New Report Finds Shoppers Value In-store Shopping 

Ryder System, a leading supply chain, transportation and fleet management solutions company, has released its 10th annual e-commerce report evaluating sentiment among U.S. online shoppers, their consumer spending, preferences and expectations.  

This year’s report, titled “The Influence of Omnichannel Excellence on Consumer Behavior,” looks at how consumers are reestablishing physical stores into their shopping journeys. 

The study surveyed more than 1,300 U.S. shoppers and found that while e-commerce is flourishing, consumers are also partial to having an in-store experience. Sixty-one percent of consumers surveyed said they enjoy in-store shopping for the experience of trying on products, comparing items and more — which is up 21 percent from last year’s study. 

Moreover, 35 percent of shoppers say that they prefer in-store shopping because they don’t want to wait for online orders to come in the mail and 15 percent reported they do so to avoid package theft. 

With apparel and cosmetics beauty purchases specifically, shoppers said they are more likely to make purchases at a physical location versus last year — with 41 percent of shoppers who buy cosmetics reporting they do so in a brand’s physical retail location or at a department/convenience store. With apparel shoppers, 54 percent of consumers said they buy clothing in brick-and-mortar locations. 

Notably, consumers’ mobile devices are a key factor when shopping in person — 77 percent of consumers said they search for items on their mobile devices while in a store. Sixty-nine percent of shoppers reported they compare prices with items in their nearby store and 58 percent of consumers said they check availability at other stores. Other reasons for utilizing their mobile devices include learning more about a product (31 percent) and looking for other items frequently purchased with a product they are considering (17 percent).  

With returns continuing to be a pain point for retailers, 55 percent of consumers (an increase of 15 percent from last year) reported that they prefer to return online purchases in-store — which the report’s authors note is the first time since early 2020 that buying online and returning in stores has dominated returning online purchases through mail. With the in-store returns remaining a silver lining, 40 percent of shoppers reported that they will make additional purchases when they pick up or return online purchases in stores.  

“Retail and e-commerce continue to evolve,” said Jeff Wolpov, senior vice president of e-commerce for Ryder. “The emergence of e-commerce and growth of omnichannel fulfillment, particularly over the past four years, has altered consumer expectations and behavior dramatically and will continue to do so as time and technology allow. This latest study demonstrates that, while consumers maintain a robust appetite for e-commerce, they are simultaneously embracing in-person shopping, presenting an impetus for merchants to refine their omnichannel strategies.”