Why Online Shopping Remains Popular After The Holidays

Just like gift cards, online shopping remains popular all throughout each year. In our last blog, we highlighted some of the top reasons gift cards continue to be big sellers long after the holiday season is over. Online shopping – another extremely popular holiday pastime – is also an activity that Canadian consumers participate in from January through to December. And why wouldn’t they? It’s extremely convenient!

During the always-busy holiday shopping rush, many consumers prefer to avoid the crowded malls and long line-ups by staying at home and making their purchases on their computers. Of course, many don’t even use their computers. With online shopping made such an easy task on handheld devices, some even wonder why anyone visits brick and mortar stores at all.

Mobile shopping makes online shopping so much easier.

If you’re the owner of a smartphone or tablet (and who doesn’t have at least one of the two?), you’re likely well aware that many of your online purchases can be made with a few clicks on a device that fits in your hand. On NationMaster.com, it is explained that one of the top reasons online shopping is such a popular year-round activity is because so many online merchants are mobile-friendly.

“With 62% of e-commerce traffic generated by Mobile in Q2 2018 (Salesforce Shopping Index), being mobile-friendly, having quick, usable and compelling content on smartphones is now mandatory to generate success,” details the site, “Today, one-in-five American adults are “smartphone-only” internet users (Pew Research).”

It all comes down to convenience.

As we mentioned earlier, it’s incredibly convenient to make purchases online instead of in stores. On SmartInsights.com, Dave Chaffey shares the findings of a 40-page KPMG report that was made following some of the most detailed research evaluating the consumer psychology of purchase. It was broken down by different countries to accurately determine the main reasons people give for doing their shopping online.

The top three were the ability to shop 24/7 (listed by 58% of respondents), the ability to compare prices (54%) and online sales or the ability to find better prices online (46%). “You can see that convenience and price comparison are the main drivers,” highlights Chaffey.

Consumers trust online reviews.

Another top reason consumers like to shop online all throughout the year is because they are encouraged by the recommendations they read online. Online reviews are highly trusted because they come from other consumers – not advertisers. They have become the internet’s version of word-of-mouth promotion – and they work wonders!

Who are you more likely to trust? A customer who has experience with a brand or its product? Or a commercial for that brand or product?

As NationMaster.com notes, “For marketing professionals and brands, the following should be reassuring: With more consumers incorporating online reviews into their buying decisions and more shoppers showing an inclination to write good reviews, the benefits do seem to outweigh the risks.”

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