Welcome to a new era of retail – where the shopper is in charge. Consumers now engage with brands and stores across channels, using whichever methods suit them best. Technology has unleashed freedom of choice and action, thereby creating a shopper with heightened expectations about how the shopping experience should unfold. To compete and win, retailers must not only accommodate the complex behaviour of this new kind of consumer, but also provide dynamic, engaging experiences at whichever touch point the customer chooses to engage. The customer expects a personal service, whether online, on the telephone or in person.
In the digital age, shoppers want social engagement online, vastly improved functionality, payment security and a seamless cross-channel shopping experience.
“The trick for etail decision-makers today is not just to closely follow how the technology is developing, but to also track and react to how customers are using it,” says Aurora Fashions group multichannel director Hash Ladha. “Social trends are changing so fast and expectations of where, when and how you can buy products are rising ahead of what we’re able to offer. People are arriving at websites and saying ‘why can’t I do this or that?’ So the pressure really is on to keep up.”
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Personal recommendations – ‘Customers who purchased X also purchased Y’ – was the starting point in this new marketing discipline, and lists of ‘current top sellers’ also began helping consumers sift through the overwhelming volume of product options at their fingertips. But much more can now be done by using customer data, items viewed, demographic data, personal interests and favourite brands, authors and artists to personalise the offer. Etailers are progressing beyond using other customers’ shopping habits, to using an individual’s online behaviour to shape what’s presented to them.
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Businesses are struggling to retain brand loyalty as one in 10 British consumers have no firm decision on brand purchase choice, new research has revealed.
The internet has created a platform where customers no longer value brand loyalty, according to a survey by Forrester Research.
Almost 60% of UK shoppers have not decided on the brand they will purchase before researching or buying a product online, the study suggests. Some 86% of respondents use ratings and reviews for online purchases and 44% go online before buying products in-store.