What Shoppers Want

November 15, 2012  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on November 2012

Showrooming€”the practice of shoppers price browsing online via their mobile devices to compare product they see in stores to what they can find elsewhere€”is the biggest risk facing retailers today, but consumers have suggestions on how retailers can respond.

That€™s some of the good news from the third annual 2012 Shopper Experience Study from Retail Info Systems News and information technology consultant Cognizant.
This year€™s study on shopper preferences surveyed 2,122 consumers in the United States and Canada.

While a one-size-fits-all approach at retail doesn€™t work for survey respondents, Steven Skinner, vice president of Cognizant€™s retail, hospitality and consumer goods practice€”and the study€™s principal research analyst€”saw a common theme: shoppers€™ assertiveness.

€œArmed with unprecedented amounts of information and the tools to access data at any moment, shoppers are poised to buy€”and they want retailers to be ready for them,€ he wrote in the report. €œThey expect retailers to get it right on store fundamentals€”product assortment, product information, price, efficiency and service€”and they are annoyed when they do not. The basics are especially important to older shoppers.

€œTo shoppers, stores sell products and answers. In response, retailers need to begin viewing themselves as providers of solutions, not just products. This expansion will result in a more complex business model, potentially encompassing services, third-party partnerships, and other elements not part of traditional retailing. But the evolution is critical for stores to remain relevant to shoppers, and it€™s an endeavor that they must undertake.€
The 2012 survey found that shoppers continue to make the majority of purchases in retail stores, with online shopping ranking a distant second. Further behind, and close to one another other in volume, are call centers, mobile, tablets and kiosks.
€œStores still reign, but it€™s never been more critical for retailers to recognize that integrating digital opportunities into the shopping experience is important to all shoppers, and especially to the coveted young and affluent segment,€ Skinner said.
Skinner offered five keys €œthat retailers can use to refine their strategies and create thriving retail stores that generate profitable bottom lines.€

1 IT€™S ALL ABOUT PRICE
Competitive pricing and promotions, even among the wealthiest respondents, still have the most pull with shoppers; and have the most influence on purchase decisions across all demographic segments. That€™s what makes showrooming the No. 1 risk facing retailers today, and it demands a solution for transparent and consistent pricing and promotions across channels as well as a more informed and empowered workforce.
Price isn€™t the only factor though, and therein lie opportunities for retailers. The study found that the Internet has increasing influence on purchasing decisions while television€™s impact on those choices is falling. But, the study indicated both media lag behind in-store signage and product packaging when it comes to influencing shoppers€”
and that social media€™s power, while growing, is not predominant.

2 EXCEPTIONAL IN-STORE
EXECUTION
The study found that four out of five purchases are still made in bricks-and-mortar stores. To keep those shoppers returning, retailers must freshen the in-store experience, recasting stores as places for discovery and interaction with products, where associates can assist in the decision-making process and shoppers enjoy instant gratification.
Every year since 2010, the shopper study has underscored consumers€™ expectations that stores master the basics of retail execution. Those basics include robust product assortments; effective merchandising; clear product, price and promotion information; knowledgeable, helpful associates; and efficient checkout.
Shoppers also expect similar proficiency in retail fundamentals from online stores. They identified the top four influences on online shopping as returns handling, competitive price and promotions, product selection and fast checkout.
Sales associates play a pivotal role. When they can€™t find what they want in stores, most shoppers say the first thing they€™re likely to do is ask store associates for help. That€™s good news for retailers, because it presents a touch point for deepening customer relationships.
The second most prominent response, however, was to buy the product elsewhere, with a large risk of lost sales that could be partially mitigated through better integration of online and in-store experiences.
Men, younger shoppers, and high-income shoppers are among a small but growing percentage of customers who turn to their mobile devices most often when unable to locate goods.

3 EASE AND EFFICIENCY
These two factors are what make in-store shoppers happy with the checkout process. While Internet shoppers might appreciate subtle, suggestive selling as they near checkout, store shoppers want to proceed through checkout quickly and smoothly. That means no fuss, and especially no cross-selling.
The study showed that shoppers in stores want attentive associates who are focused on the task at hand and do not attempt to gather information or sell additional products.

4 REACH BEYOND THE BASICS
Today€™s shoppers have high expectations for their store experience, and retailers who want to differentiate themselves must go beyond the ABCs of retailing.
For example, specialized store treatment based on customer loyalty is the top request from survey respondents.
The survey also found that personalized experiences carry more weight with in-store shoppers than with their online counterparts. Shoppers want personalized, attentive in-store experiences, and the more affluent and younger shoppers expect retailers to seamlessly integrate personalization across channels.
This represents a big opportunity for those retailers willing to act fast, because few stores offer this sort of tiered service.
While shoppers want store experiences tailored personally to them, they have boundaries. The study found they are resistant to divulging information they deem to be personal in exchange for more personalized experiences. Instead, they prefer that retailers use more neutral sources such as their own loyalty programs.

5 SPECIALTY VS.
CONSUMABLE PRODUCTS
The study found that shoppers€™ expectations vary when it comes to specialty vs. consumable products.
Increased options and focus on experience are more important to shoppers of specialty products than to those buying consumables.
Consumers also are more inclined to perform their own research and comparison-shop for specialty products.
Problems retailers should avoid to keep from irritating shoppers include inconsistent experiences across channels, and younger and more affluent customers said that stores that won€™t match competitors€™ prices are especially bothersome.
The greatest influences on purchases of consumables include printed materials, information on product packaging, shelf signs and interactive product displays. HFB