Tapping Into the Connected Consumer

It comes as little surprise that today’s digitally empowered consumers are using multi-platform devices – especially mobile – to decide where, when and how they shop. But as research undertaken by DigitasLBi reveals, the shopping process is changing, with smartphones increasingly dominating every stage of the consumer journey.

Findings from the DigitasLBi Connected Commerce study – which surveyed consumers in Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain and Sweden, the UK and US – make for interesting reading. From revealing how smartphone usage is changing the way people shop to indicating clear divergences in the shopping habits of consumers in different countries.

How people shop

Today’s connected shoppers are heavily engaged in ROPO (Research Online, Purchase Offline) shopping behaviours and the number of technologies consumers use in the shopping process has diversified. At home, they’re using a variety of means to browse the internet at the shopping research phase – desktop and laptop PCs, tablets, smartphones and smart TVs – and will search for the same information across all devices.

Smartphones influence every stage of the shopping journey

While most people still purchase online via computers rather than through a mobile or smart TV, the Connected Commerce research reveals that growing numbers of shoppers are buying direct from their mobile. Overall, 34 per cent of smartphone users confirmed they’d purchased via their smartphone in the last three months.

What’s more, 49 per cent of smartphone users say it’s changing the way they shop. 59 per cent now use their mobile to search for product information while in a public space or on the go. Once in a bricks-and-mortar store, 72 per cent will use their mobile to facilitate their in-store shopping, with 51 per cent searching for information online and 39 per cent using a shopping app.

The findings indicate retail mobile apps still have a key role to play in activating shoppers’ purchasing behaviours once in store. Customers on the move value being able to access features such as reminders, barcode scanners, store finders, shopping lists or access to a ‘click and collect’ facility.

Shopping habits differ around the world

There are clear differences in how shoppers around the world interact with brands. In China, more than 76 per cent of shoppers now happily make purchases from their smartphone, compared with an average of 35 per cent of smartphone users in France, the UK, Germany and Singapore. Indeed, smartphones dominate the entire shopping journey for Chinese shoppers, used by 92 per cent to search before purchasing and in store by 95 per cent. But in other territories, the tablet is proving the technology of choice for shoppers, such as the UK and Germany, where 50 per cent of people now complete purchases via a tablet device.

Similarly, there are clear differences in how shoppers around the globe utilise social media and social networks when making purchases decisions and how shoppers share a purchase. In China, 78 per cent of social media users have shared a purchase, compared to an average of 35 per cent of users in the UK and Germany. As retailers extend their data analysis capabilities, their ability to adapt omni-channel strategies for territories in order to deliver the right experience for shoppers in individual markets will grow. Making it possible to activate shoppers in an agile and tactical manner and optimise the individual customer journey.

Today’s retailers need to gain a deep understanding of how and where they need to invest to influence consumer awareness during the end-to-end shopping process. Today’s connected customers are savvy and have high expectations when it comes to connected digital and real world experiences and brands need to respond by building a highly relevant consumer journey that’s appropriate to individual shoppers in the territories they serve.

By: Jim Herbert

Source: Mobile Marketing Magazine