Research, not just deals, drawing shoppers online

Survey finds there are many who want to touch products before buying

Canadians plan to tackle even more of their holiday shopping online this year, according to a new poll — but they aren’t done with real stores just yet. The survey by Forum Research found that 55 per cent of respondents said they planned to do some of their holiday shopping online, up from 51 per cent last year.

And while e-commerce con- tinues to shoulder the blame for empty and shuttered retail sites, some shoppers say they are still heading to the stores.

“There’s an increasing proportion of people buying online,” said Forum president Lorne Bozinoff. “But there’s always talk about how brick-and-mortar is dead and it’s all going online. And this (poll) indicated that it’s not that simple. The two really reinforce each other.”

About two-thirds of those surveyed said they do their research online to sift through different products, and then take to the shops to make their purchases. More than 44 per cent said that they need to see and touch the item before handing over the cash.

This trend isn’t lost on e-commerce companies, which have been adding tools to help consumers better understand the products they are seeing on the screen, Bozinoff said.

Only 20 per cent of respondents said they go to a store to see a product before purchasing it online. But for those who do, nearly half said that they believe they can find a cheaper price through an online retailer.

Other reasons for buying online after visiting the store in- cluded convenience and the ability to skip long lines.

The poll also found that twothirds of Canadians have some or a lot of confidence in the country’s economy.

Three-quarters of participants added that they feel their financial situation had improved or at least remained stagnant compared to last year, with 42 per cent reporting that it is the same and 32 per cent saying it is somewhat or a lot better.

Even with Canadians feeling like their wallets are a little heavier in 2018, the poll reported that consumers do not plan to spend more on gifts compared to last year.

More than half of Canadians, or 55 per cent, intend to spend $500 or less on holiday purchases this year.

Bozinoff pointed to a variety of factors that could be causing consumers to spend cautiously, citing ongoing issues in international trade and Canada’s struggling oil industry.

The survey was conducted by telephone with 1,477 randomly selected Canadians. Results based on the total sample are considered accurate within three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.