There are six behaviours of on-demand shopping behaviours, according to new research from Carat Manchester.
The Retail DNA report identifies them as Stopwatch Shopping, Wish List Shoppers, Prescriptive Perception, Editor’s Pick, ‘Buying Influence’ & Private Channels.
Focusing on purchasing decisions across fashion, health and beauty, home and furniture, and technology categories, the team sought to find out whether people behaved differently when buying certain products.
Around the world, 54% of shoppers buy products online weekly or monthly and 45% of retail journeys now contain a mobile element. With 61% expecting to use their phones more in-store this year.
Stopwatch Shopping – Consumers have much less free time to shop in, and aren’t prepared to invest that time in shopping for the basics.
Wish List Shoppers – Shoppers are increasingly putting together idealist wish lists, of products they aspire to own, rather than intend to purchase. This trend extends beyond fashion and furniture either to even include ‘property porn’ – 63% of people visit property sites even though they have no intention of buying.
Prescriptive Perception – More than two thirds (70%) of shoppers are happy to give away personal information, keen for retailers to better understand them and provide more personalised inventories
Editor’s Pick – People want the products they buy to reflect their personality. The trend for curated lists enables them to find items that are related to the style they aspire to.
Buying Influence – People want products promoted by peers; word of mouth is the most trusted source for product recommendations, and as people are going online, trust has gone digital.
Private Channels – Services like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and WeChat are increasingly finding ways to accommodate communications between businesses and consumers
“The dynamic of the brand to consumer relationship has changed immeasurably in recent times and we now operate in a world where the power has shifted wholeheartedly in favour of the consumer,” said Rachel McDonald, managing director at Carat Manchester.
“Brands can no longer rely on price and convenience anymore they have to mean more to the consumer, offering something different and or better than competitors. The Retail DNA report reveals how consumers interact with information and content across the media infrastructure and how brands can adapt their strategies to shape the journey of experiences they have with our brands in ways that benefit everyone. We created it to offer our clients bespoke understanding of their customer’s shopper journeys, and to challenge our shared thinking and deliver actionable insight for brands to differentiate and connect with their customers.”
The research was carried out by Canvas8.
