About 97% of Portuguese compare the price of a product before purchasing it. This is Shopping Pulse data for the third quarter of 2023, from Klarnaa global payments network and AI-based shopping assistant, which evaluates the key purchasing trends of more than 16,000 consumers from 16 countries around the world, including Portugal.

Although 66% say that, within a year, they plan to continue buying mostly from physical stores, the Portuguese are increasingly tech-savvy and their search for a product and price comparison is done online: 73% of Portuguese say they do their research in stores Online brands and 40% do this through search engines (such as Google).

When asked about a potential app that would allow them to quickly do this online comparison between retailers to find the cheapest product, the answer was clear: 93% of respondents say this type of tool would be useful.

When it comes to the product categories in which Portuguese compare prices the most, they are electronic products (74%), clothing and shoes (67%), and groceries (52%). However, when analyzed by gender, women rank the clothing and footwear category at the top (72%), and men keep electronic products (78%) at the top of their price comparisons.

Phygital: Stores are betting on combining the electronic and physical environment

Data from the Klarna survey also show this phenomenon Phygital It’s here to stay, and it’s truly the next step for physical stores. When asked whether, in the process of purchasing in a physical store, consumers use their smartphones to research products (from price comparisons to… Reviews), 58% say they do this sometimes, while only 20% of respondents say they do not.

Many brands are already investing in embedding technology in their physical stores and consumers value this investment: the survey results also reveal that, in the opinion of consumers, retailers should invest in technology that allows them to pay in a simplified way (ATMs, QR codes, etc. it) – 45%; Or technology that allows for personalized product recommendations (41%).