Wirecard Global Shopping Report 2019: More than two-thirds of consumers worldwide say Unified Commerce is a key factor when choosing where to shop

Aschheim (Munich) (ots) -

- Digital payments are now predominant in the purchasing process -
with over 90% of consumers having used cashless payment methods
both online and in-store
- Over three-quarters of consumers surveyed are willing to share
personal data in return for incentives
- Physical stores remain relevant to the modern shopper, but how
merchants interact with customers has changed and is inherent to
their success

Despite the worldwide boom in online retail over the past years, shopping in
physical stores is still key for consumers worldwide - but only if the
purchasing experience integrates all sales channels, innovative technology and
data-driven incentives. These findings are part of a Wirecard-commissioned
global study of 4,500 consumers in eight countries, which the global innovation
leader for digital financial technology has released in advance of Black Friday.

"Our research has revealed that consumers clearly desire choice when completing
purchases. Consumers shop in many different ways nowadays and this is
challenging merchants to meet a wide range of retail demands," commented Markus
Eichinger, EVP Group Strategy at Wirecard. "A lot of focus is put on pricing,
but not necessarily on the flexibility customers seek. A unified commerce
strategy, with a focus on a consistent and frictionless buying journey, is
integral to offering consumers the experience they would expect from any modern
retailer. In the future, brick and mortar stores will only exist if they are
technologically advanced with the latest in-store innovations and a fully
integrated e-commerce backend."

Key findings:

Consumers need consistent offerings across all sales channels:

While 70% of shoppers across the world preferred to purchase in-store over the
past 12 months, compared to on desktop sites (39%), and mobile apps and sites
(32%), the research shows that consistent cross-channel experiences are vital to
consumers. 9-in-10 either research the products they want to purchase online
before buying in-store afterwards (93%) or vice versa (88%). Australians are
most likely to shop in-store (81%), while mobile apps are especially popular in
Hong Kong (59%) and Singapore (53%). Cross-channel product research is
particularly important to Brazilians with almost 60% saying they do this for all
or almost all purchases. The ultimate choice where to purchase depends on what
is being bought: while 77% of consumers buy groceries in-store for example, when
it comes to holidays, the majority (57%) are buying online.

Merchants not offering Unified Commerce possibilities will lose out:

The rise in popularity of more advanced cross-channel purchasing options, such
as buying online and then picking up in-store (BOPIS), further supports this
finding. More than two-thirds (70%) of respondents say that if a brand or
merchant doesn't offer these kinds of options, it would influence their decision
to shop there. In Hong Kong, this figure even exceeded 90%.

Shoppers are "always on" so maintaining an up-to-date online shop is key:

While physical stores are the preferred buying location, how and when people
find goods varies, with online browsing offering shoppers the most convenience.
Consumers will shop online most often while they are relaxing (74%), watching TV
(48%) or in bed (37%). Especially the French like to shop online when on holiday
(33%), considerably more than the global average of 22%.

Consumers appreciate data-driven services and offerings:

The vast majority of consumers value data-driven, customer-centric value-added
services with loyalty programs being used by 88% of those surveyed. Over
three-quarters of consumers reported that they would be willing to give
retailers personal information in exchange for incentives such as a larger
discount. This is particularly true in Hong Kong, where this figure reached 85%,
with 95% of consumers using loyalty programs.

Cashless payments are omnipresent:

Nearly all (94%) of respondents are now using cashless payment methods when they
shop in physical stores. When it comes to online shopping, 91% stated that they
have chosen digital payment options. The main reasons for paying cashless is
speed (35%) and convenience (30%). While card payments remain the most popular
method for cashless payments worldwide, mobile wallets are significantly more
popular in Asia with an average of 45% of consumers in Hong Kong and Singapore
regularly choosing this payment method versus the global average of 25%.

"Retailers that want to engage with their customers via targeted offers, and
improve their service across all channels need to leverage on customer data. Our
report shows that if customers can see a concrete benefit when it comes to
providing personal information, they are willing to share it with retailers,
thus providing merchants critical data which they can analyze to optimize their
offerings and improve customer loyalty," continued Markus Eichinger.

The Wirecard digital financial commerce platform allows merchants worldwide to
easily combine their distribution channels and meet the needs of today's
consumers. Wirecard offers a constantly expanding ecosystem of real-time
value-added services built around innovative digital payments.

The Wirecard Global Shopping Report 2019 is based on the results of an
independent survey carried out by Vanson Bourne on behalf of Wirecard in October
and November 2019. A total of 4,500 consumers over the age of 18 in select
countries like Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, the
U.K. and the U.S. provided answers. For further insight and more information
about consumers' shopping behavior, download the Wirecard Global Shopping Report
here: www.wirecard.com/knowledge-hub/insights/global-shopping-report

About Wirecard:

Wirecard (GER:WDI) is one of the world's fastest growing digital platforms in
the area of financial commerce. We provide both business customers and consumers
with a constantly expanding ecosystem of real-time value-added services built
around innovative digital payments by using an integrated B2B2C approach. This
ecosystem concentrates on the areas payment & risk, retail & transaction
banking, loyalty & couponing, data analytics & conversion rate enhancement in
all sales channels (online, mobile, ePOS). Wirecard operates regulated financial
institutions in several key markets and holds issuing and acquiring licenses
from all major payment and card networks. Wirecard AG is listed on the Frankfurt
Stock Exchange (DAX and TecDAX, ISIN DE0007472060). Visit us on
www.wirecard.com, follow us on Twitter @wirecard and on Facebook @wirecardgroup.

Wirecard media contact:
Wirecard AG
Jana Tilz
Tel.: +49 (0) 89 4424 1363
Email: jana.tilz@wirecard.com

Additional content: https://www.presseportal.de/pm/15202/4451454
OTS: Wirecard AG
ISIN: DE0007472060

Original-Content von: Wirecard AG, übermittelt durch news aktuell