take place on a smartphone, tablet or iPad, with 25-34 year olds most likely to buy holiday gifts through a mobile device or tablet, at 15%.

“With the data from those surveyed showing a close margin between in-store and online preferences, we believe this holiday season will be made up of customer experiences from multiple channels,” said Bob Hale, CEO of SDL Campaign Management & Analytics division.

SDL Campaign Management & Analytics Finds Product Quality For Price Is A Positive Influence This Holiday

Given a choice on what will positively influence U.S. holiday shoppers experience almost half (40.1%) said that product quality for the price. Similarly, POOR product quality for the price stands out as negatively influencing U.S. consumers holiday shopping experiences this year.

[Download PDF to see Pie Charts]

From a U.K. shopper perspective, some additional influencers this holiday include:

• More than two thirds (68.8%) are influenced by online product reviews
• More than three quarters (76.5%) of shoppers are influenced by postage and packaging costs when shopping online
• Nearly two thirds (65.8%) of shoppers are influenced by returns policies
• Customer service is highly valued with over half (54.4%) of shoppers being influenced by in-store assistance

SDL Campaign Management & Analytics Finds Majority of Holiday Shoppers Prefer to Shop On Personal Time

Regardless of where or why they are shopping, a vast majority of holiday shoppers – more than 80% of this year’s U.S. respondents – say they prefer to shop on personal time, and more than half (56.2%) of U.K.

respondents prefer to do their shopping outside of working hours.

Following is a look at the specific times during the day when and where U.S. consumers are shopping:

[Download PDF to see Bar Chart]

Overwhelmingly, U.S. shoppers prefer to shop during personal time, with evening garnering 91.2% of the responses. The specific time preferences for the U.S. in order are:

[Download PDF to see Table]

Looking at the differences between in-store and online, U.S. consumers preference to shop in-store is in the afternoon from 1:30 – 4:59. In fact, 69.2% of respondents prefer this time of day for in-store shopping. Conversely, 86% of U.S. respondents prefer to shop online in the late evening from 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

[Download PDF to see Bar Chart]

SDL Campaign Management & Analytics Finds People Not Using Social Media to Learn About Gifts

Despite buzz around social media, people in both the United States and United Kingdom are using other resources to learn about products they want to buy this holiday season. The top three resources being used in both the United States and United Kingdom are:

[Download PDF to see Table]

The bottom three resources being used in both the United States and United Kingdom for learning about products fall in the social media category:

[Download PDF to see Table]

The Changing Face of Holiday Retail

It is clear that there is a changing face of holiday retail – and everyday retail in general. Retailers need to fully acknowledge the growing power of consumers and, for retail marketers, shift their strategies accordingly.

A new study conducted with Forrester Research revealed that one in five consumers is visiting brick-and-mortar stores to try products in-person, but then checking for the best price online. Research like this, added to the SDL Campaign Management & Analytics findings point to the evolution of omni channel for customers and retailers.

To gain the insights that drive results, retailers need to integrate and analyze inputs across all channels, both on- and off-line. In the end, consumers still have only a set amount to spend and so retailers must focus on customer engagement – and not just for the holiday season made up of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but for 365 days of the year.

Who Informed the picture: The demographics

The greatest percentage of survey respondents in the United States were: well-educated, 45–60 year old males with a household income between $50,000 –$99,999.

[Download PDF to see Pie Charts]