A new report reveals that 43 per cent of Aussies plan to not shop at physical stores this holiday season due to concerns about the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. And if they do find themselves inside these stores, they say that they will be doing so reluctantly.

Customer engagement and mobile messaging provider MessageMedia’s report Retail’s Tech Revolution, which surveyed 1000 participants, shows strongly divergent opinions, with 39 per cent of respondents desperate to go out and do some traditional Christmas shopping in-store. The research also found that 41 per cent plan on shopping online at the same volume as they did during the height of the pandemic.

The report also noted that one-third of men are still concerned about the health and safety risks of in-store shopping, compared to almost a quarter of women (24 per cent). Meanwhile, 40 per cent of Australians have visited an online or physical store as a result of receiving an SMS from a retailer.

“While our research shows a quarter of Australians want to avoid the shops this peak sales period and indefinitely into the future, there’s still a significant group that are keen to ‘hit the stores’ for deals once more,” MessageMedia’s chief marketing officer, Tara Salmon, said. “With Aussies split on how they want to shop going forward, it’s important for retailers to be prepared for both online and physical shoppers in the weeks, months, and even years ahead.”

“We’ve seen our SMS communication technology implemented by retailers for both in-store and online marketing campaigns, and demand for our platform continues to grow exponentially even after Covid-19 lockdowns,” Salmon added. “It’s important that retailers of all sizes – from Mum and Dad shops to major national labels – keep up with technology as shopping evolves.”

This story is originally published in our sister’s publication, Inside Small Business.