Consumers will research online, but buy in-store
TweetFollow Us on Twitter

Consumers will research online, but buy in-store

The back-to-school (BTS) shopping season in the U.S. is already in full swing, with over one-third (37%) of consumers having begun their shopping – up from the 29% who started at this time last year, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Roughly 90% of households indicated a selection of brick-and-mortar retail as a shopping venue for the BTS season.

Consumers will shop in a variety of places for their BTS items this year. While discounters are still expected to be the winners, the number of households selecting this shopping venue dropped from 90% last year to 80% this year. For all 2014 BTS shopping venues, discounters represented a 23.7% share of where consumers will shop, according to ICSC.

Many retailers found in regional malls and open-air centers, such as office supply stores, traditional department stores, electronic stores, and apparel specialty stores, should see increased activity during the BTS season. The biggest mover was apparel specialty stores which leaped from an 8.4% share in 2013 to a 10% share this year.

The share of online as a BTS shopping venue will be 8.1% this year – a drop from last year’s 8.6%. Catalogues will comprise a 3% share. This means that brick-and-mortar retail, in total, will comprise almost a 90% share of BTS shopping, says ICSC. Furthering the trend of "webrooming," – 73% of consumers indicated that they will do research online, and then purchase in a physical store.

"After a tough winter with adverse weather in much of the country, retailers have been enjoying a strong start to summer as pent-up demand has propelled sales,” said Jesse Tron, spokesman for ICSC (www/icsc.org). "This momentum will continue into the BTS selling season as well, with the vast majority of consumers indicating a strong propensity to shop for school related items. While consumers typically view BTS merchandise as an essential expenditure, we are seeing a strong indication that consumers will be spending on more discretionary purchases as well – a good omen for retail as we progress through the BTS season and into the holidays."

Total BTS expenditures per household are expected to be $672 this year. Excluding electronics, expenditures on BTS items will be $325 – up sharply from $285 in 2013. The share of consumers expecting to spend more this year jumped to 50% – a significant increase from last year when 39% expected to increase spending. Additionally, the share that indicated they would significantly increase (over 10%) expenditures rose from 12% last year to 21% in 2014.

For 2014, 20% of consumers indicated that a change in fashion trends is a reason that they will change their spending compared to last year – doubling 2013’s indication. This shows a strong increase in discretionary purchasing, as fashion is not an essential expenditure.

Consumers still expect to complete the bulk of their BTS purchases in August (59%) – however both July (22%) and September (19%) have taken larger shares compared to 2013 (July 17%, August 66%, September 17%). Sales were the number one motivating factor for a consumer to purchase at a specific store location at 61%. The ability to physically see, touch, or try on the merchandise was second at 52%, says ICSC.

 

Community Search:
MacTech Search:

Software Updates via MacUpdate

Latest Forum Discussions

See All

Tokkun Studio unveils alpha trailer for...
We are back on the MMORPG news train, and this time it comes from the sort of international developers Tokkun Studio. They are based in France and Japan, so it counts. Anyway, semantics aside, they have released an alpha trailer for the upcoming... | Read more »
Win a host of exclusive in-game Honor of...
To celebrate its latest Jujutsu Kaisen crossover event, Honor of Kings is offering a bounty of login and achievement rewards kicking off the holiday season early. [Read more] | Read more »
Miraibo GO comes out swinging hard as it...
Having just launched what feels like yesterday, Dreamcube Studio is wasting no time adding events to their open-world survival Miraibo GO. Abyssal Souls arrives relatively in time for the spooky season and brings with it horrifying new partners to... | Read more »
Ditch the heavy binders and high price t...
As fun as the real-world equivalent and the very old Game Boy version are, the Pokemon Trading Card games have historically been received poorly on mobile. It is a very strange and confusing trend, but one that The Pokemon Company is determined to... | Read more »
Peace amongst mobile gamers is now shatt...
Some of the crazy folk tales from gaming have undoubtedly come from the EVE universe. Stories of spying, betrayal, and epic battles have entered history, and now the franchise expands as CCP Games launches EVE Galaxy Conquest, a free-to-play 4x... | Read more »
Lord of Nazarick, the turn-based RPG bas...
Crunchyroll and A PLUS JAPAN have just confirmed that Lord of Nazarick, their turn-based RPG based on the popular OVERLORD anime, is now available for iOS and Android. Starting today at 2PM CET, fans can download the game from Google Play and the... | Read more »
Digital Extremes' recent Devstream...
If you are anything like me you are impatiently waiting for Warframe: 1999 whilst simultaneously cursing the fact Excalibur Prime is permanently Vault locked. To keep us fed during our wait, Digital Extremes hosted a Double Devstream to dish out a... | Read more »
The Frozen Canvas adds a splash of colou...
It is time to grab your gloves and layer up, as Torchlight: Infinite is diving into the frozen tundra in its sixth season. The Frozen Canvas is a colourful new update that brings a stylish flair to the Netherrealm and puts creativity in the... | Read more »
Back When AOL WAS the Internet – The Tou...
In Episode 606 of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off talking about my plans for this weekend, which has resulted in this week’s show being a bit shorter than normal. We also go over some more updates on our Patreon situation, which has been... | Read more »
Creative Assembly's latest mobile p...
The Total War series has been slowly trickling onto mobile, which is a fantastic thing because most, if not all, of them are incredibly great fun. Creative Assembly's latest to get the Feral Interactive treatment into portable form is Total War:... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Early Black Friday Deal: Apple’s newly upgrad...
Amazon has Apple 13″ MacBook Airs with M2 CPUs and 16GB of RAM on early Black Friday sale for $200 off MSRP, only $799. Their prices are the lowest currently available for these newly upgraded 13″ M2... Read more
13-inch 8GB M2 MacBook Airs for $749, $250 of...
Best Buy has Apple 13″ MacBook Airs with M2 CPUs and 8GB of RAM in stock and on sale on their online store for $250 off MSRP. Prices start at $749. Their prices are the lowest currently available for... Read more
Amazon is offering an early Black Friday $100...
Amazon is offering early Black Friday discounts on Apple’s new 2024 WiFi iPad minis ranging up to $100 off MSRP, each with free shipping. These are the lowest prices available for new minis anywhere... Read more
Price Drop! Clearance 14-inch M3 MacBook Pros...
Best Buy is offering a $500 discount on clearance 14″ M3 MacBook Pros on their online store this week with prices available starting at only $1099. Prices valid for online orders only, in-store... Read more
Apple AirPods Pro with USB-C on early Black F...
A couple of Apple retailers are offering $70 (28%) discounts on Apple’s AirPods Pro with USB-C (and hearing aid capabilities) this weekend. These are early AirPods Black Friday discounts if you’re... Read more
Price drop! 13-inch M3 MacBook Airs now avail...
With yesterday’s across-the-board MacBook Air upgrade to 16GB of RAM standard, Apple has dropped prices on clearance 13″ 8GB M3 MacBook Airs, Certified Refurbished, to a new low starting at only $829... Read more
Price drop! Apple 15-inch M3 MacBook Airs now...
With yesterday’s release of 15-inch M3 MacBook Airs with 16GB of RAM standard, Apple has dropped prices on clearance Certified Refurbished 15″ 8GB M3 MacBook Airs to a new low starting at only $999.... Read more
Apple has clearance 15-inch M2 MacBook Airs a...
Apple has clearance, Certified Refurbished, 15″ M2 MacBook Airs now available starting at $929 and ranging up to $410 off original MSRP. These are the cheapest 15″ MacBook Airs for sale today at... Read more
Apple drops prices on 13-inch M2 MacBook Airs...
Apple has dropped prices on 13″ M2 MacBook Airs to a new low of only $749 in their Certified Refurbished store. These are the cheapest M2-powered MacBooks for sale at Apple. Apple’s one-year warranty... Read more
Clearance 13-inch M1 MacBook Airs available a...
Apple has clearance 13″ M1 MacBook Airs, Certified Refurbished, now available for $679 for 8-Core CPU/7-Core GPU/256GB models. Apple’s one-year warranty is included, shipping is free, and each... Read more

Jobs Board

Seasonal Cashier - *Apple* Blossom Mall - J...
Seasonal Cashier - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Apple Read more
Seasonal Fine Jewelry Commission Associate -...
…Fine Jewelry Commission Associate - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) Read more
Seasonal Operations Associate - *Apple* Blo...
Seasonal Operations Associate - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Read more
Hair Stylist - *Apple* Blossom Mall - JCPen...
Hair Stylist - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Apple Blossom Read more
Cashier - *Apple* Blossom Mall - JCPenney (...
Cashier - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Apple Blossom Mall Read more
All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.