Blue Yonder: Global Shopping Behaviour Has Changed Since COVID-19
Blue Yonder has published new research into the changing habits of global customers since the COVID-19 pandemic started last year. 7,000 consumers were surveyed in total across Europe and the US.
6,000 European adult consumers, and 1,000 in the US, have had their habits and behaviour analysed in a survey as Blue Yonder looks to discover how retail supply chains look set to be transformed in the coming years. The outbreak of the coronavirus has accelerated the rate of evolution in many cases, with online retail being the only option for consumers in a number of scenarios.
A key finding of the survey across both regions is that the grocery retail sector has been impacted heavily by the increasing number of consumers ordering products online. 74% of US consumers were doing more online shopping in April, up from 57% in March. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 69% of US consumers are still purchasing goods in stores, with more than half of the respondents (54%) experiencing delays in the delivery of their products bought online.
In Europe, 64% of shoppers intend to continue spending online once the pandemic is under control. 19% of the respondents said they will visit grocery stores less than they previously did, with the figure rising to 27% for non-grocery stores.
“Online grocery delivery services have seen a big upward trend and attracted a lot of new customers, as a result of people being unable or unwilling to leave their homes. For new customers, their initial online grocery delivery experience will likely influence their repeated custom in the future, so it is crucial it is a positive one,” said JoAnn Martin, vice president of retail industry strategy at Blue Yonder.
“It is clear that both online and in-store shopping behavior will change as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Wayne Snyder, vice president of retail strategy EMEA at Blue Yonder. “On the one hand, many retailers are going to need to ramp up their online fulfilment operations to meet growing customer demand and expectations. On the other, they will need to carefully consider the changing role of their store estates in terms of supporting both their online and offline business in the future.”
58% of European consumers have spent less money on fashion retail since the beginning of the COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, with DIY and electronics retailers also seeing significant drops. Healthcare saw an understandable 23% increase in shoppers spending more money, however.
Image source: Blue Yonder
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