Over a quarter of UK shoppers prefer store to online

New research suggests that hope is not yet lost for the High Street, will 27 per cent of shoppers saying they consider the in-store experience is still ahead of online shopping.

A YouGov survey of 5,000 consumers from the UK, France and Germany for Ruckus Networks found that views on the struggles of traditional retailers were mixed, with nearly a quarter (24 per cent) saying that in-store was behind, while 21 per cent said they ‘don’t know’.

The research found that 36 per cent of respondents from all countries felt the in-store retail was ahead of e-commerce in terms of developing and expanding customer experiences.

UK shoppers said they preferred to go in-store over shopping online to purchase items after browsing (32 per cent), expressing a preference for a physical point of sale (30 per cent) and because they wanted to see the products in real-life (22 per cent.)

When asked their top choices for in-store tech, 40 per cent said they would benefit from real-time stock availability, free Wi-Fi (22 per cent) and self-service ordering stations (18 per cent).

However, the survey found that consumers were reluctant to provide their personal data in exchange for access to these services.

The survey asked respondents which services - out of personalised promotional notifications, free Wi-Fi or self-service checkout via their phone - they would be willing to provide their personal details in return for access to Wi-Fi. Across all three countries, the most popular response was “none of these”, however younger generations were more likely to provide data in exchange for services.

Only 27 per cent of those aged 18- 24 in the UK responded, “none of these”, compared to national averages of 51 per cent. Meanwhile, 42 per cent of UK respondents under 24 would provide data in exchange for free Wi-Fi, 31 per cent for self-service checkouts, and 19 per cent for personalised notifications.

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