Welcome to Klarna’s Shopping Pulse: Czech Republic
2 years into the pandemic, digital transformation has accelerated, and shoppers have turned online more than ever before. Many retailers have pivoted to evolve their online presence to meet new shopper expectations online. But does this mean physical stores are irrelevant? Not at all. Our research shows physical stores still play an essential role for shoppers. That said, many people anticipate they will shop online even more often in the future.
In this report, you’ll find a pulse check on shopping habits worldwide — and more specifically, in the Czech Republic.
Happy exploring!
Methodology.
Insights from Klarna’s consumer research, conducted in collaboration with research agency Dynata to a representative sample of 1,001 consumers from the Czech Republic aged 18-65+ in September 2022.
The data from that survey has been compared with the data from Klarna’s Pulse reports, which are conducted in cooperation with Nepa across 13 countries (the US, UK, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland). The research is conducted quarterly and always includes a minimum of 1,000 respondents in each country. In total, 15,115 consumers participated during Q2 2022. The sample sizes are nationally representative, naturally including both Klarna users and non-Klarna users, and have been selected by research agency Nepa.
14 countries
15,115 consumers, out of which 1,001 from the Czech Republic.
150m consumers
400,000 retailers
Online shopping data.
Insights from Klarna’s shopping data. Klarna serves more than 150 million consumers and 400,000 retailers.
Digital transformation in retail.
Online shopping has accelerated amid the pandemic. And there are no signs of the digital transformation slowing down. Shoppers’ preferences for online shopping continue to increase despite restrictions lifting in physical stores worldwide.
Online shopping is on the rise.
Shoppers globally are growing increasingly fond of online shopping. Not surprisingly, many retailers have stepped up their digital offerings during the pandemic. Younger generations prefer the online shopping experience while their older peers are trending in the same direction as they grow increasingly tech-savvy.
5th out of 14
Czech shoppers rank in 5th place when it comes to preference for online shopping, only trailing behind the US, UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Gen Z & Millennials
prefer online stores over physical stores.
Where shoppers would do most of their shopping if they could choose freely.
The charts below show how shoppers in each country would choose split their shopping between online and in-store. The remaining population has a neutral preference.
Tech savvy Baby Boomers
are found in the Czech Republic.
Attitudes towards online and physical stores.
Shoppers’ choice heavily depends on whether they are looking to save time and money—or whether they are looking for better social interaction and customer service.
Younger generations think they get better social interaction online to a higher extent. This correlates with being more likely to purchase items seen on social media and attend live shopping events.
89%
of Czech shoppers think that shopping online instead of in-store saves them time and offer them better prices.
76%
think that returns are easier in-store. The benefits of shopping in-store are fewer, but have a strong impact for the overall shopping experience.
The final verdict
is that the overall shopping experience is better in-store according to the majority. The benefits attributed to physical stores are fewer, but have a higher impact.
Physical stores are still the norm for shoppers.
Consumers are still shopping in physical stores more frequently than they are shopping online despite the growing preference for online shopping.
1 in 3
Gen Z’ers (31%) and Millennials (33%) shop online on a weekly basis, which is far more frequent compared to Gen X’ers (18%) and Baby Boomers (10%).
14th out of 14
The Czech Republic has the lowest number of weekly online shoppers compared to the other countries in this report.
Some categories appear more available online than others.
While some retail categories are shopped more often online, physical stores still see certain product types are bought more often in person. The biggest differences are found across some of the most commonly bought categories, indicating an opportunity for disruption, as online shopping’s main drivers are convenience and the ability to save time.
The charts below show the average percentage of shoppers in each market who have shopped the category online and in physical stores respectively (during the past month).
Clothing & Shoes
are bought just as often online (46%) as in physical stores (45%).
Online first categories
Electronics, Entertainment and Erotic materials & toys are clearly bought more often online than in physical stores.
Shoppers expect continued innovation in the retail space.
The vast majority of shoppers across the world believe that retailers need to continuously invest in new technology to meet their evolving expectations. This is consistent across all countries and age groups.
Technology investments are a must.
Today’s shoppers are looking for innovative solutions that give them a better shopping experience. These are the main focus areas for online and physical stores according to shoppers themselves.
Frictionless payments
are the most wanted innovation for Czech shoppers, both online (63%) and in-store (61%).
Evolving payment preferences.
Payments are a fundamental part of the shopping experience that continues to evolve with emerging preferences driven by technological innovation.
The rise of Buy Now, Pay Later.
Shoppers all over the world are turning to Buy Now, Pay Later to an increasingly higher extent. In fact, there are only two countries in which shoppers prefer credit cards over Buy Now, Pay Later.
According to the consumers themselves, the main reasons for choosing Buy Now, Pay Later over credit cards are to avoid having an open line of credit and save money, since it’s cheaper compared to credit cards that charge additional fees and interest.
2x
twice as many Czech shoppers would prefer ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ services (42%) over credit cards (22%).
Why shoppers are ditching their credit cards in favor of Buy Now, Pay Later.
49%
of Gen Z’ers prefer BNPL over credit cards because “It’s a cheaper, fairer and more sustainable alternative”.
47%
choose them “Because credit cards charge additional fees and interest”.
Czech shoppers <3 Buyers protection.
There are obvious thresholds when shopping at a distance – as shoppers won’t be able touch and feel the products until they arrive. The main concerns that may prevent shoppers from completing a purchase online can be eased with offering buyers protection to shoppers.
Mobile shopping on the rise.
As smartphones and tablets continue to take screen time from computers, mobile devices are expected to play a central role in the continued digitalization of retail.
Mobile shopping on the rise.
While most shoppers still prefer traditional desktops or laptops when shopping online, the preference for mobile devices is rising in the countries with the lowest preference at the beginning of the year.
25%
prefer to use mobile phones for online shopping in the Czech Republic, which is significantly lower than in most other countries.
2x
female shoppers are almost twice as likely to prefer mobile shopping.
Social shopping on the rise.
Social media and online live shopping events drive increased engagement, discovery, and more informed purchasing decisions—particularly among younger generations.
Digitalization of shopping.
The shopping discovery path is shaped in different patterns across countries and generations but one common unifying factor is the tendency to rely on digital channels to an increasing extent.
Online > in-store
it’s far more common to start the shopping journey in a search engine like Google (64%) or in an online store (61%) than it is to start in-store (44%).
Followers become buyers.
On average, 32% of Czech shoppers have purchased a product after seeing it on social media. And about half of them did it directly from the platform.
46%
of Gen Z’ers in the Czech Republic buys a product after seeing it on social media on a monthly average.
Taking the shopping experience to the next level.
Shoppers are looking for innovative online shopping experiences, and are keen to engage with new types of experiences such as livestream shopping.
1 in 3
in the Czech Republic (29%) have heard about live stream shopping events, but only 6% have tried it – this is the lowest out of all countries.
A year from now.
Over the past 2 decades, online shopping has pivoted from something for early adopters and enthusiasts into the preferred way to shop for people all over the world. Technological innovation will continue to marvel and excite, retailers will continue to improve their digital offering, and the digitalization of retail will continue to shape the future of shopping.
Predictions for the future.
There’s still a general belief that the majority of shopping will be done in physical stores in a year’s time—but preferences are quickly shifting.
This chart illustrates the share of shoppers believing they will make the majority of their shopping online or in physical stores respectively.
45%
of Gen Z’ers and Millennials in the Czech Republic believe they will make most of their purchases in a year from now.
And that’s that.
Klarna’s Shopping Pulse insights are updated quarterly, so stay tuned for future updates.
Thirsty for more knowledge?
Make sure to check out the other reports available at Klarna Insights.