Intuit’s latest survey highlights the fundamental shift in American consumers’ shopping behaviour because of the pandemic.
The study found 93% of US adults said supporting small businesses this upcoming holiday season is more important than before because of the pandemic. Around 48% of consumers are likely to try new businesses than they were pre-pandemic, indicating a huge opportunity for retail-based small businesses looking to maximise their holiday sales.
To capitalise on this opportunity, small businesses need to build an online presence, remove barriers that prevent shoppers from making a purchase. Around 48% of customers surveyed stopped shopping at a store they visited before the pandemic because the business did not have an online store. Nearly half of consumers reported enjoying online shopping because they do not have to leave the house.
Around 83% of online shoppers experienced technical issues at least once or twice while shopping or browsing on small businesses’ websites – a potential threat to sales conversion. Shilpa Reddy, vice president of QuickBooks Commerce at Intuit said, “Our research shows that consumers want to support small businesses, but they often aren’t able to provide consumers with the online shopping experience they’ve come to expect, missing out on potential sales.”
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