After more than a year marked by lockdowns, social distancing and closed shops and restaurants, consumer behaviour has changed radically. Although they feel a deep desire to return to shopping in shops or dining in restaurants, and the most varied consumer experts predict an increase in the high street sector over the coming months, digital seems to be here to stay and will shape the consumer profile we will have in the coming decades.
More than a year of online shopping has meant that consumers' expectations of their shopping experience have changed profoundly. The search capabilities acquired in the meantime, the convenience of self-service shopping, the flexibility of payment and the convenience of home deliveries are just some of the factors brought about by online shopping. e-commerce that end up contributing to the birth of a new type of consumer in the post-pandemic.
According to one recent 451 Research report by S&P Global Market IntelligenceBy 2021, more than 80% of consumers are expected to switch to online shopping, boosting global revenues by 22%. e-commerce and putting them at the 5 trillion dollar mark.
Even if, as mentioned, consumers are eager to return to a "face-to-face" shopping experience, what they internalised as a "full-time online consumer" during 2020 is not going to disappear any time soon. This necessarily places an added burden on the shoulders of retailers, who, pressurised by the demands of a new consumer profile, will have to respond by adapting and innovating.
Of all the facets of this veritable revolution in consumer habits, the increased level of consumer demand and their lack of patience for mistakes or delays is perhaps the most decisive.
In another study carried out by 451 Research entitled "The return to store in a digital-first, post-pandemic world", around two-thirds of US consumers surveyed said they would return to shopping indoors three months after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, and around 88% said that having a negative online or in-store experience would make them less likely to buy from that retailer or brand again.
To win this battle, retailers will have to not only understand the way this new consumer thinks, but also build a perfect shopping experience both in physical shops and on e-commerce sites, so that they retain their customer's loyalty in a post-pandemic world.
According to analysts, in order for retailers to properly prepare for all these changes in consumer behaviour, they should keep these six dimensions in mind:
Consumers want control
Consumers want more control over how they buy and pay - a convenience they have discovered with online. They want to pay for purchases using the method and on the device they want. Therefore, merchants must be prepared to offer the payment methods that consumers expect, including "buy now-pay later" payment plans, credit and microcredit apps, subscription methods for products and services paid for via cards or digital accounts - for example Unibanco digital accountor reward and loyalty programmes.
Frictionless checkouts and efficient service are the new norm
Accustomed to simple and convenient checkouts online, consumers will now demand the same in the in-store shopping experience. One in three consumers told 451 Research ("The return to store in a digital-first, post-pandemic world") that the existence of self-checkout, for example, would encourage them to buy in person.
When in shops, customers say they want to spend less time looking for products and prefer the efficiency of self-service when possible. This is evident when, in the same study, one in four consumers say that a self-service shop that provides them with information about the products it has available (on which shelf, price, etc.) would encourage them to shop in person at the shop.
In different ways, these in-store preferences reflect the kind of efficiency that consumers have come to prefer online. Without it, merchants run a real risk of customers abandoning their shopping carts, whether virtual or real.
Flexible service is key
An important component in providing a satisfactory shopping experience is undeniably the implementation of flexible customer service strategies. Even if customers gradually return to physical shops, many consumers will continue to prefer options such as booking online and picking up in shop or buying online and returning in shop.
Two out of five consumers told 451 Research as part of the study "The return to store in a digital-first, post-pandemic world" that a satisfactory shopping experience, made possible by these types of multichannel service options and the removal of friction during the shopping experience, would encourage them to buy from a specific shop or brand after reopening.
Personalisation
The personalisation of marketing and in-store offers will grow over the next few years. Digital commerce and its data analysis tools that respond to individualised purchase histories allow businesses to keep in touch almost in real time with their customers' tastes, desires and needs.
It is this level of personalisation that consumers expect to find when they go to a neighbourhood shop or shopping centre. For example, in the study "The return to store in a digital-first, post-pandemic world", which you have helped us with frequently throughout this article, it shows that loyalty programmes increase the frequency of visits and the level of sales, both online and offline. Two out of five consumers said that personalised coupons would encourage them to shop in-store more often, while 54% of retailers said they were well placed to offer a personalised shopping experience.
Flexibility in payment becomes the norm
Not only because of the pandemic and the sharp downturn in the economy and employment, controlling personal finances will continue to be key for consumers. The use of debit cards, in particular, saw an increase of 8.6% in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, as consumers sought to control their borrowing in the face of economic uncertainty, it said. a study by the Mercator Advisory Group dated last September.
This increase in the use of debit cards is compounded by a growth in demand for reloadable prepaid cards, which means that merchants must ensure that all payment methods, as well as all card issuing systems, are available to consumers.
This is confirmed by a report by C+R Reserach for Discover, which found that 85% of main cardholders consider it important to be able to use their main card wherever they shop.
Investing for the future
Due to all the changes reported here, "merchants are responding to these consumer demands by offering more payment options at the checkout," concluded one merchant. Aite report. This is underlined by a number of other studies which indicate that merchants' investment in digital payment resources in physical shops and platform e-commerce (website, Marketplace, etc.) will be booming.
With online shopping projected to grow by 20% in 2021 compared to 2020, retailers must be prepared to invest more in offering customers a multichannel shopping experience by using their physical shops as a way of leveraging the online sales and vice versa.
Investment must also be made in data analytics. "Capturing" and synthesising data on previous purchases, behavioural data and consumer preferences is essential for creating personalised interactions with consumers and thus increasing their loyalty.
This is the case with REDUNIQ Insights, a knowledge solution that aims to provide analyses based on information about national retail activity and thus support companies in generating insights and making business development decisions.
* Article adapted from Discover® Global Network.
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