The main reasons to visit a bricks-and-mortar shop are the ability to see an item and assess its quality in-person, according to research carried out on behalf of Elavon.
When more than 1,000 adults were questioned in an online survey, 72% said the top reason to encourage a visit to a physical store was seeing what they were about to buy. Meanwhile 61% said they like to assess the quality of products and more than half (57%) said they would be encouraged to shop in store if they needed something urgently.

Let your customers get up close and personal
“These insights drive home the importance of design in your store. Make sure shoppers can see and even handle the products they are thinking about buying,” says Andrew Neenan, Regional Sales Manager at Elavon Europe in Ireland. “It’s not enough to just show them what’s available; let them get close enough to assess quality and value for money.”
Other survey results highlight that almost one in five (19%) like the option to click and collect, where they buy online and pick up in store.
They can pay as they order or on collection, perhaps at a dedicated time, from a dedicated place in store to reduce queues and make it a convenient and smooth transaction for them, and you.
This offers an opportunity to expand your retail business into a so-called ‘omni-commerce’ model, mixing real life interactions with eCommerce options to take advantage of this market.
After all, if you are offering click and collect, you’ve got another opportunity to sell things when customers visit your shop while using the power of the internet to widen your market reach.
Elavon Financial Services DAC. Registered in Ireland – Number 418442.
Registered Office: Block F1, Cherrywood Business Park, Dublin 18, D18 W2X7, Ireland.
Elavon Financial Services DAC, trading as Elavon Merchant Services, is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.