The Profitero Blog

Retail Intelligence: Digital boosts in-store retail sales by more than $1 trillion

Written by Profitero | May 5, 2014 1:00:00 AM

According to recent research from Deloitte Digital, digital interactions now influence over a third (36%) of every dollar spent in-store, representing $1.1 trillion. By the end of 2014, Deloitte estimates this number will rise to 50 percent or $1.5 trillion of total store sales – and suggests that retail has now reached a tipping point.

Deloitte’s report “The New Digital Divide” attempts to quantify the extent to which consumers’ use of PCs, tablets and smartphones influence pick-and-mortar sales – and reveals that digital’s influence on in-store purchase behaviour is growing much faster than we could ever have anticipated.

The survey found that 84 percent of store visitors use their mobile devices before or during a shopping trip, inevitably to check prices. Smartphone devices alone influence $593 billion, or 19 percent of all in-store retail sales – a significant increase from 2012 when smartphones represented just 5 percent of in-store sales.

However, Deloitte reveals that whilst the threat of showrooming has long been a concern for retailers, digital shoppers actually spend more. Consumers who use a mobile device during their shopping journey convert at a rate 40 percent higher than those shoppers who do not use a device.

Given the acceleration of how much digital devices influence in-store purchase behaviour, Deloitte believes we have reached a tipping point – where digital channels should no longer be considered a separate business. Instead, digital is fundamental to a retailer’s entire business.

“Retailers that narrowly focus on digital commerce – rather than the full journey that leads to a purchase – often fail to recognize how their customers shop and make decisions in the store. The result is a digital pide between what consumers do and what retailers deliver”, states Deloitte.

As with Forrester’s recent research into cross-channel sales in Europe, delivering a seamless omnichannel offering will be critical for retailers if they’re to compete and win in today’s ever-changing retail environment.

To help retailers better understand how they can compete and win in today’s fast-moving world of omnichannel retail and dynamic pricing, don’t miss Profitero’s essential webinar featuring renowned Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru.

About Profitero

Profitero is the leading global provider of online competitor pricing data. We provide both picks & mortar and online retailers with their competitors’ prices, promotions and full product assortment information. Profitero’s accurate and timely competitor intelligence enables our customers to make better informed and more profitable pricing decisions, helping them to increase sales as well as margins.

More than 40 global retailers, including Staples, Sam’s Club, Tesco, Waitrose and Ocado, rely on Profitero Price Intelligence to:

  • Benchmark competitor prices
  • Manage their prices and promotions
  • Attract price sensitive shoppers
  • Negotiate better with suppliers.

Our pricing data can be seamlessly integrated into price optimization solutions such as Blue Yonder, Revionics and IBM DemandTec, to deliver more accurate and effective price optimization. Profitero is also the preferred supplier of online competitor pricing data to Nielsen’s retail customers across more than 100 countries.

To discover how Profitero can help make your pricing smarter, contact us at sales@profitero.com or visit www.profitero.com.