24/07
Fujitsu Services

High Street retailers need to adapt to survive

Fujitsu research reveals that changing consumer demands are not being reflected in the high street

10th December 2007 — Research conducted by Fujitsu Services, one of Europe’s leading IT services companies, has revealed that only a third of people plan to do the majority of their Christmas shopping online¹. However, whilst this demonstrates that there is still a fundamental role for the high street at Christmas, retailers need to urgently adapt to changing consumer demands for convenience, in order to remain competitive.

Consumers feel increasingly confident about shopping online – 73% of the respondents enjoy the convenience of shopping from home or work and 76% like having no crowds to contend with. Only 39% have fears about security and less than a quarter are worried about not knowing which websites to trust. Conversely, the biggest dislikes about shopping online are the inability to touch and feel products (63%) and concerns about delivery in time for Christmas (46%).

However, whist the majority of people appreciate the convenience of shopping online, they still like to experience the Christmassy feel of shopping on the high street (52%) and the ability to look at and touch products before they buy (75%). However, they dislike the large numbers of people (86%) and the queues (76%) that are associated with the high street during the festive season.

Sarah Kellett, retail industry consultant at Fujitsu Services, comments: “With the internet creating increasingly convenience hungry consumers, high street retailers need to adapt their offering and focus on the customer experience in order to continue to attract Christmas shoppers.

Sarah continues: “Customers are finding their own balance between the convenience of online versus the experience that they get by going to a shop. Retailers need to look at how their shopping channels fit into this balance and adapt to the new world of retailing. This includes enabling people to interact with products, providing an ‘in-store theatre’ experience to create a Christmassy atmosphere and ensuring staff are knowledgeable about the products on offer.”

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a. Research conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Fujitsu Services

b. 2,500 consumers surveyed in November 2007

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About Fujitsu Services

Fujitsu Services is one of the leading IT services companies in Europe, Middle East and Africa. It has an annual turnover of £2.29 billion (€3.33 billion); employs almost 18,000 people and operates in over 20 countries. It designs, builds and operates IT systems and services for customers in the financial services, telecom, retail, utilities and government markets. Its core strength is the delivery of IT infrastructure management and outsourcing across desktop, networking and data centre environments, together with a full range of related services, from infrastructure consulting through integration and deployment.

Headquartered in London, Fujitsu Services is the European-centred IT services arm of the Fujitsu Group. The Fujitsu Group is a US$40.6 billion (€33.4 billion) leader in the provision of IT systems and services for the global marketplace.

Retail Customers

In the retail sector, Fujitsu Services’ customers in the UK include The Co-operative Group, Vodafone, Mid-Counties Co-operatives, Royal Mail, Whitbread and Carpetright. In Europe its retail customers include La Rinascente (Italy), Auchan (France), The EDEKA Group (Germany) and Kesko (Finland).

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Press Contacts

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EUPR:uk115/07