How Shopping Habits Change and Keep Up with the Times

Posted on Jan 23, 2020

As the years pass, the way that things are done are changed
to keep up with the times. Whether this is to keep up to date with innovative technology
or to completely reinvent the way processes are done, sectors must adapt.
Shopping habits are subject to a significant amount of change — the Office for
National Statistics reported in 2017 that shoppers are spending around £366
billion each year!

Consumer behaviour has certainly changed —ranging from
technological advances to consumer expectation. In this article, we’ll look at
the different shopping habits consumers have experienced over the years.

Popularity of the Internet

Britain is the world’s third biggest ecommerce market. At
the end of 2019, statistics show that roughly 19 cent of retail transactions
were conducted online. But it wasn’t always like this.

Over ten years ago, the high street was where shopping mainly
occurred. Back to a simpler time when Donald Trump was just another celebrity
with a questionable tan and people did their dating face-to-face rather than on
Tinder, in 2006, a mere 2.8 per cent of sales occurred online. The internet has
opened a whole new avenue of shopping experiences, changing our high streets
forever. Even food shopping is done online — online grocery shopping is one of
the fastest growing retail channels. The UK is forecasted to be the world’s
second largest online grocery market in 2020, following China. With stores
being accessible at our literal fingertips, why wouldn’t we online shop?

Royal Mail conducted research which revealed that the
majority of ecommerce happened on smartphones during the day, with use peaking
on laptops in the evening. The study also found that 22 per cent of consumers
are likely to purchase something after seeing it on social media, particularly
with young shoppers and women.

Not only incredibly easy to do some online shopping, but
there are new options created to facilitate this behaviour — free delivery,
try-before-you-buy schemes, discount codes. That men’s shirt that you wanted
but the store is 30 miles away? Order it online.

Eco-Friendly Shopping

Concerns of the environment are trickling down into
virtually everything, including shopping habits. A report by Critero found that
the psychological motivation behind shopping is based around the premise of
‘green’ consumerism. The sustainable food and drink market grew around 9.7 per
cent, being one of the fastest growing sectors of UK retail.

Many shoppers are looking for eco-friendly alternatives as
opposed to the usual brands they purchase from, with the internet and social
media exposing companies for their large carbon footprint. For example, a
recent article by The Guardian reported that Coca-Cola is the world’s
largest plastics polluter for the second year in a row. Around half of UK
shoppers are inclined to make informed decisions and purchase from brands who
are transparent about their processes and openly publish their ethical contributions.
From Gregg’s vegan sausage roll to Topshop’s vegan shoe line, shopping habits
are shifting towards ethical consciousness.

Exploring Brands

As a business, being transparent is becoming increasingly
important as consumers are becoming less brand loyal than ever. With
information and reviews available online combined with the ability to compare
prices, customers are better equipped to switch between brands quickly and smartly.
Bad customer experiences aren’t the top reason for brand switching, 62 per cent
switched in the last year simply because another brand interested them.
Consumers are more curious and are willing to try new things — why would you
stick with one brand when you can try them all?

Night-time Browsing

Shopping online, only at night-time. While it’s beyond us
why anyone would be doing anything but catching up on those important
zzzs between these hours, data from John Lewis found that one in 15 online
transactions are made between the hours of midnight and 6am. Although this might
not sound like an awful lot, it’s an increase of 23 per cent from 2018.

Data also revealed that significantly women are shopping in
the middle of the night than men. And it’s hardly surprising, with there being
no closing times on ecommerce and millions of websites to browse.

With ecommerce making shopping much easier, it’s exciting to
see what other technological advancement will do for future shopping habits.