Thirty-nine percent of consumers with Internet access say they are going to brick-and-mortar stores less frequently, according to the Shopping 2000 survey by Greenfield Online, Westport, CT.
Asked about the strengths and weaknesses of shopping online, respondents most frequently indicated that ease of comparing prices (33%) and the ability to shop any time they desired (27%) were among the highlights of Internet shopping. But 69% mentioned that with in-store shopping, they valued the ability to see and touch products, and one-quarter said that they liked the instant gratification of being able to walk out of a store with their purchases.
Asked about catalog shopping, 29% of the respondents said that catalogs are fun to browse through 29%, and 16% indicated that they liked the relaxed feel of catalog shopping, which gave them time to make up their minds.
Books were the most-favored category of online merchandise, with 49% of the respondents saying they were likely to make a purchase online when they were ready to buy, as opposed to 51% indicating that they would go to a mall. But 63% indicated that they would go to a local store when ready to make a purchase.
Online commerce has also made inroads in the software sales arena. While consumers are most likely to make their purchases at local stores (68%), they are more likely to buy online (49%) than at a mall (42%) or through a catalog (22%).
But the Internet still lags as a sales medium for soft goods. While online purchases are almost as popular (18%) as through catalogs (22%), both channels trail local stores (66%) and malls (68%) in popularity.
Shopping 2000 is conducted twice a year by Greenfield Online, Inc. The study tracks the Internet’s effect on consumer shopping attitudes and behavior based on a sample of 1,286 respondents, drawn from an Internet-user panel of nearly one million people. The sample is representative of the Internet population in terms of age, gender and region.
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