Brands across the USA are preparing to have a 'digital-first' holiday season, as shoppers shun the in-store experience
New research from Paris, France-based digital experience analytics provider, Contentsquare[1], has revealed that more than half (52%) of US shoppers believe physical stores should close this Black Friday, citing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
It used data from over 4,000 consumers around the world for its Holiday readiness report[2] and has been monitoring consumer shopping behaviors[3] during the pandemic.
Analysis of the data showed that American shoppers are by far the most concerned about COVID-19, with American men aged 35-44 being the most likely to avoid stores due to fears of the coronavirus.
US consumers have made it clear that they will not be hitting the shops this Black Friday. Almost half of American respondents (45%) say that they will avoid visiting physical stores because of concerns about COVID-19.
This is in contrast to shoppers across the rest of the world. Just over one in three (39%) of British shoppers, 36% of French shoppers, and only 26% of German shoppers say that they would avoid physical stores.
This is in spite of the fact that many of those in Europe are currently experiencing a lockdown of all but essential shops.
Last year, 54% of Americans had conducted the majority of their Christmas shopping in physical shops so this is a significant shift away from shopping in stores. However consumer sentiment seems to be changing rapidly.
Almost nine in ten (88%) of American consumers had no plans to shop in store in August 2020, however this has now dropped to 45% who have no plans to shop in store. This shows a slow but sure boost