Roughly 170 million people plan to purchase technology gifts this holiday season, which represents 68% of total holiday purchases. With this in mind UPS recently released a study they conducted called “How to Click with High-Tech Online Shoppers.”
The study, which examined what high-tech online shoppers want in their shopping experience, found that these shoppers are hyper connected across devices and social channels; explorers, always seeking more information; and convenience-centric.
“High-tech shoppers have distinctive purchasing behaviors, and retailers need to look at what motivates them and influences their decisions across the shopping experience from pre-purchase through purchase, delivery and returns,” said David Roegge, director of High-Tech Segment Marketing, UPS.
The following are highlights from the study:
- High-tech purchasers have made significantly more purchases on their smartphones in 2016 (42%) versus purchasers of non-high-tech items (27%).
- High-tech purchasers are heavy users of social media, with 42% following retailers’ social channels; 37% saying that social media influences their purchasing decisions; and, 25% making purchases on social media sites.
- 61% of high-tech purchasers find peer reviews important versus 55% non-high-tech purchasers.
-39% of high-tech purchasers prefer alternative delivery locations compared to only 31% of non-high-tech purchasers.
- While high-tech purchasers do a lot of shopping online, 46% of their purchases are made in store and 58% of these shoppers prefer to make returns to the store.
“Offering a seamless experience across channels, empowering shoppers with information, looking for ways to add value through recommendations, deals and promotions and providing convenient options from pre-purchase to delivery and returns will help retailers get ahead with high-tech shoppers,” said Roegge.
