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Convenience beats price and is driving more shoppers online this Christmas suggests new Wipro Digital research

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By The Drum | Editorial

December 19, 2014 | 4 min read

More consumers than ever will be shopping predominantly online this Christmas not because of lower online prices, but because online now offers a far more convenient way for modern consumers to buy goods, according to new research conducted by global digital transformation business Wipro Digital.

The findings from WiPro Digital’s research, conducted among 2,000 shoppers in both the UK and US between 8 - 10 December, show that more than 60% of consumers will this year be doing the bulk of their Christmas shopping online because they feel shopping online now offers increased convenience - a figure up 10% from last Christmas.

According to consumers, there are no longer enough reasons or incentives to shop in-store. Less than 10% of people thinking that prices are more competitive in-store or that in-store sales staff actually add anything to the sales process or provide a more personalized shopping experience.

Parking has proven to be a major disincentive to shopping in-store with nearly half of respondents expecting to have trouble finding parking space, therefore preferring to shop from the comfort of their own home.

Avinash Rao, global head at Wipro Digital, said: “The large number of consumers choosing convenience over price as their top reason for shopping online is a reminder that brands need to compete on experience not just price.

"This year it looks as if physical stores have not yet done enough to draw consumers back into their stores. Improving the in-store experience, for example by offering virtual wardrobes side-by-side with displays, could give consumers a reason to reverse the trend of shopping more online. Either way, businesses which can deliver experiences based on deep insight into customer journeys will stand out," added Rao.

Almost 50% of the consumers surveyed reported that they will do both their research and buying online this year. Neither "Showrooming" nor "webrooming" are expected to be common this Christmas with less than 5% of consumers reporting that they will research in-store and buy online or research online and buy in store.

That said, consumers haven't abandoned physical stores entirely - over 80% want to be able to match an in-store promotion when shopping online, but six in 10 consumers expect difficulty in doing that.

"While we see an increase in online shopping at this time of year, people are still looking for the best ways to combine online and offline experiences," said Rao. "Brands that can peel apart all the interactions that form a customer journey and offer what customers want are the ones who will succeed not only this holiday but going forward."

The research also found that mobile payments are not expected to be a common payment method this Christmas with less than 5% using them, which is the same proportion of people using checks in the US. However, that represents an increase from last year of nearly one quarter of consumers.

Looking ahead to after Christmas, the research showed that consumers are expecting to wait an average of 20 minutes in store when returning unwanted or defective products. If given the option to return a gift online, nearly 80% favour this option, as long as they can get an immediate credit. But if they have to wait to receive their credit, this drops by half.

Rao said: “As we approach the holiday season, we can see that customers have little patience for brands which can't offer a joined up end-to-end experience. When customers expect to move seamlessly across touch-points, the only way to enable that is to have agile, customer-centred processes and platforms and to digitize their operation.”

“Reimaging how the customer journey is engineered to serve the customer's reality is a powerful method to reshape the organization around the customer. It results in the creation of breakthrough digital experiences, where the customer will want to self-serve."

Wipro Digital is part of the publicly quoted company WiPro Ltd, which employs 150,000 people globally and has operations in 175 cities in six continents, counting 80 of the 100 largest companies on the planet among its clientbase.

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Wipro Digital

Wipro Digital collaborates with clients to deliver customer-centered digital transformation.  Working at the intersection of strategy, design and technology, we derive insight, shape interaction, drive integration and unlock innovation for our clients. Drawing on 150,000 employees across Wipro, we engineer extraordinary experiences for global brands, businesses and their customers at scale.

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