Harris Poll Holiday Shopping Extravaganza -- Best Buy and Walmart Visited, but Amazon is Where Shoppers Buy

NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Are your stockings hung by the chimney with care?  Hope so, because the holiday shopping season has begun everywhere.  While consumers hit the shops – and the Internet – The Harris Poll has been hard at work checking on some of the top issues facing retailers and shoppers alike this holiday season. 

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Following are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,249 adults surveyed online between November 27 and 29, 2012 by Harris Interactive.

"Showrooming" and its impact on retailers

What is it?

There's a new trend facing brick-and-mortar stores, and its industry nickname is "showrooming."  It happens when shoppers try out a product up close in a store but then choose to purchase it online.  Over four in ten (43%) U.S. adults have showroomed, and the practice clearly affects some stores more than others.

Which stores are losing the most customers to this trend?

When those who have ever showroomed are asked to name the brick and mortar store they most frequently visit to examine a product before purchasing it online, Best Buy (24%) and Walmart (22%) are the top victims of this trend, followed by Target (9%) and, more distantly, by Home Depot (4%), Lowe's (3%) and Barnes & Noble (3%).

• Men (30%) are more likely to report Best Buy as their top showrooming location than women (17%).
• The inverse is true for Walmart (18% men – 27% women) and Target (7% men – 12% women), with women more likely than men to identify each of these retailers as their most frequent showrooming stop.

And which online retailers are snapping them up?

When showroomers are asked to name the online retailer they most frequently purchase from after visiting a brick and mortar store, Amazon (57%) is the dominant response; the online mega-retailer is mentioned by the majority of showroomers, at more than a 10:1 ratio over the next strongest mentions (eBay and Walmart, at 5% each).  Other online retailers mentioned by over 1% of showroomers include Best Buy (3%), Target, Lowe's and Home Depot (2% each).

Looking specifically at those who typically showroom at the top three brick and mortar stores:

• 8% of Best Buy showroomers go on to purchase from Best Buy online, 71% from Amazon.
• 11% of Walmart showroomers go on to purchase from Walmart online, 64% from Amazon.
• 12% of Target showroomers go on to purchase from Target online, 72% from Amazon.

How much do showroomers spend?

Showroomers report spending an average of $211.80 the last time they purchased a product online after examining it in a brick and mortar store.

• Average spending is significantly higher among those who typically visit Best Buy's showroom ($281.50) than among those who prefer to do their in-person scouting at Walmart ($119.10) or Target ($79.30).
• Average spending is also significantly higher among male showroomers ($269.80) than among their female counterparts ($148.70).

Making a game of it

Mimicking rankings for everyone's favorite fall sport – football – the study also ranks retailers by their net takeaway score.  This newly created score looks at customer turnovers (percentage showrooming at the identified brick and mortar store) and recoveries (percentage that then go on to purchase from the specified website) they made as compared with competitors.  While Amazon (57) and eBay (5) both show positive scores by default – since they lack any brick and mortar presence at this time – Amazon's dominant position is nonetheless worthy of recognition.  Best Buy (-21) and Walmart (-17) lose more shoppers to other online retailers than they are able to recover, as does Target (-7).

Gift Cards

For many holiday shoppers, gift cards represent a perfect balance of trying to give a loved one the ability to get whatever they want, with the desire to customize their gift at least somewhat to their tastes.

Clothing/apparel gift card Americans would most like to receive…

When U.S. adults are asked to select (from a provided list) the clothing/apparel retailer they would most want to receive a gift card from, Victoria's Secret (15%) and LL Bean (13%) are the top selections, followed by Ralph Lauren (7%) and Gap (6%).

• Victoria's Secret interest is, perhaps predictably, stronger among women (25%) than men (4%).
• Conversely, LL Bean (16% men – 10% women) and Ralph Lauren (10% men –3% women) are both more popular selections among men than among women.

Clothing/apparel gift card Americans are most likely to give…

Victoria's Secret (17%) is again the top selection when Americans are asked to select (from the same list) the clothing/apparel retailer from which they would be most likely to buy someone a gift card, followed by Gap (9%), LL Bean (also 9%) and Abercrombie & Fitch (5%).

• Victoria's Secret is the top mention among both men (15%) and women (19%), though it is worth noting that it is a stronger selection among women.
  • Also worth noting – to the dismay of some women, surely – is the fact women are far more likely to indicate most wanting a Victoria's Secret gift card (25%) than men are to select it as the gift card they would most likely purchase (15%).

Department stores and deals

Americans gravitate toward department stores during the holiday season for many of the same reasons they look to online retailers – they can get a variety of their shopping done in a single place, and they can usually save some money while doing so. 

Among the 74% of Americans who have shopped thus far this holiday season, roughly six in ten (61%) confirm having done so at a department store.

When U.S. adults who have shopped at a department store this holiday season are asked at which stores (from a provided list) they have found the best deals, Kohl's (32%) is the top selection, followed by jcp (23%) and Macy's (15%).

TABLE 1
HAVE EVER SHOWROOMED
"Thinking about shopping, have you ever visited a brick and mortar store to examine a product before purchasing it elsewhere online?"

Base: All U.S. adults

Note: Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 2
BRICK & MORTAR STORE MOST FREQUENTLY SHOWROOM AT
"In general, which brick and mortar store do you most frequently visit to examine a product before you purchase it online elsewhere?"

Base: U.S. adults who have showroomed

Note: Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
* signifies less than 1%
- signifies 0%

TABLE 3
ONLINE RETAILER MOST FREQUENTLY PURCHASE FROM AFTER SHOWROOMING
"In general, which brick and mortar store do you most frequently visit to examine a product before you purchase it online elsewhere?"

Base: U.S. adults who have showroomed

Note: Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
* signifies less than 1%
- signifies 0%

TABLE 4
MONEY SPENT ONLINE LAST TIME SHOWROOMED
"Thinking of the last time you purchased a product online after examining it in a brick and mortar store, how much did you spend online?  If you are not sure, please provide your best estimate."

Base: U.S. adults who have showroomed

Note: Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 5
APPAREL STORE WOULD MOST WANT A GIFT CARD FROM
"[Thinking of gift cards / Again thinking of gift cards], among the following clothing and apparel stores, from which one of these would you most want to receive a gift card?"

Base: All U.S. adults

Note: Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 6
APPAREL STORE WOULD MOST LIKELY GIVE SOMEONE A GIFT CARD FROM
 "[Thinking of gift cards / Again thinking of gift cards], among the following clothing and apparel stores, from which one of these would you most likely give someone a gift card?"

Base: All U.S. adults

Note: Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 7
HAVE SHOPPED AT A DEPARTMENT STORE SO FAR THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
"When thinking about shopping this holiday season so far, have you shopped at a department store?"

Base: All U.S. adults

Note: Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 8
DEPARTMENT STORE WHERE YOU HAVE FOUND THE BEST DEALS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
"Thinking about the items you have shopped for this season, at which of these department stores have you found the best deals?"

Base: U.S. adults who have shopped at a department store this holiday season

Note: Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
* signifies less than 1%

Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between November 27 and 29, 2012 among 2,249 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

Brand names used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

The Harris Poll^® #67, December 12, 2012
By: Larry Shannon-Missal, Harris Poll Research Manager

About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll® and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and customer insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and marketing, advertising, public relations and communications research. Harris possesses expertise in a wide range of industries including health care, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Additionally, Harris has a portfolio of multi-client offerings that complement our custom solutions while maximizing our client's research investment. Serving clients in more than 196 countries and territories through our North American and European offices, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

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SOURCE Harris Interactive