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Survey reveals resilience of online retail brands

Wednesday, June 19, 2013 - 13:12 by Mike Price

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Although Amazon has taken a bit of a hammering in recent months over its UK tax affairs, with some consumers choosing to boycott it, there seems to be enough power in its brand to win back the majority of Brits, according to a recent survey.

The majority of the respondents to a study conducted by Live and Breathe, said that they would like to see Amazon open up bricks and mortar stores on the high street because they trust it to deliver a solid experience.

The report also revealed that while UK consumers are concerned about the ongoing decline of high street retail, it is unlikely that people will ditch safe shopping online simply to support ailing companies with high street outlets.

Half of those questioned said that they preferred safe shopping online because of the lower prices and greater convenience, when compared to the high street, while the same proportion said that they were unwilling to support smaller, independent stores, because of the premium prices charged by such outlets.

Report spokesperson, Nick Gray, said that British buyers were being put in a difficult position, forced to choose between either getting low prices on the web or paying a bit more to support the high street retailers that are gradually disappearing.

Gray argues that some people now have a romanticised idea of high street retail, that does not reflect the realities of the market, which is why consumers are continuing to spend their money with online brands like Amazon, even if it means that more and more shops will be closing in towns and cities as a result.

The sheer range of choice is another important factor in making e-commerce more desirable, because even the biggest department stores cannot offer the same levels of selection as Amazon.