More Black Friday shoppers may stay home and shop for deals online this year, according to a survey of 500 U.S. consumers conducted in September by Accenture.
The survey says 30% of shoppers will avoid the crowds and do most of their shopping online. That’s up from 25% last year.
Accenture’s survey also indicates that more shoppers – 63% vs. 56% in 2012 – are likely to participate in showrooming this holiday season. However, a similarly high proportion of shoppers (65%) also plan to participate in “webrooming,” or browsing online and then going to a store to make their purchase. Survey respondents said that avoiding shipping costs (47%) and being able to touch and feel a product before purchase (46%) were their primary motivations for webrooming.
Although 42% of consumers surveyed plan to spend at least half of their holiday shopping dollars online, they also will be looking to take advantage of store-focused technology-enabled services, such as purchase online with in-store delivery or pick-up (36%), and the ability to see up-to-date information on product availability (21%).
The Accenture survey also indicates that:
- 47% of online holiday shoppers will make purchases using their PCs or laptops.
- A growing number of consumers will make purchases or research gifts using their tablets (19% Vs. 15% in 2012) and smartphones (18% vs. 14% in 2012).
- One-third (33%) of those shopping by smartphone said they would use it to compare prices inside the store (compared to 19% in 2012), and 28% said that privacy and security concerns would deter them from using a phone to shop (compared to 26% in 2012).