Physical retail continues to drive the bulk of retail sales — and will for quite some time. Despite all the attention given to e-commerce, 72% of U.S. retail sales will still occur in brick-and-mortar stores in 2024, according to new research from Forrester.
Even during pandemic-induced mandatory shutdowns and with additional safety concerns, consumers have shown they will continue to shop in the store when they feel it is a viable option. The top reasons for shopping in store are to test products (47%) and being able to walk away with an item after purchasing (38%), Forrester found. Consumers also like to make returns in physical stores. Forty-one percent said online returns are difficult and over a third of consumers said this has discouraged them from purchasing online. Over half of respondents said they prefer in-store returns.
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