Traditional channels still vital to customer journey – study

New research has revealed that established channels are still as important to shoppers as new and emerging touch points.

eDigitalResearch and Portaltech Reply tracked UK consumers’ multichannel shopping and browsing preferences and found 77% of smartphone owners have browsed products using catalogues.

Additionally, just 3% of those surveyed claimed they hadn’t visited a store to make a purchase in the last six months, showing traditional in-store experiences to be just as important as digital channels.

However, online and mobile channels have experienced significant growth over the past year with 84% of smartphone owners using the web and their mobile device to shop on a weekly or monthly basis, an increase from 36% in March 2011.

Mobile, in particular, has seen substantial growth. According to the research, two thirds of those smartphone owners surveyed claimed they used their device to purchase items such as books, CDs, DVDs and clothes, with the most popular purchases ranging from DIY, footwear and jewellery.  

Derek Eccleston, head of research at eDigitalResearch, said: “For retailers operating more established channels, as well as introducing new and emerging touch points, it is essential to create a dynamic and engaging multichannel strategy to involve all channels into the browsing and buying customer journey.”

Mark Adams, partner at Portaltech Reply, added, “This revolution in consumer behaviour and consumer expectations will require retailers to effectively align business strategy, process and systems to keep pace and ensure they survive and prosper in the digital retail age.”

Stibo Systems annual consumer retail survey, released earlier this year, also revealed the increasing use of mobile within the customer journey.