NPD Checkout data shows that during the second quarter, 69% of tech-related sales were handled via e-commerce compared to 48% on a year-over-year basis. And while predictions call for that figure to remain above 60% in the future, there have been signs that consumers have been returning to retail stores to make purchases. As restrictions were being lifted and the economy started reopening, retail stores saw their share of tech purchases rise 11 percentage points from Q2 to Q3.
Brad Akyuz, executive director, industry analyst, NPD Connected Intelligence, said, “In Q2, the pandemic drove consumers away from retail, but the increase we saw in telesales and curbside pickup of online orders indicated that consumers were still looking for assistance when purchasing mobile devices. With restrictions expected to return in some areas, we may continue to see fluctuation in purchase channels, but believe in-store smartphone purchases will get close to the pre-pandemic levels in the future.”
