Why consumers shop online

IRCE 2008 Conference Multi-Media CD-ROM

Consumers continue to migrate their shopping to the Internet. The latest American ShopperScape survey of consumers by consultants Retail Forward Inc. reports that even this late in the development of online retailing, and after years of rapid adoption, growth continues in the proportion of consumers who shop online. In addition, the web and stores are starting to play distinct roles in consumers’ shopping habits, with consumers showing a decided preference for stores to buy low-cost replenishment items and the Internet for “thrill of the hunt” items. The 27-page American ShopperScape Report is a wealth of data about the changing shopping habits of American consumers. Among the interesting observations is that consumers associated Wal-Mart stores with low-cost replenishment shopping and Walmart.com with “thrill of the hunt” shopping. Here are a few of the Internet facts from the report.