While the majority of consumers say they still prefer in-store shopping, almost two-thirds (63%) report doing most of their purchasing online, according to a new survey from BigCommerce and PayPal.

Further, close to half said they are discovering new products on social media at least once a month and 67% of respondents say they have made a purchase directly through their phone at least once in the past month.

The findings highlight a growing need for retailers to invest in an omnichannel sales and marketing strategy for a consistent shopping experience in-store, online and on social media.

Online and digitized experiences have required retailers to quickly adapt to changing consumer shopping behaviours, which was expedited in the pandemic, according to PayPal vice president of global pay later products, Greg Lisiewski.

“Consumers want to be in control of how they pay, and they have a desire for friction-free, seamless digital shopping experiences regardless of which channel they are shopping in,” he said.

More consumers are using digital wallets both in-store and online. Prior to March 2020, digital wallets were the preferred payment option for 28% of online shoppers globally but that jumped to 35% after March 2020. The increase of use in-store increased from 12% to 23%.

BigCommerce vice president of business development, payments/banking/fintech, Mark Rosales said the data suggests that 70% of consumers are more likely to spend more at a retailer that offers their preferred payment method.

“By leveraging this behavioural data, merchants have better means and ability to implement the payment options that their customers prefer, ultimately enabling those brands to realise significant sales growth,” he said.