The recent demise of even more well known High Street retailers such as HMV, Jessops and Blockbuster should serve as a strong reminder that the world has changed! 80% of shoppers were reported to have researched online before making a purchase this past Christmas and the average shopper consumes an average of 10.4 sources of information as part of this research process.
The “consideration phase” of the purchase decision is bloated with resources, content and conversations to help (or confuse!) the process. Brands will need to achieve useful, relevant and concise content which cuts through the noise to get the voices of their products heard. If you want any more reading, Google’s zero moment of truth research encapsulates the way consumers are behaving incredibly well: http://www.zeromomentoftruth.com/
There are plenty of stats out there to support this shift and the fact is inescapable – retailers large and small need to get on board the multichannel train! Some do it well and some not so well. You may be interested in this report by one of our clients Tealeaf, an IBM company, in partnership with Econsultancy who delve into the “online customer struggle” from a brand’s perspective http://bit.ly/VTQxX5 . For example, this survey revealed that 70% of brands have limited or no understanding of why their customers abandon their shopping baskets! A sign that there is still a really long way to go yet…
As we watch the high street and its retailers strive for the ultimate multichannel experience here are 6 well-articulated predictions for 2013:
Infographic courtesy of Dan Mortimer, CEO of www.redant.com
Picture courtesy of ZMOT tool box
