Few US In-Store Shoppers Use Digital Discounts

Digital features were once the exclusive domain of online shoppers. Just as savvy in-store shoppers knew where to find the bargain bin, savvy online shoppers knew where to click to earn special deals.

That’s all changed. Increasingly, consumers of all stripes know how to leverage digital deals whether they shop online or walk the aisles of a local store.

These are the Click-and-Mortar™ shoppers — consumers who research products online and then make an in-store appearance to purchase and pick up their items. If you’re a retailer, you should know they represent the fastest-growing segment of shoppers in the world.

According to PYMNTS Intelligence’s “2024 Global Digital Shopping Index: U.S. Edition, a collaboration with Visa Acceptance Solutions,” nearly one-third of U.S. consumers adhere to the Click-and-Mortar™ shoppers’ playbook.

The report, which is based on surveys with more than 2400 U.S. consumers and nearly 600 merchants, found about 20 percent of shoppers prefer to supplement their in-store shopping experience with digital aids.

As the accompanying graphic illustrates, the percentage of U.S. consumers who like in-store shopping has risen gradually since 2020. Meanwhile, those who prefer online shopping peaked in 2020 (not coincidentally, at the height of the pandemic), but the number has receded ever since.

Meanwhile, shoppers who leverage the Click-and-Mortar™ approach — digitally enhancing their in-store experience or picking up online purchases in-person — have steadily increased during that time and now make up 31% of consumers. Between the 44% of consumers who now shop in-store and the 31% who enhance their shopping by leveraging a merchant’s digital features, the Click-and-Mortar™ shopper is a demographic forward-thing merchants can’t afford to overlook.

The 2024 Global Digital Shopping Index is based on surveys of nearly 14,000 consumers and more than 3,500 merchants across seven countries. From the data, PYMNTS Intelligence determined the U.S. has the second-lowest rate of Click-and-Mortar™ adopters among the countries surveyed.

Why? One explanation might be that the U.S. is one of the more established markets we researched, full of shoppers and merchants with long-standing habits. Yet, the steady four-year uptick in Click-and-Mortar™ consumers is hard to ignore. Merchants that haven’t already done so might want to take steps now to ensure their retail and online shopping experiences deliver a seamless experience that consumers will appreciate.