What are the main reasons bringing customers into your store?

The main reasons to visit a bricks-and-mortar shop are the ability to see an item and assess its quality in-person, according to latest research carried out on behalf of Elavon.

When we questioned more than 1,000 adults across the UK in an online survey, 72% said the top reason to encourage a visit to a physical store was seeing what they were about to buy in person. Meanwhile 61% said they like to be able to assess the quality of products and almost two-thirds (60%) said they would be encouraged to shop in store if they needed something urgently.

Let your customers get up close and personal

“These insights drive home how important the design of your store and displays are for shoppers to be able to see and even handle the products they are thinking about buying,” says Simon Hargroves, Head of Head of UK Small and Medium Business Direct Sales Elavon Europe. 

“It’s not enough to just show them what’s available, but let them get close enough to assess the quality, and value for money.

“Although it’s not the biggest driver, playing to customers’ need for speed gives you a crucial edge over online retail. If you make it easy for shoppers to find what they are looking for, clear and easy to pay, and then take the item with them, then you’re removing obstacles for your customers – which can only be good,” says Simon. 

Meanwhile, more than half of those questioned (52%) said in-store offers and promotions are a key draw to a physical shop. You could capitalise on this by offering the likes of “in-store only” offers and discounts.

A large proportion of adults (41%) say they want to support their local economy. When you look at shoppers by age, this becomes even more important – being a driver for more than half (52%) of the over 55s. So if you know your audience, and your core target shopper is in this age group, then highlighting your local credentials could be a good move.

Social shopping or just help with the bags?

Interestingly, more than a quarter (28%) of all adults said the social side of shopping was a reason to visit a store. Younger shoppers and women are even more likely to find this appealing. 

“Here you can see there’s more to shopping, than shopping. 

“If your store is a pleasant place to be, wide aisles, good unintrusive music, warm and inviting, then you may find shoppers will come to spend time together as they browse and buy,” says Simon. 

“You could take this further by offering more than solely a retail experience. Creating a ‘destination store’, with perhaps a café or somewhere to sit down, can be really appealing to more than a quarter of adults,” adds Simon.

“You know your customer better than anyone. If you’re appealing to younger shoppers or women, or both, then making your shop a social experience could be a key driver.” 

Bricks … and clicks (and collect?)

Other survey results highlight that one in five shoppers (20%) like the option to click and collect.  

If you’re unfamiliar with this, it’s where shoppers can buy online or through an app and collect the item in store. They can pay as they order or on collection, perhaps at a dedicated time, from a dedicated place in store to reduce queues and make it a convenient and smooth transaction for them, and you.

This could offer an opportunity to expand your retail business into a so-called ‘omnicommerce’ model, mixing real life interactions with ecommerce options to take advantage of this market.  

After all, if you are offering click and collect, you’ve got another opportunity to sell things when customers visit your store while using the power of the internet to widen your market reach.

If you haven’t already expanded into the world of online retail then we can help you explore if this is right for your business model.  

Talk to us to find out more.

Source: Yonder conducted an online sample of 1,103 UK adults 18+ between 8 -  14 March 2023. Data is weighted to be representative of the population of the UK. Targets for quotas and weights are taken from the PAMCO survey, a random probability survey conducted annually with 35,000 adults. Yonder is a founding member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. 

Table in full: 

Question: Which, if any, of the following reasons would encourage you to shop physically in store? This table has been rebased to exclude the answers “none of the above”.