Digital interactions are expected to influence 64 cents of every dollar spent in retail stores by the end of 2015, or $2.2 trillion, according to Deloitte Digital’s latest study, ‘Navigating the New Digital Divide’.

This figure has grown considerably from 14 cents of each dollar spent in brick-and-mortar stores in 2012, the first year Deloitte Digital conducted the annual study.

Deloitte Digital defines ‘digital influence’ as the percentage of traditional brick-and-mortar retail sales impacted by shoppers’ use of digital devices. It has also identified a growing digital divide where consumers’ digital behaviour and retailers’ ability to deliver on consumer expectations continue to diverge.

“Retailers often use the wrong metric – e-commerce sales – to indicate whether their digital strategy is working,” said Kasey Lobaugh, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and Deloitte Digital’s chief retail innovation officer.

Deloitte Digital’s research indicates that, in the last five years, the top 25 established retailers have lost two per cent of their combined market share, which equates to $64 billion, while smaller players entering the market with digital at their core have multiplied. Lobaugh added: “We are seeing a real change in the competitive dynamics, with digital as the great equaliser. The findings indicate that the large retailers are collectively losing ground to the much smaller competitors.”

Consumers surveyed indicated they are 30 per cent less likely to use smartphones to perform price comparisons in-store than they were a year ago. “Instead of measuring moments that matter during the shopping journey, retailers continue to focus on measuring the buy button – the point at which they actually have the least influence,” said Jeff Simpson, director, Deloitte Consulting LLP and co-author of the study.

“Retailers that simply track channel sales and fail to measure the influence of digital along the entire path to purchase can miss key indicators of performance and customer behaviour. Retailers should focus on designing and building customer experiences that play to how their customers are shopping for their products if what they really seek is inspiration or information.”