43% of Britons to shop local this Christmas

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Sep 17, 2020

The coronavirus crisis pushed many Britons into shopping locally during the lockdown and the trend is set to continue into the Christmas shopping period, new research from Rakuten Advertising has found.

A survey conducted among 8,673 adults across the globe has revealed some of the ways consumers are planning to shop this holiday season.

In the run up to Christmas, 43% of Britons plan to predominantly shop from domestic brands and 55% have increased their spending with local businesses since the start of the pandemic.

With social distancing restrictions still in place, online shopping will continue to be a major trend in the retail sector but consumers are starting to indicate a desire to shop both online and in-store.

In fact, 21% of UK shoppers think it is unlikely they will venture onto the high street for gift shopping this year and 32% prefers to shop in local stores to avoid large crowds. 
  
Anthony Capano, managing director of international at Rakuten Advertising said that retailers should make connecting the online and offline experience a key priority this Christmas. 

“Retailers should view online and in-store as one entity, and leverage data insights from one to fuel the other,” he explained. 

“They can also drive visits to the high street using online advertising. One way brands can do this is through the use of hyper-targeted display campaigns. These campaigns can be used to update consumers on local store information and emphasise how they are keeping people safe.”

Marketplaces as a source of inspiration

Marketplaces like Amazon and eBay continue to be very relevant for consumers, particularly in the run up to Christmas as they search for gift ideas. 

According to Rakuten, 48% of UK shoppers are now using online marketplaces as the primary source of inspiration during peak shopping, while 46% take into account referrals from friends and family. 

Capano commented: “The success of marketplaces can be put down to accessibility, curation, community and efficiency. 

“Consumers are using marketplaces as a way to search and locate what they need instantly and conveniently. For retailers to be successful they need to drive consumers to their own e-commerce environment, and retailers can leverage many of the marketplace aspects to do this via their publisher partners.”

Recommendations across social media platforms are also still important. Facebook is the preferred social media app (38%) followed by Whatsapp (35%) Instagram (31%) and YouTube (27%).

Capano concluded: “We expect the majority of online purchases to take place on mobile this holiday season, and social media remains an important place for brands to reach consumers. Investing in low-risk upper funnel strategies, with platforms that align with they own brand values, is an effective way for brands to reach and engage consumers with relevant and timely ads.”