Low-Income Consumers Choose Retailers Over D2C When Shopping Online

When low-income shoppers tap digital channels, they prefer to shop with retailers rather than going straight to brands’ eCommerce shops, trusting stores to offer them the best price.

By the Numbers

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “The Online Features Driving Consumers to Shop With Brands, Retailers or Marketplaces,” which drew from a survey of more than 3,500 U.S. consumers in October, sought to understand shoppers’ choices and behaviors when they buy online.

The study found that low-income consumers — those who earn less than $50,000 annually — are the most likely to prefer retailers’ online stores over brands’ online stores and the least likely to prefer brands’ eCommerce shops.

The study also found that consumers’ most common reason for choosing retailers’ online sites is that they want to get a better price.

A Deeper Dive

Prices are top-of-mind for many shoppers today. The PYMNTS Intelligence study “New Reality Check: The Paycheck-to-Paycheck Report: Why One-Third of High Earners Live Paycheck to Paycheck” drew from a survey of more than 4,200 U.S. consumers. It found that half of consumers have switched to cheaper retail merchants due to product price increases.

Plus, the “Pessimism About Pay Rises Offsets the Effect of Falling Inflation” edition of the series found that 83% of consumers said they are at least somewhat concerned about near-term economic conditions, and 62% of consumers said they do not expect their income to increase at least on par with inflation.

In an interview with PYMNTS earlier this year, Frank Minervini, vice president and head of marketing at Ziff Davis Shopping, the parent company of RetailMeNot, discussed the ways that price is informing consumers’ shopping behavior.

“Shoppers have been impacted by inflation for the past two years, and they are now changing their journey — kicking off their shopping by exploring sales and discounts first,” Minervini said.

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