Mandoe Media survey reveals some easy wins for Brick & Mortar physical retailers

Mandoe Media is a global player in the digital signage sector. They recently carried out an extensive survey to better understand what was going to happen in the retail sector in the coming year. Providing them with the information they needed to better tailor their digital signage offering to meet the needs of physical outlet businesses and their modern consumers.

The survey produced some interesting results. Uncovering some surprising shopping trends.

Most of the customers they serve own physical retail outlets, cafes, restaurants, clubs, clinics, and gyms. All of whom have been drastically affected by the lockdowns that were used by many governments to slow the spread of COVID.

Most of Mandoe Media´s users closed for long periods. Then, when they reopened, they had to restrict the number of customers or clients they allowed into their physical outlets.

This led to many consumers shopping online, ordering take-out, working out in front of a screen, and doing many other tasks remotely. Shopping and consumer habits which some in the industry predicted would continue once the pandemic is finally over. Mandoe Media was not happy to simply guess what would happen, so they surveyed 850 consumers across their main markets – in Australia, the UK, and the USA, to find out how they were planning to shop in 2022.

You can read Mandoe Media’s retail survey in full, by clicking the link. Or read our summary below.

Consumers are still worried about staying safe while shopping

Concerns about catching the virus have led to consumers avoiding going shopping in physical stores. For example, 83% of Mandoe Media´s respondents were avoiding shopping in smaller stores where maintaining social distancing was difficult.

People are planning to return to shopping in-store

Fifty-four percent of those surveyed said that they would shop as much in-store. If not more than they did pre-COVID.

Most people will shop for clothes and groceries offline in 2022

For some product groups, the chance that people will shop in-store rather than offline is even greater. Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed still preferred to buy clothes in-store. In Australia, the figure jumps to 75%. Surprisingly, 74% of people said that they still prefer to shop for groceries in physical stores.

Most consumers will still spend more in-store than they do online

Even before Co-Vid, many physical retailers were already selling online. This led to some closing their less profitable stores.

But most of them decided to continue to maintain a physical presence on Main Street, the High Street, or in shopping malls, even though it was expensive. They did so because they realized that consumers wanted choice and that they still enjoyed visiting physical shops. The fact that people who visit shops tend to spend more than they do during an online shop, also played a role in companies keeping stores open. This is a trend that is likely to continue. The Mandoe Media retail survey revealed that 67% of shoppers are still planning to spend more than half of their budget in physical stores.

Shoppers expect more from physical retailers in 2022

The convenience of shopping online is one of the main reasons people do it so much. It saves a lot of time; retailers will need to be conscious of this and do what they can to improve the speed of shopping in-store. For example, installing more express or self-serve checkouts and using digital display kiosks for returns and some customer service-related transactions.

Stores and restaurants need to improve their ventilation

One of the most surprising findings of the survey was just how concerned people were about ventilation. Eighty percent of respondents said that they would feel better about visiting a bar or restaurant if it had good ventilation. The pandemic has made everyone far more aware of how viruses and other diseases spread. So, there is a good chance that even after the pandemic has passed consumers will continue to prefer to shop and eat in well-ventilated places.

The retail sector will need to adapt fast in 2022

All the above trends relate to what consumers are looking for in 2022 and how they are planning to shop. But there is also a lot of change going on behind the scenes, as is outlined here. Retailers are going to have to find ways to work smarter. They need more robust and responsive supply chains, better relationships with their workers and to adopt new technology at a faster pace. If they do not do so, they will not be able to compete effectively with the E-commerce sector.

There is little doubt that 2022 is going to be one of the most interesting years for the retail sector. The pandemic has highlighted the sector´s weaknesses. But it has also opened the eyes of many involved in the industry to the possibilities. Both of which are sure to drive rapid change, during 2022.

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