Retailers should expect a subdued Christmas with only 25% expecting to spend more this festive season compared to last year, according to Effective Measure.
Consumers are not deserting shopping centres, but they are entering them armed with best price with men leading the price-comparison practice.
Despite using online tools to compare prices only 23% of surveyed men said they would buy their gifts online, the Australian Shopping Intentions Report found.
However, online retailers have become a fixed feature on local shopping lists.
Men are setting aside a budget of $313 for online overseas purchases while women set aside $216.
Dinesh Arasaratnam, regional MD-Ocenia for Effective Measure, said: “Digital vs. physical retail is not a David and Goliath battle anymore, it is actually emerging as a complimentary status quo, where the consumer is the winner.”
“Retailers need to see that their greatest opportunity rests in understanding how their data is the key to more effective business performance. Collecting on and offline data is one step but extracting the value from it and applying that to retail strategy and customer engagement is now key.”
To see the full report click here.
