The stats come from Shoppercentric’s ‘Shopping in a Multichannel World’ survey, and the results show that customers are using a wide variety of channels.

Mary Portas may have managed to produce a retail review containing just three references to digital, but online and mobile is vital for the future of the high street.

Channels used by customers during the purchase process

As the stats show, shops feature strongly in the channels used by survey respondents, followed by laptop and PC:

The high street store still remains the most used channel, though for younger age groups, laptops and netbooks come pretty close.

In general, younger shoppers are more likely to use smartphones (and, to a lesser extent, tablets) as part of the purchase process.

Penetration of new technologies

Smartphones have now reached 45% penetration, but for the under 34 age groups, this rises to 62%.

Use of tablets and smartphones

As we’ve covered before, iPads can deliver impressive conversion rates and average order values (AOVs) but they are used by just 7% of shoppers.

At the moment, since the relatively expensive iPad is the dominant tablet, it may be that the wealth of the average owner means higher spend. However, tablet use is set to grow, so retailers should look at adapting their websites and marketing for this device.

The importance of the high street

The high street will always have a place. In fact, 45% of shoppers said they will ‘always love going to the shops, no matter what new technologies are available’.

These, and other multichannel retail stats, show that customers are rapidly adopting new channels such as mobile, and also that they will choose the one that suits their needs most at the time.

Offline retailers that are able to adapt to customers’ use of multiple channels will be best placed to prosper. This means things like launching mobile optimised sites, putting wi-fi in stores (to allow customers to view reviews, compare prices etc), having easy reserve and collect services, and in-store kiosks.

According to Danielle Pinnington, Managing Director at Shoppercentric: “Marketers should be excited about the prospect of being able to make an impact on the purchasing journey in many more ways than before. The opportunity to change shopper behaviour is better than it has ever been. The retailer or brand that is able to use all the channels at its disposal to meet shoppers’ needs is the business that will reap the rewards”

Retailers shouldn’t necessarily assign fixed roles for channels. Customers may well research online before heading to a store to make a purchase, but the reverse is equally likely.

The trick is to understand that customers will use channels for a variety of purposes, and to deliver a smooth and seamless experience whichever one the customer chooses.

via The high street is central to multichannel retail strategy: stats | Econsultancy.