New Survey: Swedes enjoy in-store shopping more than anyone else
A new survey on shopping habits by Publicis Sapient shows that Swedes stand by their in-store visits but do their online homework first.
Swedes appreciates in-store visits more than even Americans
A new YouGov international survey places Swedes as the most determined to continue their visits to physical stores in the future, according to a recent survey done by Publicis Sapient.
In the survey, Swedes state to enjoy shopping in-store more than any of the other nationalities. 75% of the Swedes enjoy visiting a store, vs for instance 64% of Americans who in the past decennia have been the key cultivators of in-store shopping as a leisure activity.
Online preparation
The enjoyable Swedish stroll to the store is often also well prepared - with more than half of the Swedish participants (53%) often or always checking the online inventory of a store they want to visit before heading out. This is the highest number in the survey, and well above the average of 37% of between the British, American, French, and German participants run an in-store availability check.
Björn Elmberg, Nordic retail lead at Publicis Sapient: “Swedes are more likely to look at real-time inventory before visiting a store than other geographies. Maybe because we have higher expectations on retailers' ability to provide accurate inventory data, but it also indicates that Swedish consumers more frequently have decided on their purchase before entering the store. Unfortunately, too many Swedish retailers are still separating the online and physical journeys.
Swedes are satisfied with their own shopping habits
3,7% of American shoppers stated to shop online only versus just 1,9% of Swedish participants who no longer shopped in-store. At the same time, Swedes are the least interested in changing their shopping habits; Just over half of all Swedish shoppers (56%) express no intent to change their shopping balance between online and offline shopping and 66 % wants to keep their current balance between online and in-store shopping. No other country expresses such a desire for a status quo on e-commerce shopping.
In-store shopping increases with age
The affinity for in-store shopping in Sweden is present across all ages, but it progresses by age. For example, half of respondents over 55 would prefer to visit a physical store to buy a pair of jeans, whilst only 7 % of responders under 25 would. For buying luxury items like watches and jewellery, 65% of the 55+ Swedish respondents preferred to go in-store, which is more than their counterparts in Germany (44 %), US (50 %)and UK (50 %).
Physical shopping experience is appreciated
When Swedish consumers are asked about what drives them to prefer in-store shopping, the brick-and-mortar shopping experience is sufficiently significant in consumers value itself; On the question of how likely they would be to take advantage of fun experiences in store such as coffee shops, makeup demos and pop-ups, more than 70% of the Swedish shoppers declined the offer. Only the British respondents are equally uninterested. Half of the respondents under the age of 35 shows an interest, and this gradually decline with age to merely 15% of the seniors (55+) indicating an interest in in-store events, versus for example 35% of their senior counterparts in France.
About the survey
YouGov administered the survey among over 7,000 participants across France, Germany, the U.S., the U.K., and Sweden. Conducted in September 2022, the purpose of the research was to enable a better understanding of what consumers value in shopping experiences. This data is meant to help brands evolve their business operations and forge lasting customer relationships through personalized and engaging experiences.
