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This holiday shopping season, customers are increasingly avoiding brick-and-mortar stores in favor of buying online, according to a new report on consumer shopping patterns commissioned by Salesforce titled “2015 Connected Shoppers Report."
In fact, 88 percent of shoppers who avoid going to physical stores during the holiday season do so due to the crowds (82 percent), limited parking (48 percent), convenience of online shopping (48 percent) and a lack of knowledge/service from seasonal employees (24 percent). One of the study's key results is that retailers are failing to leverage technology to create multichannel experiences for shoppers.
The Millennial Divide
“As Black Friday approaches, and with more than $950 billion expected to be spent this holiday season in the United States, new research from Salesforce shows that in order to succeed, retailers need to accelerate digital transformations to provide personalized, 1-to-1 customer journeys for customers,” the company said in a statement....
On Wednesday, October 21st the ecommerce UK event titled “The Year Ahead” was held in London. Top retailers spoke about which future trends to focus on and how to secure sales growth in 2016.
Should you offer free delivery or click-and-collect? Online-only ranges? Personalised email marketing? Launch a loyalty app? Run a customer feedback programme?
With the endless options to choose from, leading retailers spoke about what they actually think is worth investing in, and where they expect their growth to come from in the next 12 months. In the panel discussion, Practicology’s CCO Jeremy Wilson posed an interesting question to Jaeger, Selfridges and Baker Ross...
More than 90% of shoppers say price is the top reason they buy an item from a different retailer after visiting a store without making a purchase, according to research from Cognizant. As many as 55% of shoppers leave and go to another retailer’s store if they feel the price of an item is too high.
When it comes to retailers that offer the lowest prices, there are still plenty of reasons consumers can be turned off from making a purchase. Almost half (48%) of shoppers say convenience is the top reason they will not shop at the lowest price retailer. Additionally, 32% of these shoppers prefer loyalty programs at other retailers, while 31% will shop at retailers with a better return policy....
Zip. Zazzle. Wow. These are all intimated psychological reactions in consumers that should occur when they visit your online store. But adding these to the mixing bowl when baking your ecommerce cake can prove to be troublesome. We’ll help you cut to chase with these 18 easy ways that you can make your home page snap, crackle, pop (no silly elves required).
Accenture went on a journey to understand consumer preferences to shop seamlessly across channels and the ability of retailers to deliver that seamless experience.
Consumer Research SurveyAccenture surveyed nearly 10,000 adult consumers in November 2014 in 13 countries around the globe: Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States.
The survey targeted respondents who shop in a multi-channel way and use the internet and their smartphones regularly....
Mobiquity Networks, a mall-based beacon provider, has signed a deal with shopping discounts app platform GeoQpons to help stores and brands present greater discovery options to consumers on-the-go.
The partnership calls for GeoQpons to send push notifications triggered by Mobiquity beacons stationed in malls around the country. GeoQpons provides loyalty rewards, reminders of clearance sales, shopping lists and, most relevantly to Mobiquity’s beacon platform, in-store coupons redeemable through the app itself.
The GeoQpons app works for over 300 retailers including Target, Best Buy, Walmart, and Nordstrom and has a userbase of 5.5 million people. For Mobiquity’s part, the company’s beacons cover 320 malls and 7,500 different retailers for a total reach of over 40,000 storefronts. Now, beacons in every one of those stores will recognize the GeoQpons app and engage with customers directly through it with promotions and in-store coupons....
More than 61% Shop In-Store
It is indeed good news for the traditional retailers against the 31% of people who turn to the internet. Until eCommerce finds a less expensive solution for same day delivery, traditional commerce continues to win on this point. In-store shopping has the ability to offer products to the customers immediately.
Not only this, the biggest benefit for brands operating brick-and-mortar stores is the way in which consumers spend their money while shopping. They need to understand that approximately 41% of shoppers spend more than they had planned to while shopping in stores. The product displays and the decorative store-fronts can strongly influence shoppers to make an impulse purchase....
These days, companies realize the importance of getting their message out on social media to consumers. With so many social networks to use, how do you know ones will be best for your brand?
SimilarWeb looked at U.S. social metrics of different e-commerce companies over the last 6 months (February – July, 2015). Here’s a look at seven ecommerce websites that are killing it on social....
E-commerce sales in the US shot up 14.1 percent to $83.9 billion in the second quarter compared to Q2 2014 when adjusted for seasonality, the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce reported Monday. That compares to an overall increase in US retail sales of just 1.0 percent year-over-year.
In all, 7.2 percent of the estimated $1,1771.5 billion in US retail sales transactions occurred online in the second quarter, up from 7.0 percent in the first quarter of 2015 and 6.3 percent a year ago....
Andreessen Horowitz appears to be one of the winners in the $2.4 billion acquisition of online retailer Zulily by the owner of home shopping network QVC that was announced on Monday.
The Menlo Park-based venture firm was the Seattle company's (Nasdaq: ZU) biggest shareholder as recently as April, with about 13 percent of its stock at that time. But its hard to know exactly how well it did as Term Sheet reported on Monday that A16Z had "quietly distributed" most of its shares within the past few months.
Zulily's example may not be terribly comforting, either, to other so-called unicorns — as venture-backed companies that hit $1 billion in valuation are known. It is one of a growing group of VC-backed companies that have strong IPOs and first-day stock gains, only to lose value after their quarterly financials are subjected to Wall Street scrutiny....
Data released by the Commerce Department shows that American consumers are putting what little extra money they do have to spend each month into eating out, upgrading their cars or fixing up their homes, as well as spending on sports gear, health and beauty. Spending at restaurants and bars has jumped more than 9 percent this year through July compared with the same period last year, and on autos by more than 7 percent, according to the agency.
U.S. Economy Grew at 2.3% Rate in 2nd QuarterJULY 30, 2015
Analysts say a wider shift is afoot in the mind of the American consumer, spurred by the popularity of a growing body of scientific studies that appear to show that experiences, not objects, bring the most happiness. The Internet is bursting with the “Buy Experiences, Not Things” type of stories that could give retailing executives nightmares....
Nowadays, omni-channel consumers are comparing products and prices online before ever entering a bricks-and-mortar store and when they do, they have a device with them to compare and research on the fly.
So, the question is: how can online retailers cash in on über-connected consumers and get them to spend money in their online store as opposed to someone else’s?The answer: gamify....
Most consumers shop across multiple channels – in fact, a whopping 72% want to connect and engage with brands through digital channels. Most businesses have made or are beginning to make the transition to better engage today’s digital consumers.
Offline must be integrated with online methods, consumer data must be collected across all touch points, and marketers understand that personalized digital experiences will drive success.
Ever wonder just how much of an impact do digital marketing strategies really make? Or are you considering switching up some of your marketing spend? Take a look at these 5 compelling reasons why you should seriously think about ramping up your digital presence....
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Luxury in the form of premium experiences are seeing the most action in terms of spending, while high-end goods are lagging in comparison, according to new findings from a study by Boston Consulting Group.
The key finding of BCG’s Luxe Redux report is that there has been a shift in spending habits, where 55 percent of spending comes from luxury experiences rather physical goods. In addition, experiential luxury purchases grew 50 percent faster worldwide year over year than sales of luxury goods.
With more than 17.6 billion in-store shopping visits in November and December of 2013, retailers and malls alike have a vast opportunity to influence and target a captive audience’s purchasing choices every day, and even more so during the holiday shopping months when they are gift shopping.
To be clear, there are two separate but inextricably linked topics being discussed here: the use of mobile engagement strategies to get consumers into brick-and-mortar stores and mobile sales/transactions in general.
According to a recent study by Forrester Research for RetailMeNot, 84 percent of consumers use their smartphones while shopping in stores, but a lot fewer complete their purchase on a mobile device....
Key takeawaysDigital payments make up 53% of all transactions in Australia (and rising).
Convenience of digital payments rates highly with customers, but security does not.
Retailers have the opportunity to enhance user experience and reward customers by working with payment providers to gain insights from data.
The looming growth in digital payments offers many opportunities for retailers to understand and reward their customer, says a new Strategy& report....
The new avatar of shopping is evident with eCommerce squeezing in stealthily. Though, the online retail shopping is yet to have a sizable chunk of the total retail market the digital medium definitely has an impact on the offline shopping as well.
According to the latest Nielsen report, about half of products buying decisions people make are spontaneous and unplanned. This provides brands an ample opportunity to influence and connect people online that could eventually drive them to non-replenish purchase.
The report highlights online elements that influence non-replenish purchases and what are the top online activities of shoppers before they actually hit the store. It reveals that online resources – includes hearing and researching on social media, looking on retail websites, looking at brand manufacturer website, looking on coupon websites – have a greater impact on such non-replenish purchases than recommendation or ads. Nearly 7% of time shoppers recall using such online resources....
“95% of data is fluff”
The panel divulged that despite the increasing amounts of data available, only 5% is truly valuable. Tony referred to this as the “95 – 5 rule”, and panelist Ben Jankowski of MasterCard, added, “data ages like fish, not wine.” Therefore, it’s not only important for companies to use the right data, it’s about using it as close to real-time as possible, for maximum success.
Start small, aim big
All panelists agreed big data is great, yet it was clear that it is necessary to start small. It is recommended to take a stepped approach, and find success in each step before continuing to the next. Tony went on to explain that in helping customers use data, the first challenge to overcome is reach. Once you have your hands around that, you can focus and improve upon your creative....
Via Douglas G Hall
The 3rd annual digital experience study by analysts at Deloitte revealed a continuing trend, showing how mobile connectivity influences retail purchasing decisions. The study examined over 3,000 U.S. consumers to understand how their digital interactions (eCommerce, social, review sites, etc) are influencing in-store U.S. retail purchases. To nobody’s surprise, this year’s data clearly shows that digital influence continues to accelerate and shift the ground under the feet of retailers large and small alike.
The Deloitte study also pointed out that retailers are “dramatically underestimating the influence of digital, and are caught in a divide where they are making digital investments.” Buyers’ digital experience is becoming increasingly important.
Rather than view eCommerce and physical retail separately, retailers must understand how digital experience influences multiple channels.
As the rapid convergence of eCommerce and “brick-and-mortar business” continues, there are some practical ways you can create a more desirable digital experience for your customer.
The good news is, many changes aren’t costly at all, it’s just a matter of making a slight shift in your business approach....
Nothing happens until a visitor clicks a button. And once that happens, that visitor is somewhere in the pipeline of a purchase – either providing contact information, signing up for something, claiming a free trial, or actually making a final purchase. Any one of these actions can be considered a “conversion.”
Getting a visitor to the point of conversion requires sales tactics that have been used for years and are the result of basic human psychological behavior – emotional appeals, such as a sense of belonging, a need to not be left out or an urgency of some sort, like a limited time offer.
Overlaid onto human psychological needs, however, is the new research of neuroscience, which tracks brain activity when the senses are engaged. This new research adds to the “tricks” that ecommerce businesses can use to foster more conversions. Here are five tactics that use either basic psychological appeals, neuroscience, or a combination of both....
Global e-commerce generates more than $1.2 million in revenue every 30 seconds, according to a new report from the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) and Deloitte.
Further, the study found, social networks are contributing significantly to this revenue. Social media pages provide information regarding new products in the market, user reviews and ratings of the product, recommendations, and increasingly, the ability to buy directly from the site, rather than requiring a visit to a retailer's dedicated e-commerce site.
"Social media also helps e-tailers to build brand awareness by responding to customer queries," said D.S. Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM. "Seasonal sales and offers are displayed in social networks to reach maximum number of people. E-tailers have even started to motivate customers with reward points to provide feedback on the product on social networks. Prospective customers also interact with users of the product or service on social networks before making purchase decision."...
A calculative connection is fragile, the moment the numbers add up better for a competitor, a consumer with a calculative connection to a brand will quickly switch. Therefore, the consumers’ loyalty and the rich vein of data that you get in return is only yours if you are prepared to pay the most for it.
Competing on that basis, having a loyalty program that the calculative consumer will consider slightly better than everyone else’s is a race for the bottom, a price war that creates an in-balance in the fair exchange (the notion that today’s marketing activities needs to benefit both the consumer and the brand). To get out of this race for the bottom is to add earned loyalty to your program. ...
Kohl’s is bullish on mobile’s role for the upcoming holiday season, with 30 percent of its mobile traffic being driven by a new wallet feature in its application and plans to bring a new click-and-collect service to mobile.
During a conference call with analysts last week to discuss the retailer’s second quarter results, Kohl’s executives talked up the success of its new app, which has had more than 2 million downloads this year for a total of more than 8 million users. The wallet feature in the app is focused on offers and promotions, enabling users able to scan and save Kohl’s Cash and offers to the wallet and then redeem them at checkout.
Via Douglas G Hall
If you haven’t heard of Shop Jeen, that’s because you’re not a 19-year-old with pastel-pink hair and an iPhone plastered in emoji stickers. Crop tops are probably not your favorite separate, and four-inch platform sneakers are not your go-to footwear. The Generation Z–whispering web shop, founded three years ago by a New Yorker named Erin Yogasundram, now 23, from her George Washington University dorm room, should come with a seizure warning — and maybe even a trigger warning.
Type in shopjeen.com, and a Japanese music video for a band called Ladybaby might automatically start blasting, while the home page quivers with GIFs of LED-lit high-tops and tank tops that say ASK YOUR BOYFRIEND HOW MY ASS TASTE.
This is what cool looks like right now for a particular subset of 14-to-22-year-olds. It’s a visual language that’s basically early-internet clip art on crack — like the work of artists Cory Arcangel and Ryan Trecartin brought to the masses via Tumblr, co-opted by the storeVFiles, and now sold to young people in the form of $32 hats that say YES, DADDY?...
It is true? Myth or reality? Well extensive research and customer surveys have produced mind boggling evidence that online stores actually work as an essential counterpart for boosting in-store sales of many businesses which have online representation.
Consumers interested in purchasing products often get sidelined with alternatives and comparable products online with good product presentation and conclusively, refuse to buy the product. However, the same customer is rejuvenated after seeing the product in reality while walking in a local store. The result is offline purchase!...
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![Digital Effect on In-Store Shopping: 59% Shoppers Look for Coupons Online [Report] | Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight | Scoop.it](https://img.scoop.it/XtyM5CHF95GQPzRkhtOx4Dl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVvK0kTmF0xjctABnaLJIm9)
Leveraging digital technology is needed by retailers in order to accelerate customer service and compete.