E-commerce spending is rising at a rapid rate, and online retail is projected to significantly outgrow overall retail sales this year. Still, consumers appear to still be more comfortable spending larger amounts in-store than online, according to [download page] survey results from LivePerson. 61% of the online respondents from 5 major Western markets said they spend more in-store than online, compared to 21% who spend more online. When it comes to impulse buys, a whopping 77% said they at least sometimes indulge in this behavior in-store, compared to half who do so online.
That finding is supported by survey results from Wanderful Media, which indicated that more mobile-toting shoppers had recently made an impulse purchase in a store than had done so online (74% vs. 65%).
There are some significant age differences in the LivePerson survey results that bear noting. For example, digital natives (aged 18-34) are 18% more likely than the average respondent to report at least sometimes making an impulse purchase online (59% vs. 50%), while the 55+ group is 28% less likely (36% vs. 50%) than the average to do so.
The same trend applies to the volume of spending in-store versus online. Whereas 39% of the total sample spend as much or more online than in-store, that figure rises to 50% among digital natives, compared to just 26% among the 55+ group.
Also noteworthy: respondents in the US reported being 21% more likely than the 5-country average to spend at least as much – if not more – online (47% vs. 39%).
About the Data: The data is based on a survey conducted by Loudhouse on behalf of LivePerson. Almost 6,000 online interviews were conducted with online shoppers across the UK, US, Australia, Germany, France and Italy at the end of 2012.