40 percent of consumers to shop from large online retailers these holidays

The holiday-focused survey revealed as well that nearly 70% of consumers plan to spend over USD 100 online this holiday season and 30% plan to spend over USD 500 online. Moreover, when asked what factors consumers are most concerned about while holiday shopping online, 40% of respondents claimed they are worried about the inability to try out an item in person before paying for it. Shoppers were also concerned about outspending their budgets (33%) and high shipping fees (23%). Splitit’s findings regarding online shopping present a unique challenge for competing online merchants. Surprisingly, smaller neighbourhood stores were the second most popular option, with 25% of consumers preferring to do their shopping locally.

The survey revealed that retailers can draw consumers to their sites using a variety of incentives: 50% of consumers would be more likely to order an item online if they could try it out before paying for it. Additionally, nearly 46% of consumers said that free shipping would encourage them to spend more money.

Alternative payment options represent another incentive for merchants to consider. The study found that 67% of shoppers would be more likely to make bigger purchases, such as large electronics or furniture, if they were able to pay in monthly instalments. Moreover, 33% of shoppers said they are more likely to make a purchase from a specific retailer if they offer an instalment payment option at checkout.

45% of millennials participating in the study said they would be more likely to buy large electronics if offered an instalment payment option, while 20% of those under the age of 25 would be more likely to purchase clothing or shoes if instalment payments were an option.

The survey, conducted in October 2018, was jointly carried out with Google Consumer Surveys based on a representative sample of more than 1,000 respondents from the US, aged 18–65+.