an Consumer and Retail Studies) regularly investigates the attitudes and behaviours of Australian shoppers via our ACRS Retail Monitor. We recently surveyed a random selection of Australian consumers on what they really want and expect from retailers around aspects such as channel expectations, deliveries and returns. And we found that today, customers’ expectations are higher than ever. Physical stores are the preferred purchase channel Clothing, footwear and accessories were the most popular purchase category for our respondents, with seven out of 10 shoppers telling us they had purchased one of these items in the last three months. The personal care and household purchase categories weren’t far behind, with almost half of shoppers purchasing an item from each of these categories in the last three months. Across all three product categories, physical stores were the preferred purchase channel over online stores. And it’s easy to understand why. While online shopping has been growing in popularity for several years – a trend which was accelerated by the pandemic – research shows that the ability to see, touch and trial goods is the most influential source on purchase decisions. The three most popular product categories – apparel, personal care, and household goods – consist of tactile products, where factors such as size, fit and quality are paramount, but difficult to judge online. It also might be just one reason why brands can find that customers often begin their journey with a brand instore, before making repeat purchases online. But are rated lower on overall shopping experience Yet while customers prefer to make the majority of their purchases in a physical store rather than an online store, they also rate the in-store experience generally lower than that of the online retail experience – both overall and on the majority of store attributes. Product availability and finding products, for example, were rated far lower with physical stores than with online stores. And product ranges and payment options were also rated lower with physical stores, highlighting areas of opportunity where retailers can improve the instore purchasing experience. On the other hand, physical stores were rated far higher than online stores on customer service and return options – both of which were stated by Aussie shoppers to be important factors when making a purchase. As retailers smartly continue to invest in experiential store design to drive in-store visits and purchases, the foundations of the shopping experience, such as navigation and customer service, cannot be overlooked. Customers are spoiled for choice with numerous shopping channels available to them, so they expect more from the experience. And have a higher return rate One aspect of the shopping experience that is becoming more important to Australian shoppers – possibly as the result of long-term lockdowns and the rise of online shopping – is the returns experience, with over half of consumers (58 per cent) telling us that return options are an important factor when making a purchase. It’s unsurprising then, that over a third of Australian shoppers (72 per cent) have said they’ve returned an item they purchased from a physical or online store. But what is surprising, is that a far higher proportion of shoppers have returned an item they bought in-store (66 per cent) than those who have returned an item they bought online (42 per cent), with clothing, footwear and accessories the top product category for returns across both purchase channels.  Rather than see returns as a problem, retailers should look at returns as an important stage of the customer journey; one that when done right, can result in customer loyalty, advocacy, and a cycle back to the browsing or purchasing stages of the customer retail journey. It’s clear that post-pandemic, customer expectations are higher than ever – especially when it comes to in-store shopping. But so too are retailer opportunities. Post-pandemic, customers are moving between the offline and online worlds more quickly than ever before and use both physical and digital cues when making a purchase decision, giving retailers more touchpoints to attract and retain customers. Note about the research: The ACRS Retail Monitor investigates consumers’ shopping preferences and behaviour. Data for this wave was collected from n=1,005 randomly selected Australian shoppers between 29 August – 5 September 2022.