There is no more a big gap between on-line and off-line channel, both during the researching of a products and for its purchase. This is what emerges by the PwC Total Retail 2017 survey, according to which 53% of global shoppers prefer to look for home appliance on-line, while 32% prefer doing their research in store. But when it comes to buying household appliances, 56% of global shoppers prefer to purchase in store, while 33% prefer online. Of those who prefer to research on-line, 38% use a PC, and 7% by tablet or a mobile/smartphone, while of those who purchase on-line, 23% prefer using a PC, while 5% prefer using a mobile/smart phone and 4% tablet. Just under half of global shoppers have purchased household appliances to some extent in the last 12 months. Regarding the research phase, Thailand (48%), Philippines (46%) and Middle East (43%) are the countries in which shoppers most prefer to do it in store, if products are home appliances.
Speaking about the purchase habits, instead, PwC recorded that Brazil (59%), UK (52%), Poland and Germany (47%) are the countries where shoppers are most likely to purchase via Internet. Australia, Canada and the US are the countries where shoppers are least likely (19%) to buy on-line.
For those countries where shoppers prefer to buy in store, Australia (70%), Canada (69%) and US (68%) score highest in this regard. UK scores lowest, with just 37% of shoppers preferring to buy in store.
