Internet, best friend of the outlets

The buying journey of the French in five key steps: Internet has become the best friend of the points of sale!

While the purchasing channels available to consumers are becoming more and more diversified (m-commerce, e-commerce, traditional stores...) and are making the act of buying more complex, Wincor Nixdorf, in partnership with the IFOP, surveyed French consumers to identify the ways in which this plurality of channels is changing their entire purchasing process:

- Social networks have a marginal influence (2%) on the buying motivation of French people, unlike friends and acquaintances (31%).
- For 46% of the French, the Internet is the first source of pre-purchase information.
- When it comes to comparing products, the French go as much on the Internet as in stores, but the store remains the first place of purchase for 62% of the French.
- In-store, the French have two privileged allies: the salesman they increasingly use (90% vs 80% in 2012) and their smartphone, which they are twice as likely to use as in 2012 (50% vs 23%).
- Contrary to 2012, when an article is absent from the shelves, the first reflex of the French is to go on the Internet to buy it (32%)
- For the French, price comparisons (46%) and the diversity of products (42%) are the two main advantages of the Internet that they want to find in stores. On the other hand, the possibility to try a product (56%) and to exchange it easily (52%) are the two major advantages of the store that they wish to find in shops.
- Finally, when it comes to payment, the bank card largely dominates cash in the eyes of the French, who find it easier to pay with 90%

For the first time, this study models the entire purchasing path of the French. The originality of the survey is to measure the impact of this multiplicity of channels on each of the five fundamental stages of the purchasing process, i.e. :
1. Motivation to buy
2. Taking information
3. The comparison
4. The purchase
5. Payment
Here are the main findings of this survey conducted by self-administered online questionnaire with a sample of 1,000 people representative of the French population aged 18 and over, from 17 to 22 April 2014.

I. FRIENDS TO MOTIVATE, INTERNET TO INFORM AND THE SHOP TO BUY

- Family and friends, the first motivation to make a purchase
Relatives are the first source of motivation for French people when it comes to making a purchase (31%). In terms of influence, family and friends exceed advertising (27%) and Internet articles presenting products. Surprisingly, social networks have almost no influence on French people's purchasing decisions: only 2% of them are sensitive to them!
- Internet, the main source of pre-purchase information
Once motivated, the French start looking for information on the desired product. In this quest for information, it is the Internet that they prefer: 46% of them refer to reviews on the net, while 20% prefer to turn to in-store research and advice from salespeople. While information is generally gathered online, the French compare products both on the Internet and in stores before buying: for the five main product categories (high-tech, leisure, household appliances, home equipment and clothing) 31% of the French compare prices on commercial sites, 31% in stores and 38% both on the Internet and in stores.
"There is no longer any reason to oppose showrooming and webrooming, which are two complementary consumer trends. Depending on the products they are looking for, consumers will use the best of both worlds to compare and test before buying," adds Laurent Houitte, Marketing & Alliances Director at Wincor Nixdorf.
- The store, the French people's favourite place to shop
When it comes to choosing the place of purchase, the store is obvious for 62% of the French.
Products for household equipment (76%), clothing (74%) and household appliances (62%) are those that the French buy mainly at points of sale. While high-tech (55%) and cultural products (53%) are mainly purchased online.
Interestingly enough, before proceeding with an online purchase, the French need to be reassured by trying or evaluating the desired product. There's nothing like going to the store: almost half of them (47%) go to the store to feel reassured in their choice. This rate reaches 57% for household appliances, 55% for high-tech products and drops to 40% for clothing and 38% for leisure products.

II. THE SELLER AND THE SMARTPHONE/TABLET AS BUYING PARTNERS OF CONSUMERS

In the store, the French rely on a duo of partners: the sales assistant and the smartphone/tablet.
- Never without my salesman...
The first is their privileged partner. Indeed, 90% of the French request him in order to benefit from his expertise and/or his knowledge of the products. Since 2010, the need to be accompanied by the seller, during the purchasing act, has been constantly increasing among the population: that year 72% of respondents said they were asking for help, compared to 80% two years later and 90% today. A rise in the power of the seller among the French is corroborated by the following facts: his incompetence is a reason for abandoning purchases (23% of respondents) and his absence from merchant sites is considered a lack by 33% of cyberbuyers.

- ...nor my mobile device
Smartphones and tablets have taken up a considerable amount of space in less than 24 months. In August 2012, only 23% of the French were using their smartphone/tablet in stores to accompany their purchase. Today, there are 50% to do so. That's a jump of more than 100%! In order, the smartphone/tablet are used to: take a picture of a product and email it to friends (25%), get product information (23%), find a better price online (20%) or get feedback from family/friends on social networks (11%). In fact, identifying a better online offer is responsible for 5% of purchase abandonment at the point of sale.
In addition to their new status as the shopping companion of the French, the smartphone and the tablet have become major shopping venues: 44% of the French are engaging in m-commerce! 3% even do it several times a week, 17% one or more times a month and 24% one or more times a year.

III. THE FRENCH PLAY THE COMPLEMENTARITY BETWEEN THE INTERNET AND THE SHOP

- Internet and the shop: the principle of communicating vessels?
When an item is absent in the store, we see the principle of communicating vessels between the Internet and the physical store. If a product is unavailable at the point of sale, the first reflex of the French is to look for it and then buy it online (32%). In other words, in the eyes of the French, the Internet and the store complement each other. Moreover, fewer French people today go to another store when a product is unavailable at the point of sale (29% vs. 39% in 2012) or abandon their purchase (7% vs. 10% in 2012).
On the other hand, in case of unavailability of a desired product on a website, the transfer of customers to the physical store is not so obvious. The first reaction of French people is to make their purchase on another website (55%). Only 15% of cyber-buyers will go to a store to buy what they did not find online! Note that in this case the abandonment rate is 13%.
- The French imagine the best of the meeting between the Internet and the store...
Clearly the French want to go faster and further in the complementarity between the Internet and the store. The proof? Asked about the advantages of buying on the Internet that they would like to find in store, almost the majority cite price comparisons (46%, stable compared to 2012), the diversity of products (42% compared to 37% in 2012), the management of promotions (26% compared to 25% in 2012) and opening hours (23% compared to 21% in 2012).
Similarly, when they have to mention the strong points of the store to be imported on the merchant sites, the French refer to the major assets of the physical point of sale: the possibility of seeing or trying the products (56%), of easily exchanging products (52%) or of having the purchased product immediately available (43%).
- ...and they prefer the credit card as the ideal means of payment...
Finally, when it comes to paying for their purchases, the French show a strong preference for the blue card to the detriment of cash. For 90% of them, payment by credit card is the easiest method of payment far ahead of cash (10%). Specifically, they believe that it is easier to pay by bank card at a traditional cash register (42%), on the Internet (35%) and at a cash machine (13%) than in cash at a cashier (8%) or at a cash machine (2%).

"As a privileged partner of the stores, we are particularly proud of this study as it is one of the few French initiatives aimed at identifying and analysing the five key stages of the French people's purchasing journey. Thanks to this tree structure, retailers now have an up-to-date snapshot of the French consumer's journey".concludes Laurent Houitte.

"The other strength of this survey is that it makes the opposition between the Internet and the point of sale obsolete and artificial. Through their answers, the French have clearly whistled the end of the confrontation between these two channels. Thanks to a greater knowledge of the strengths of the Internet and its limitations, consumers now know that they have everything to gain from taking advantage of the best of the store and online sales sites. And they do not deprive themselves of it! »

"To be frank, these results do not come as a surprise to us because they validate the vision that Wincor Nixdorf has been pursuing for the past few years: brands that want to continue to exist must be able to establish a strategy that allows them to combine the best of the physical store and the Internet, in other words the connected point of sale.

The complete elements of the study are available for download:
- Analysis of the main results 
- Summary of Responses

About Wincor Nixdorf
Wincor Nixdorf designs, implements and operates global solutions to support the major players in these markets in improving their business processes by acting on three strategic flows: customer flows, cash management flows and electronic payment flows.
With a turnover exceeding two billion euros, our Group deploys its business expertise, its mastery of technologies (software and hardware) and its service capacity in more than 100 countries, relying on more than 9,000 employees united by a strong corporate culture and shared values.
Since 2004, the French subsidiary has been number one in the French market for delivery of both self-service banking solutions and cash collection technologies.
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