The pandemic certainly accelerated the uptake of online shopping, but new research shows that Aussies still prefer to shop in traditional bricks-and-mortar stores.

The annual Retail Monitor survey from the Australian Consumer and Retail Studies unit at Monash found that customers prefer to shop in-store across most product categories including apparel, personal care and household goods.

Interestingly, despite this preference, Australian shoppers actually rate the online experience as being ‘better’, particularly on key attributes like product availability, product ranges and sales and promotions.

We are also far more likely to return an item they had bought in-store rather than online, with 66 per cent willing to do the former, as opposed to the 42 per cent that return online items.

72 per cent of shoppers have returned an item over the past year.

“Prior to the pandemic, there was a clear divide amongst shoppers over physical versus online shopping experiences, with the majority of Australian shoppers preferring to use physical stores as their main channel for non-grocery retail purchases,” says Dr Eloise Zoppos, Principal Research Consultant at the ACRS.

“During COVID-19, online became the main non-grocery retail channel out of necessity and the majority of Australian shoppers turned to online methods, a trend which was accelerated by the pandemic. We’re now seeing the return of a preference for physical stores and shoppers are moving between the offline and online worlds more seamlessly than ever before”.

The survey also shows spending habits in-store are on par with two years prior, with 70 per cent of Australians purchasing clothing, footwear and accessories in-store or online in the three months to September 2022, the same percentage as for September 2020.

Personal care was also a popular purchase (49 per cent), with household items decreasing since early 2020 (42 per cent 2022, compared to 54 per cent 2020).

“Research shows that the ability to see, touch and trial goods is the most influential factor of purchase decisions, and when it comes to tactile products such as apparel and household goods, factors such as size, fit and quality are paramount, but difficult to judge online”, Zoppos says.