Chicago – January 20, 2015 – Anthem Marketing Solutions has released the eighth installment of its semi-annual study comparing online and in-store pricing of consumer goods across a range of regularly purchased categories. The key findings in this study include:
71% of items reviewed were found at same price online and offline
Beauty category had highest proportion of items priced lower online
Almost 90% of Hardware/Home Improvement items same price both offline and online
Office/School Supplies only category with offline price edge
Pharmacy retailers had lowest level of pricing consistency across channels
Most online coupons are applicable to the basket, not individual items
Across almost every category, price tier and store you are likely to find a lower price online when a price variance exists. There are still bargains to be had in-store – they are just becoming more difficult to find. All categories maintained or increased in proportion of items with an online price advantage excluding the Office/School Supplies category which had an overall in-store price advantage.
In this study, the impact of coupons on channel advantage is also explored. In the online channel you are more likely to find broad site or category-wide discounts, further extending the online price advantage.