‘Convenience is key’ for UK shoppers

Written by Chris Lemmon

12/10/2017

Seven in 10 UK shoppers believe that convenience is more important to them now than it was five years ago, while shopper demand for a true cross-category one-stop-shop remains unfulfilled, according to new survey from retail agency Savvy.

The survey from retail agency Savvy found that three quarters of respondents said that they will usually choose the food retailer that is most convenient for them to use, with many stating that they have fallen out of love with large format stores.

Fast delivery is now an expectation among consumers, with 61 per cent of surveyed shoppers citing speed as the most important consideration when choosing an online retailer. A quarter of shoppers have also paid more for a product to be delivered faster.

Some 18 per cent of UK shoppers have ordered a product online for same day delivery, rising to 27 per cent for Generation Y shoppers. A quarter of Generation Y shoppers have used Amazon Prime Now, peaking amongst 25-34 year olds. This compares with 14 per cent of all UK shoppers.

The adoption of Click and Collect services has been slower to increase than home delivery. To date, a third of UK shoppers have used a retailer’s Click and Collect service, and 22 per cent have used a supermarket’s service. Some 63 per cent of UK shoppers said they would be open to trialling a service like Amazon Instant Pick-up (currently being trialled in the US) which allows shoppers to order items using a smartphone app, and then collect them from a pickup location within minutes.

Alastair Lockhart, insight director at Savvy Marketing, commented: “For all of the cyclical changes we see in the market and in consumer behaviour, for all of the new technologies, the fads and innovations, it is shoppers’ appetite for ever-increasing convenience that so often determines success from failure.

“As a nation we are all busier and as a consequence, leisure time is squeezed, so the value we place on it increases.”