Consumer shopping behaviors are continuously evolving and brands must continuously adapt to meet their expectations. Emerging technologies such as voice commerce, social commerce and augmented reality will continue to gain traction in 2019. Omnichannel shoppers are demanding both online and offline experiences with consumers often using both channels in tandem.

Online Shopping

Online shopping has become a lifestyle – growing at exponential rates. The ease of researching, buying, shipping and the huge availability of options from small retailers to large brands is driving more consumers online than ever before.

1) 57% of consumers prefer to shop online, 31% of consumers prefer visiting the physical shop, while 12% of consumers said both ways are the same for them. (Brizfeel)

2) About one-third of consumers said the top reason to shop online is the ability to shop 24/7 (32%), followed by lower price (29%), convenient (22%), and save time (17%). (Brizfeel)

3) Over half of the consumers said the biggest drawback of online shopping is not able to touch, feel, and try a product (51%), followed by lack of physical shopping experience (24%), possibility of damage for fragile item (11%), lack of interactivity (5%), scam & fraud issue (5%), and delay in delivery (4%). (Brizfeel)

4) 81% of retail shoppers conduct online research before buying. The overwhelming majority of retail consumers start their journey with online research. (GE Capital Retail Bank)

5) Each year online sales continue to increase and 64% of Buyers stating that they prefer making purchases online versus going into a store. With online shopping so convenient how often do buyers shop online for products or services? (Shopify)

• 15% of buyers will shop online weekly.
• 28% of consumers will purchase online a few times a month.
• 37% will shop less often than a few times a month.
• 20% say they never shop online

Brick and Mortar

Despite the rapid growth of ecommerce, more brands are looking to establish a physical presence in 2019 and beyond. Brands with a strong online presence can see even greater benefits by establishing physical stores. Benefits include the ability to better engage with their customers, the ability to provide better experiences, and more flexible purchasing options for customers.

6) The top reason consumers prefer to shop instore versus online is to see, feel and experience the product in person. (KPMG)

7) Physical stores account for roughly 90% of all retail sales (at least in North America). Five years from now, by most estimates, that number is still likely to be well over 80%. (Forbes)

8) According to Google, 61% of consumers would rather shop with brands that have a physical location than with brands that are online only. Also, nearly 80% of shoppers go in-store when there is an item they need or want immediately. (Google)

9) 57% of consumers say that the closing of many department stores has negatively impacted their perception of ecommerce (Avionos)

Customer Experience

Consumers have more options and will choose those brands that offer exceptional experiences across both online and offline channels. Brands can no longer afford to compete on price alone, making room for the customer experience to be a true competitive differentiator.

10) 80% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. Expectations for the customer experience have never been higher — to acquire new customers, retailers need to meet them. (Salesforce)

11) When Econsultancy conducted their survey for Digital Marketing Trends, they asked companies to state the single most exciting opportunity for 2019. Customer experience came in first. (Econsultancy)

12) In a recent PwC study, about two-thirds (65%) of respondents in the US feel that a positive experience with a brand is more influential than great advertising. Unfortunately, only half (49%) say that companies are providing a good customer experience today. (PwC)

13) A moderate improvement in CX would impact the revenue of a typical $1 billion company an average of $775 million over three years. (Temkin Group)

14) 67% of consumers and 74% of business buyers say they’ll pay more for a great experience. (Salesforce)

15) Organizations that lead in CX outperformed laggards on the S&P 500 index by nearly 80%. They retain a higher share of wallet and have customers that are seven times more likely to purchase more from the company, eight times more likely to try other products or services, and fifteen times more likely to spread positive word of mouth. (Qualtrics)

Social Commerce

Social shopping, or social commerce, is the coming together of online shopping and social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. Social channels have integrated seamless shopping and purchase functionality into their platforms, making it easier for brands to sell on social networks.

16) According to data compiled by Big Commerce, focusing on the US market, 30 per cent of online shoppers would be likely to make a purchase through a social media network. Among millennials, this proportion increases to 51%. (Big Commerce)

17) Almost three out of ten consumers (29%) would be likely to follow a brand on Facebook, while 20 per cent would be likely to make a purchase from the social network. (Big Commerce)

18) According to statistics from Pinterest itself, 73 per cent of users believe content from brands makes the platform more useful, while 61 per cent have made a purchase after seeing business content on the site. (Pinterest)

19) 88% of online customers are less likely to buy from companies that leave their social media complaints unanswered. Furthermore, nearly half (46 per cent) of users expect brands to provide customer service on Facebook. (Neil Patel)

Mobile Commerce

With more than half of all internet traffic now comes from a mobile device, 62% of smartphone owners use a mobile device to shop. The mobile shopping industry generated $156 billion in 2017 alone and expected is overtake traditional eCommerce in 2019. Brands will need to make sure they have an mCommerce in place to capitalize on the opportunities.

20) 90% of consumers say they use multiple devices to complete everyday tasks, while 40% say they use their mobile device to conduct research prior to making a purchase. (Google)

21) Mcommerce sales on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2018 surpassed $2 billion, breaking the previous records set in 2017. Mobile accounted for 66% of sales during BFCM 2018 (Shopify)

22) By 2021, mobile is predicted to dominate online sales, driving 54% (or $659 billion) in sales. (Big Commerce)

23) 70% of mobile searches lead to action within an hour. (For comparison, it takes desktop users a full month to reach the same percentage.) (Forbes)

24) 67% of consumers admit to “digital window shopping” for fun on their smartphones, with 77% of those making impulse purchases when they do. (Paypal)

25) 51% of smartphone users have purchased from a company other than the one they originally intended to because of information provided at the moment they needed it. (Google)