Cyber
Monday may be no more, with UK consumers opting to merge their online
and offline shopping into one single Black Friday event, according to a
new international research report from ecommerce solutions provider Episerver.
The
research, which surveyed more than 5,300 consumers around the world,
found that UK customers are leading the charge when it comes to
combining online and offline shopping experiences. Compared to those in
the US, Australia, Benelux and the Nordics, UK consumers are by far the most likely to demand “online-in-store” crossover experiences such as Click and Collect.
The
demand for online-in-store experiences has risen drastically in 12
months, with 44 per cent of UK respondents now considering such
experiences to be a must-have requirement for retailers, compared to
only 27 per cent in Episerver’s 2014 report.
UK
consumers are also driving the trend towards interactive in-store
mobile content, with 50 per cent of those surveyed listing “on the high
street” in their top three locations for browsing a mobile device for
goods to purchase. This, along with rising mobile adoption rates,
provides high street retailers with a strong incentive to incorporate
mobile interactivity into their physical shopping experiences.
Commenting
on these findings, David Bowen, Director of Product Management for
ecommerce at Episerver, comments, “For years we have treated Black
Friday and Cyber Monday as two separate events aimed at two very
different types of consumer. Now, in the age of mobile marketing, this
simply doesn’t hold true. Digital commerce isn’t killing the high
street, it’s enhancing it.
“Through
in-store crossover technologies such as Click and Collect, consumers
are using their mobile devices to shop online without leaving the high
street. This could be great news for both online and offline retailers,
but only if they can provide the experiences and technology necessary to
meet the new customer demand.
“Black
Friday and Cyber Monday represent exactly the type of black and white
thinking that has come to define modern commerce. Online and offline
shopping are not at opposite ends of a spectrum, but are one and the
same. We as retailers must
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