PWC has launched the “Retail & Consumer Report 2018” that predicts Ireland to be the fastest growing Eurozone economy over the next 6 years to 2024. The study revealed that less than a third of Irish consumers expect to spend more in 2018 than they did last year. Find out more about the key five insights reflects the retail industry and consumer behavior in Ireland in 2018.

#1 Mobile – Mobile Has Become the Standard

• 25% of Irish consumers are shopping online weekly or more frequently to be the lowest country in terms of most frequently shopping compared to China (68%), the UK (51%) and the USA (33%).
• Nearly 3 in 10 of Irish consumers make purchases via mobile phones on a monthly or more frequent basis.
• In terms of mobile payment, 66% of consumers aged under 35 agreed that mobile payment is their preferred method of purchasing in store.

#2 The Store – The Store Continues to Evolve

• 73% of Irish consumers are shopping in-store monthly or more frequently.
• 51% of them are satisfied with the sales associates’ knowledge of product range.
• Only 8% of Irish consumers own AL devices, such as Siri (Apple iPhone) Alexa (Amazon) Google Home.

#3 Data – Data Is More Than Insights

• Unlike personalized offers based on purchase history, more than half of Irish consumers (51%) don’t want location-based offers.
• 34% of Irish consumers trust retailers to collect data about their interactions and use the information to create individualized offers.
• 51% of Irish consumers are not comfortable for a retailer to identify them when nearby.
• In terms of mobile payment, More than half 52% remain concerned about security when making payments on their mobile.

#4 Social Media – Social Is the New Media

• 38% of Irish consumers consider social media as the most influential channel along with individual retailer websites for inspiring purchases.
• That’s why 94% of consumers aged 18-24 years old in Ireland use social media to inspire purchases.

#5 Delivery- Getting the Last Mile Right Is Critical

• 77 of Irish consumers claimed that they’re willing to pay for the same day or next day delivery. 95% of them aged 18-24 years old.
• Free return shipping is the most attractive services offered at no extra cost with a rate of 69%, followed by package tracking (56%) and same day delivery (51%).

A Map Shows the Proportion of Irish Consumers Who Shop Online Weekly or More Frequently in 2018, Compared to China, the UK and the USA

Methodology:

Data were driven from 1,001 Irish online consumers in Ireland. 51% of them were females and 49% were males. The survey was conducted in Autumn/Winter 2017.