London and South East revealed as most likely to benefit from change in shopping behaviour according to analysis

London and South East revealed as most likely to benefit from change in shopping behaviour according to analysis

Those that shop by researching products online, use social media to ask friends for recommendations, or head in store for a product trial before checking the final price on their mobile phone are part of an emerging group of consumers that Experian claims has the power to save Britain’s high streets: the multichannel shopper.

Analysis of the shopping behaviour of two thousand people and analysis from Experian’s consumer classification tool, Mosaic, analysis has revealed that Southall, Harrow and Wimbledon Village are the top three High Street locations with largest concentrations of these multichannel shoppers. In contrast, the areas with the fewest multichannel shoppers are in remote, rural areas with Pwllheli, Cardigan and Porthmadog in Wales and Newton Stewart and Castle Douglas in Scotland all scoring lowly.

Tracking changing consumer habits

Nigel Wilson, Experian’s managing director of marketing information services in the UK and Ireland, said: “The emergence of a divide between the South East and the remainder of the country in the future prosperity of our High Streets is a trend we are seeing. What our research shows is that there are great opportunities out there for retailers who can capitalise on changes in consumer behaviour, wherever they are located. Shoppers still love walking into a store, but they are increasingly searching the internet, smartphones and social networks before buying. Retailers ignoring this do so at their peril.”

The Experian research also revealed that almost a third (31%) of the UK population now falls into the multichannel category, with concentrations around particular regional hubs. Southall is the UK’s multichannel capital: 66.3% of the local population are multichannel mavens, making the Greater London borough the area most likely to benefit from this savvy shopping behaviour.

Experian said its research highlights significant changes in how consumers shop and points to ways retailers can embrace technology to boost High Street performance and maintain this channel as a key part of Britain’s retail mix.