Report reveals insights about holiday shopping behavior

Wirecard, a global leader in digital financial technology, recently presented the findings of its Wirecard International Holiday Shopping Report 2018. More than 3,000 consumers were surveyed about their shopping habits and preferences during the end of year holiday season and beyond. The results show a clear preference for digital shopping channels in combination with physical ones in order to benefit from fast availabilities online, compare prices and have a real experience in-store.

Markus Eichinger, executive vice president group strategy at Wirecard, said, “Today’s consumers are willing and able to shop around and compare offers before buying and are also open to trying new brands if they meet their needs. The Wirecard International Holiday Shopping Report 2018 clearly shows that merchants have to provide true shopping experiences via digital and physical channels in order to meet their customers wherever they decide to make a purchase, whether that be via an e-commerce site, a mobile app or in-store. We at Wirecard identified this trend early on and today drive forward and enable channel convergence within the framework of our digital commerce platform.”

Key findings:

• Black Friday is the single most significant shopping “event” internationally. 39% of respondents globally say they plan to shop on Black Friday. In Brazil, the percentage of Black Friday shoppers is the highest (67%), followed by U.K. (40%), Germany (40%) and the U.S. (38%). Hong Kong was the only country not to have Black Friday in first position, consumers here prefer to take advantage of Boxing Day sales (33%), which is very common in some Asian markets and South Africa.
• The holiday shopping season is a popular time to try new shops and items. This is a popular time for consumers to try out new stores or websites with over three quarters (77%) of respondents globally saying they would be likely or very likely to do so. In all countries surveyed, respondents said they spent the most money on clothing and accessories (58%), electronics (56%) and toys and games (38%).
• Consumers consider mobile payments the top shopping-related technology trend. Globally, consumers would most like to see mobile payment solutions implemented to improve their buying experience (46%). This was followed by virtual or augmented reality (26%) and artificial intelligence / machine learning (22%). In Brazil, shopping via voice recognition is highly regarded as well (30%).
• The vast majority shops digital. More than two thirds (68%) of consumers globally expect to make their purchases during the holiday season digitally either via a desktop site, mobile app, or mobile site. Overall, 18% plan to shop in traditional stores, with 22% of U.S. respondents planning to shop in a physical outlet, but only 8% of German consumers intend to do so.
• Consumers look for a true experience in-store. In all countries, the most important factor which would influence a consumer’s decision to shop in-store is price (59%), followed by quality of products (45%) and special offers or discounts (32%). The same three factors are the most influential when it comes to choosing to buy online. In the U.S., being able to see, test or try items before purchase was considered more important than in the other countries; in Brazil customer service on-site counts.
• Omnichannel is key for consumers globally. An enormous 82% of consumers globally said they were either likely or very likely to combine various channels during the purchasing process – with Malaysia proving particularly fond of cross-channel shopping (96%), followed by Brazil (92%). The overall reason for using a range of channels was to compare prices with over half of consumers (51%) stating this as their top answer.

The Wirecard International Holiday Shopping Report 2018 is based on the results of an independent survey carried out by Wirecard in October and November 2018. A total of 3,193 consumers over the age of 18 in select countries like Brazil, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S. provided answers. Further information about the survey findings can be found in the full report.