In the lead up to the busiest shopping time of the year, Approved Index wanted to see what affect online purchasing is having on our Christmas shopping habits. An overwhelming 90% of the 2000 people asked claimed that they now do at least some of their festive shopping online, with 47% doing most or all of their shopping from home.
Interestingly, people were divided as to why they enjoy the comfort of shopping from home so much, with a fairly even split between shopping at your own pace and not carrying heavy items. Staying warm, avoiding other shoppers and making use of exclusive discounts all play a role in keeping us away from the high street.
When it comes to what the public dislike most about shopping in store at Christmas the answer was a lot clearer, the people! The vast majority of consumers surveyed stated that the crowds of people are the worst thing about shopping at this time of year.
Avoiding the high street has gotten so important that customers will now sacrifice their desired gifts in order to stay out of the cold! According to our survey; if a website featured a product they wanted but did not offer online purchasing, 64% would try to find the same or a similar item on another site, rather than visiting the retailer’s physical store.
The future of online shopping looks set, with over half believing that it will replace the high street in the near future, if it hasn’t already!
About the survey:
- Approved Index surveyed 2000 people about their online shopping habits at Christmas
- The data was collected through independent survey platform Vivatic
