While shoppers are capable enough to order and shop online from a computer, app or a smartphone, most might be missing out on what retailers really want them to see.
The 2023 Digital Shopping Index, a study of consumers and merchants in six countries (U.S., United Kingdom, Brazil, India, Mexico, and UAE) from payment news and data site PYMNTS, examines the frictions consumers experience when shopping and paying for grocery and retail products, shows consumers are unaware of many digital features merchants offer, including those driving consumer preference.
Other findings include:
- Eighty-seven percent of consumers use digital features to shop and pay for purchases, even when shopping in a store
- Payment choice remains the most important shopping feature for all consumers in all markets, with digital wallets gaining ground
- The presence or absence of specific digital shopping and payment features is how consumers decide which merchant gets their business
- Using smartphones, apps and digital features give consumers greater confidence and certainty about their purchases, especially when they shop in a physical store
- The pickup economy is growing in importance as consumers trade delivery fees for delivery immediacy
- Embedding features into the payment process can remove checkout friction for consumers and improve the merchant’s chance of completing a sale
As for the revelation about consumers being unaware of many features offered by retailers, the study found shoppers in the U.S. are 28% less likely to realize that retailers offer guarantee or refund policies than U.S. retailers are to offer them. Back in 2021 Mexico retailers faced the same problem and improved the visibility and relevance of digital shopping features.
For the third consecutive year, payment choice ranks No. 1 on a list of 34 features in terms of importance, and the digital wallet trend is catching fire. Digital wallet use has tripled in the United Kingdom and doubled in the UAE. Mexico shoppers traditionally have favored using cash, but digital wallet use there is up 27%. In-store contactless debit card use was up 534% in the U.S., 620% in the UAE, 198% in Brazil and 159% in the United Kingdom.
In addition, the Index revealed that 26% of ecommerce shoppers across all six countries used BOPIS or curbside pickup options for their most recent purchases, and the U.S. led the way with 32%.
