3 reasons online shoppers are happier than in-store shoppers

We asked nearly 3500 people about the purchases they’d made recently. In-store shoppers told us they like to compare products in person and wanted to support local businesses. But when it came to rating their experience afterwards, just 66% said they’d been very satisfied.

Online shoppers were a happier bunch – with 71% very satisfied with how it had gone.

Our survey results showed us there were three important factors to having a good retail experience that were made easier by shopping online. They were:

Price paid

More online shoppers were satisfied with the price paid

Consumer NZ’s market research and insights manager Scott Moore said price was the main consideration for consumers, and online shoppers were more likely to feel happy with what they’d paid – probably because they were able to scan store websites to make sure they were getting it for the lowest price.

“Faced with the cost of living challenges, shoppers are on the lookout for and making the most of deals and discounts,” Scott said. More than half of the purchases we were told about were made while the item was on special. Consumers seemed most keen to bag a bargain when buying furniture – 73% of these buys were discounted.

Availability

More online shoppers were satisfied with the availability

Scott said manufacturing and supply chain issues had created out-of-stock issues more often for consumers over the past year. Online shoppers were less likely to experience the frustration of not being able to buy the item they wanted.

Consumer NZ also runs a Sentiment Tracker Survey throughout the year and lately it’s shown how frequently these issues are biting consumers. In the past three months, 53% of New Zealanders have faced product shortages and 37% delivery delays. These were most likely when shopping for appliances and furnishings.

In 2016, just 23% of people had experienced delivery delays.

Product range

More online shoppers were satisfied with the product range

No surprises here. When you’re shopping online you have access to a whole world of stores rather than just what’s available at the local shops. So online shoppers were much more likely to have been happy with the range available.

However, there was one area where in-store shoppers had a much better time of it: after-sales service. Of the shoppers who needed assistance after a purchase had been made, 32% of online buyers weren’t happy with the outcome compared with 20% of those who could go back to the physical shop.

Online shoppers didn’t get a solution to their problem more often than in-store shoppers.