More than half of UK shoppers would do all their shopping online if they had to choose, as they see it as the place to get a better price, better choice and will save more time. The UK is the only country in Europe to see such a majority choose ecommerce over bricks and mortar.
New data from payments company Klarna, also reveals however, that UK shoppers are keen to see seamless omnichannel retail become the norm, with Shoppers looking for inspiration and product information mainly on search engines such as Google (42%) and prefer to start their shopping journey in online stores (41%) than in physical stores (32%).
Klarna’s Quarterly Shopping Pulse, which explores evolving shopping habits across 11 countries, reveals that UK shoppers are looking to integrate new technologies in their shopping experience, both online and in-store, with flexible payments and comparison services on top of their wishlist.
It goes on to find that 80% of them believe that retailers need to continuously invest in new technologies to meet evolving consumer demands, which is more than in any other country.
Around half of shoppers believe that frictionless payments, both in store (48%) and online (46%), should be a retailer’s top priority, as UK shoppers are looking to save time from filling out lengthy checkout forms and standing in queues.
Next in line on the wishlist for innovations are technologies that provide better personalised services, such as digital recognition and product recommendations. The younger generations are also keen on virtual and augmented reality technology such as virtual stores and dressing rooms, with 40% of Millennials thinking online retailers need to invest in these technologies.
“UK shoppers are tech savvy and their online shopping preference currently ranks ahead of all the other countries in our report. Brits crave digitalisation and expect retailers to invest in new technology that gives them a better shopping experience, especially when it comes to faster checkouts and frictionless payments”, says Viveka Söderbäck, Consumer Trend Expert at Klarna.
The study goes on to show that social media is playing a growing role in UK shopping, with 32% having purchased an item after seeing it on social media during Q1. Among those that bought something, half of them (50%) did it directly from the social media platform.
Tiktok (41%) and Instagram (53%) are the most popular social media platforms to shop from for Gen Z’ers, while Instagram (52%) and Facebook (49%) are the most popular among Millennials. Facebook is also the most popular for the Gen X’ers (61%) and Baby Boomers (78%) that bought something after seeing it on social media.
