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The Malta Independent | Thursday 20 August 2015
Consumers decide back-to-school shopping can wait Shoppers favour smartphones over other devices for shopping information With plenty of last year’s supplies stowed in the closet and the option to restock at-will, back-to-school shoppers may be in no hurry to fill their shopping baskets by August, according to Deloitte’s annual “Back-to-School” and “Back-toCollege” surveys. Also, with smartphones in-hand to tackle their homework on what to buy, those shoppers may linger on the beach a little longer this summer. Nearly 4 in 10 (38%) of surveyed parents shopping for children in grades K-12 (kindergarten through twelfth grade) said the back-toschool shopping season is less important to their families because they replenish school supplies throughout the year and feel less need to stock up. More people may take their time to finish their shopping lists, as nearly one-third (31%) of respondents plan to complete their back-to-school shopping after the start of the school year, a 5 percentage point increase from 2014. According to Deloitte’s surveys, Americans’ spending for children in grades K-12 and college combined is expected to remain flat this season at $1,747 (€1,574), compared with $1,766 (€1,591) last year. “Consumers are sending a message to retailers that says the backto-school shopping season just isn’t that important anymore - and that could dramatically disrupt an industry that traditionally relies on this defined period for a significant portion of annual sales,” said Alison Paul, Deloitte LLP vice chairman and retail and distribution sector leader. The number of consumers who plan to reuse last year’s items has risen from 26% to 39% between 2011 and 2015. However, there
may be some good news for retailers: consumers are no longer exclusively driven by discounts. Over that five-year period, coupon clipping decreased 14% points and intentions to buy more lowerpriced items fell 11% points. Digital at the core, especially in-store When shoppers reach the stores this back-to-school season, they’ll likely be mission-driven, making many of their decisions using their digital devices before arriving in the store. According to Deloitte’s recent research, “Navigating the New Digital Divide,” in-store purchases of electronics and apparel - both popular categories during the back-toschool season - are largely influenced by the devices consumers use before and during their trip to the physical store. Just last year, nearly half (49%) of every dollar spent on apparel in brickand-mortar stores was digitally-influenced, a number that jumped to 62 cents of every dollar in the electronics category.
Eight in 10 (80%) smartphone owners in Deloitte’s “Back-toSchool” survey plan to use their devices in the back-to-school shopping process, a 6 percentage point increase over last year. Furthermore, among respondents, smartphone device ownership has more than doubled after climbing from 40% in 2011 to nearly 90% in 2015. Of all the devices consumers own, they plan to use their smartphones most frequently for backto-school shopping, ahead of their laptops, PCs, and tablets. They also appear more inclined to use their phones to find information than click the “buy” button: while more than 4 in 10 consumers surveyed will access a retailer’s website (44%) or product information (42%), just 29% plan to use their phones to make a purchase. Although mobile payment apps and digital wallets are nascent technologies, already 7% plan to use them for back-to-school shopping this year. While alternative payment methods are in the early adoption phase, awareness remains low for
in-store beacon technology - presenting retailers greater opportunity to capitalise on its conveniences. Among back-toschool shoppers surveyed, more than half (51%) are unfamiliar with in-store beacon technology and another one-third (32%) do not plan to use it. While online shopping destinations continue to climb year-overyear and hold the No. 2 spot (44%) behind discount/value department stores (86%), 55% of parents shopping for children in grades K12 also say they will research online first before making a purchase in a store. However, social media may be taking a back seat to other sources of information. Only 10% of respondents say they rely on social media for back-to-school shopping, down from 18% last year and 35% in 2011. “Digital influence goes beyond having a mobile app or social listening,” continued Paul. “Retailers should consider all digital interactions as not only important for online sales, but as a key driver for in-store purchases as well. We’re at an inflection point in retail where digital device adoption rates are accelerating toward 100 percent. Once this happens, there will be no such thing as offline since consumers will be constantly connected. Retailers can play an influential role to speed awareness and user acceptance of mobile payments and digital wallets, helping to make the path to purchase even easier.” Data security risks keep consumers on guard, but not at bay Cyber security risks continue to weigh on the minds of retailers and consumers alike, as 54% of back-to-school shoppers sur-
veyed indicate they are more concerned than last year about the protection of their personal data when shopping online. In addition, more consumers are concerned about personal data security when shopping online (68%) compared with shopping in brick-and-mortar stores (50%). Retaining consumer trust with a strategy to not only secure data but be resilient in the event of an incident remains paramount to not only restoring operations but also public trust. While more than half (52%) of consumers surveyed said they are concerned about shopping at retailers that have experienced a data breach, only 19% said that they would not continue to shop at a retailer that has suffered a breach. Digital paves the way to college purchases Parents with children heading to college will primarily rely on the school for recommendations on what to buy this summer (55%), while students have other ideas: nearly three-quarters (74%) are going to their friends for advice, according to Deloitte’s “2015 Back-to-College Survey.” While just 1 in 5 (22%) moms and dads plan to head to social channels, they expect this source will be far more influential among their children (51%). Parents are also heavily reliant on online sites for information before they turn to friends, family or social channels. Their No. 2 source of information will be online (54%), and parents are particularly interested in using services that simplify the trip back to campus. More than half (54%) prefer to shop retailers who offer the option to buy online and pick up in store.
90% of internet users “compulsively” check email 9 out of every 10 email users admit to checking their email “compulsively” - behaviour that includes checking email first thing in the morning, last thing at night, during meals and even during conversations. The report also revealed that email is here to stay, with an expected 27% increase (from 3.9 billion to 4.9 billion accounts) in email accounts worldwide expected in 2014. This was found in a study of consumer email behaviour released by My.com. The survey of 1,000 American internet users of varying demographics was carried out to to help further understand the role mobile email plays in consumers’ lives. Some of the study’s key findings on email use include: • Internet users spend more time on email than ever. 46% of internet users spend an hour or more per day simply reading emails. • Email users depend on mobile email. With 70% of email users checking email on their mobile device, consumers rely on email to stay connected to conversations
and information. What’s more, 67% of Internet users want to know about new messages the moment they hit the inbox, so they turn on push notifications. • For today’s email user, there is no bad time to check email. 74% of respondents check email first thing in the morning, 48% check during lunch, 27% check during dinner and an astounding 56% check as a last thing before bedtime. 8% admit to checking “after sex.” Respondents also overwhelming admit to
checking email during other activities such as during concerts and movies. • Email users are spread across several accounts. Only 33% of respondents have a single email account, and 27% of internet users have 3 or more accounts. • Spam is still a huge problem. Despite advances in spam-fighting technology, 60% of survey respondents admit to having lost important messages due to spam. And an astonishing 64% admitted to having closed an email account altogether
due to frustration with excessive spam. • Email behaviour can be obsessive. 27% of survey respondents claim to have “lost sleep” over stress related to email. • Push notifications are underused. While 67% of mobile email users enable push notifications, only 54% adjust them. Adjustments to when and from whom notifications are received can help consumers respond to important emails and leave the rest for later. “We are seeing this paradox where people use email, but don’t feel that it meets their modern, mobile needs,” says Dmitry Grishin, Co-founder and CEO, Mail.Ru Group. “To make email better, we needed to move beyond the stale iteration tied to traditional desktops, and go mobile-first and mobile-only. myMail and @my.com can only be accessed from a smartphone or tablet. No password. This is the future of email, as told by everyday email users.”
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The Malta Independent | Thursday 20 August 2015
Roderick Spiteri
Roderick Spiteri is Marketing and Communications Manager at MITA and editor of Malta Independent ICT feature
The Malta Independent ICT Feature
T
he Internet is limitless – you really can find anything. Rather than keeping our children away from this unlimited resource, we should educate them on how best to use it and how to safeguard themselves from potential risks. A recent research by AVG found that despite parent knowing about
possible online dangers a quarter of them have no plans to educate their children about it. How often do you check your email on your smartphone or tablet? Do you check it when you wake up or before going to sleep? Do you check it during meals or whilst talking with others? If you answered yes to any of these, then you’re considered
to be a compulsive email checker. A new study by My.com reveals that email is more prevalent than ever in our lives, and is still growing. We’re already in the third week of August and shops are gearing for back-to-school shopping. A survey by Deloitte shows that parents will be using their mobile devices to make many of
their buying decisions even before hitting the shops. All ICT Features are available on www.mita.gov.mt/ictfeature
Parents failing to educate children on Internet dangers New research reveals lack of urgency to safeguard Generation Z, despite one in three children encountering dangers online. In today’s ever-connected world, online dangers can present themselves around every virtual corner. A new research by AVG® Technologies N.V., an online security company, reveals the extent of children’s exposure to inappropriate content online, and the conflicting views and concerns of their parents. The findings, released during the Child Internet Safety Summit 2015, reveal that more than a third (35%) of UK children have encountered dangers online while at home – a figure that rises to 40% among tech-savvy ‘tweens’. Despite this reality, a quarter (24%) of all parents have no plans to educate their children about online risks – and this is particularly the case for those with older children, rising to one in four (39%) parents with 10-12 year olds, and two thirds (62%) of parents with 13-16 year olds. When asked why, two in five (44%) parents believe their child is sensible enough to know what to avoid online, 22% think it will just be too awkward to discuss, and one in seven (14%) simply don’t think it’s necessary. These startling findings highlight the growing need to educate both children and parents about the threats that lurk online. Tony Anscombe, Senior Security Evangelist at AVG Technologies, explains: “No matter how tech-savvy today’s children are, nor how ‘technophobic’ their parents think they are, it’s important not to forget that they are still just kids. As with any other life lessons, children look to parents for guidance; and in turn, it is their responsibility to teach them good from bad. The findings of this research prove exactly that. By assuming
worth blushing for!” Activity at the Child Internet Safety Summit 2015 is part of AVG Technologies’ SmartUser mission – a growing movement based on the belief that everyone on the Internet is responsible for making it a better place. The objective is to make the next two billion users of the mobile Internet Smart Users, through education, to help them make informed choices about their
children know best, simply because they have grown up around technology, parents are opening up their children to online dangers – and a significant amount are falling victim to them in some form. It’s only through parents educating themselves and their children about these dangers that we’ll start to reduce the number of children exposed to inappropriate content online.” The study also sheds light on where parents see their child’s digital habits being influenced. The vast majority (88%) say school friends and teachers play the biggest combined role, while over a quarter (26%) say friends from outside of school are also key influencers. With 40% of parents most concerned for their child’s online safety when they are away from home, these findings highlight how they could be overlooking the online dangers within the home. While parents are rightly conscious of letting their children surf the web outside of the family environment, the findings
suggest they may be too quick to shift the blame, for children encountering dangers online, onto these outside influencers, rather than shoulder it themselves. Julia Bradbury, TV presenter and mother of three, comments: “As a parent, I’m increasingly conscious of keeping my children safe from all the risks they face – whether it’s crossing the road or playing with apps on my phone. Admittedly, it’s a lot easier to see the damage from a scrape on the knee, but – as the Internet plays a bigger role in their lives – we need to understand that virtual bumps and bruises can be just as painful. All three of my children will be growing up around technology – they simply won’t know anything different – so it’s my job, as a mother, to make sure they know right from wrong (on-andoffline), so they can make the most of their connected world. Having those ‘awkward’ conversations is often part of parenting, and if they protect your child in the long run, then it’s something
own security and privacy — all from the first moment they start using a connected device. The SmartUser initiative works on the basis that if you would teach a child how to safely cross the road, there is a similar duty to teach them how to responsibly use the Internet, as well. For a similar initiative in Malta visit www.besmartonline.org.mt