January 20, 2022 SOTI Survey Details US Consumers’ Purchasing Behavior

To understand how consumer behaviors in retail are changing, SOTI surveyed 10,000 consumers across eight countries.

Delays, product shortages and rising costs continue to plague the retail and supply chain industries and consumers are feeling the impact firsthand. However, this isn’t changing their shopping expectations, requiring retailers to offer speed and flexibility, putting them at risk of losing customers if both shopping and delivery experiences aren’t seamless. 

According to a new global research report commissioned by SOTI, From Clicks to Ships: Navigating the Global Supply Chain Crisis 2022 Report, in order for retailers to retain customers during the supply chain crisis, they need adequate local shipping processes as well as speedy delivery and pick up times. 

To understand how consumer behaviors are changing due to the global pandemic, increased inflation rates and supply chain availability issues, as well as their expectations on retailers to deal with them, SOTI, the world’s most trusted provider of mobile and IoT device management solutions, surveyed 10,000 consumers across eight countries (US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, Sweden, France and Australia).

More than half (52%) of US consumers state items have become more expensive and almost two-thirds of shoppers (61%) are finding one or more items are no longer available for immediate purchase. This has pushed consumers to settle for alternative products or turn to a different retailer to find items in stock. 

Shipping Experience is Disrupting the Buying Experience

Supply chain frustration is one of the major causes of the sudden change in consumers’ shopping behavior, pushing them to shop online rather than in-store (49.1%). However, to avoid shipping delays, many US consumers are opting for ‘buy online, pick up in-store’ options. 

Furthermore, when asked which habit US consumers will rely on, 72% stated they would continue with buying online and having purchases picked up or delivered, 54% opted for shopping in-store and purchases taken or delivered, followed by 59% stating they would go with purchases picked up in-store, whether bought in-store or online.

According to the report:

• 57.3% are less likely to order an item that requires shipping from overseas than a year ago
• 56.2% find shipping time the most frustrating aspect of ordering online
• 48.5% expect to pick up from a store any item they have ordered online on the same day
• 42.3% state if delivery or pick up of an item is more than two days, they will look elsewhere
• 41.7% are buying more online and having purchases delivered directly to them

“Retailers need to find a way to accelerate innovation and implement technology to communicate with consumers and partners, while also taking into consideration the fact that we’re still very much in a state of flux. This places a premium on the need for flexibility and scalability,” said Shash Anand, VP of Product Strategy at SOTI.

Increasing Consumer Loyalty Requires Transparency and Flexibility  

US consumers require more communication and information from retailers than ever before. They also demand transparency and flexibility: 

• 69.3% expect to know where their order is within the delivery process at all times
• 64.3% have continued shopping with brands who can deliver goods the fastest
• 49.9% would be more likely to shop from a retailer’s store if multiple return points are offered
• 34.8% stated knowing who a retailer’s delivery partner is resulted in not completing an order with a retailer

Pandemic Accelerates Acceptance of New Forms of Delivery 

The frustrations that consumers experienced in 2020 and 2021 are making them more open to in-home delivery by any method (83%). Nearly three quarters (72.7%) are open to delivery to a designated drop-off point. Looking ahead, over half (59.3%) said they would consider either autonomous vehicles or delivery drones. 

“Mobile technology can help the retail supply chain improve communications and customer experiences across the entire consumer journey. However, this requires significant backend infrastructure and mobile tracking to create a seamless experience. By investing in mobile technology, brands and retailers can not only diagnose problems quickly and adapt to the evolving retail ecosystem, but ensure they remain on top of consumer needs, support employees out in the field and remain profitable,” concludes Anand.

SOTI’s From Clicks to Ships: Navigating the Global Supply Chain Crisis 2022 Report can be downloaded here.

Report Methodology
10,000 interviews were conducted using an online methodology with adults aged 18 to 65 years old, with nationally representative quotas on gender, age and region set at country-level between November 20 and December 2, 2021. The 10,000 interviews are split across eight markets as follows: U.S. (2,000 respondents), Canada (1,000 respondents), Mexico (1,000 respondents), UK (2,000 respondents), Germany (1,000 respondents), Sweden (1,000 respondents), France (1,000 respondents) and Australia (1,000 respondents).

About SOTI                               
SOTI is the world’s most trusted provider of mobile and IoT device management solutions, with more than 17,000 enterprise customers and millions of devices managed worldwide. SOTI’s innovative portfolio of solutions and services provide the tools organizations need to truly mobilize their operations and optimize their mobility investments. SOTI extends secure mobility management to provide an integrated solution to manage and secure all mobile devices and connected peripherals in an organization.

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