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IBM study finds shift in shopping, sustainability preferences

Hybrid shopping, or the combination of shopping in physical stores and digital channels, has become the preferred type of shopping by customers as the pandemic pushed them to explore other shopping habits, according to the recent “Consumers want it all” global study by the IBM Institute for Business Value.

The study conducted on 19,000 consumers in association with the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, also revealed a rise in consumer preferences for sustainability and shopping journeys splintered across multiple digital, physical, and mobile touchpoints.

72% of respondents said they choose the physical store as all or part of their primary purchase method. 50% of the respondents prefer going to the store so they could touch and feel the products before their purchase while 47% want to choose their own products, and 43% want to get their products immediately. 27% of the respondents prefer hybrid shopping, and Gen Z consumers are shown as most likely to be hybrid shoppers than any other age group.

The study also touched on the sustainability preferences of the consumers, as well as their purchase decisions and brand preferences since 2020. 44% of the respondents are purpose-driven consumers who choose products or brands based on their values like sustainability, while 62% are willing to change their purchasing habits to reduce environmental impact, up from 57% two years ago.

Half of the respondents said they’re willing to pay an average premium of 70% for sustainability, roughly double the premium from 2020. However, the intention doesn’t translate to action as only 31% said that sustainable products made up most or all of their last purchase. Consumers now expect flexibility in their shopping experience, noted Mark Matthews, Vice President of Research Development and Industry Analysis at the National Retail Federation.

“Increasingly, it’s becoming essential that retail brands demonstrate sustainable choices and options in each step of the customer experience. At the same time, hybrid shopping has taken hold in most categories, particularly in home goods and apparel; and while stores continue to play the predominant role in grocery, hybrid shopping is growing in these categories too,” said Luq Niazi, the Global Managing Director of IBM Consumer Industries.

Niazi added that despite the impact of COVID-19, many leading retail brands continue to transform operations, customer experience and supply chains with AI, hybrid cloud and blockchain technologies to help serve multiple customer preferences. While retailers continuously improve the digital and physical channels for shopping, they are also looking to adopt sustainable choices so consumers can shop guilt-free and reduce the environmental impact of online shopping.

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