High street vital for sports and outdoor brands
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News , Outdoor News
Bricks and mortar high street stores are the life-blood of sports and outdoor brands as shoppers seek to try before they buy.
This was one of the major findings uncovered from the Sports and Outdoor Shopping Uncovered report which carried out research among more than a thousand home and leisure shoppers about how they prefer to shop and what influences them to buy.
The study reveals shopper attitudes to sports, fitness and outdoor brands, and found that nearly two-thirds of shoppers visit a store at some stage when buying sports, fitness and outdoor goods.
Furthermore while just around a third of people prefer to buy online, 41% solely shop instore - 10% higher than all home and leisure shoppers.
The study was based on the Shopper Forces model, so mapped the relative influence on buying decisions of price, need to touch, shopping experience, need for education, brand, and social approval.
Shoppers buying sports and outdoor brands want to be able to touch and play before parting with their cash - more so than any other category, which makes it clear to see why physical stores play such a big role.
Shoppers were more likely to be brand driven. And while getting a good price was important, shoppers were less likely to expect a sale or bargain with an underlying view that you get what you pay for.
In a separate study Verdict and British Land found that 89% of all UK retail sales in 2015 touched a store through either physical sales, click & collect or online sales browsed in store, demonstrating how physical and online complement each other and the importance of omni channel retailing.
Charles Maudsley, head of retail for British Land, said: "This research demonstrates the continued value of the physical store and the important role it plays in the lives of consumers.
"Leading retailers and landlords need to continue to embrace omni-channel to future-proof physical stores and meet the needs of consumers today and tomorrow."