In a new survey conducted by engagement and rewards company Access Development, results show that proximity is a defining factor in consumer purchasing decisions.
“The Impact of Retail Proximity on Consumer Purchases” received over 2,000 responses nationally, with the full details to be released in a company webinar on November 16. Access Development has released some of the findings.
In the survey, 93.2 percent of respondents said they typically travel less than 20 minutes to buy groceries, clothing, gas, and other routine transactions, while 87 percent said they won’t travel beyond 15 minutes for such purchases. For once a week purchases, the distance consumers are willing to travel shrinks even further to ten minutes.
“The conventional wisdom is that most spending occurs close to home, but there haven’t been many studies completed around just how far people are willing to travel to meet everyday needs. What this survey shows is that, for most purchases, the local, in-store experience is still very important to consumers. These local merchants have a narrow but profitable sphere they can focus their efforts on, while online and national brands have a major engagement opportunity in helping consumers save on these frequent transactions,” says Andrew Graft, Access Development’s vice president of corporate marketing.
Local, neighborhood retailers still maintain importance in communities, as this study confirms.
Other key findings include:
- 92 percent of urban residents travel less than 15 minutes for routine purchases.
- 70.3 percent of rural residents travel more than 20 minutes for their regular purchases.
- When asked to exclude proximity as a factor, the top influences on consumer purchasing decisions were product quality and price, each cited by 32 percent of respondents.
- Just 6 percent named brand reputation as a primary influence, while 7 percent said they were influenced by customer service.
