The beginning of the yr is the right time to take inventory of what is previous and put together for what’s to return. Nonetheless, predicting the way forward for procuring and making acceptable New 12 months’s resolutions for 2021 isn’t any simple activity: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every thing from how brick-and-mortar retailers function to the methods folks store on-line, making it difficult to determine what to concentrate on within the yr forward.
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To assist planners and strategists higher perceive the present state of procuring and which tendencies are set to have a long-lasting affect, Fb IQ spoke with well-respected specialists each internally and externally, carried out unique analysis and checked out revolutionary model examples.
Right here we discover 5 resolutions primarily based on this work that may show you how to efficiently meet the wants of buyers in 2021 and past. To delve deeper into the insights and uncover extra key shifts within the panorama, take a look at the complete report: The Way forward for Procuring Has Come Early: Views From the Business.
Decision 1: Adapt procuring experiences to deal with new shopper expectations
When deciding the place to buy, each in-store and on-line, value stays an important issue for many customers. Nonetheless, the COVID-19 pandemic has made folks re-examine their procuring expectations and more and more weigh extra components.
For instance, security is now essential for in-person buyers, with 71% of customers globally saying it is essential {that a} retailer create a protected in-store atmosphere, and reliability has change into important on-line, with 70% of customers saying it is necessary for e-commerce platforms to at all times have the merchandise they need in inventory.
One of many issues that customers have began to acknowledge throughout COVID-19 is that their desire of the place they store means extra to them than it did prior to now.
Nicole Leinbach Reyhle
Founding father of Retail Minded
What it means for entrepreneurs:
Adapting procuring experiences each in-store and on-line to fulfill new expectations similar to security and reliability could make customers really feel snug, construct belief and encourage motion.
Decision 2: Cut back procuring friction
in-store and on-line
Ian Simons
Head of Business for E-Commerce within the US at Fb
When folks expertise friction—pointless steps, delays or limitations—they’re extra more likely to abandon their procuring journeys. The COVID-19 pandemic has each added dangers to procuring experiences and lowered buyers’ tolerance for threat, making friction much more impactful.
Sadly, friction is widespread each in-store, and on-line. For instance, 38% of customers globally say they’ve skilled time dangers (e.g., lengthy checkout strains, hard-to-find merchandise) whereas procuring in-store and 54% say they’ve skilled purposeful dangers (e.g., out-of-stock objects, lack of know-how on merchandise) whereas procuring on-line.
What it means for entrepreneurs:
Decreasing in-store and on-line procuring friction by taking steps similar to reducing wait instances and guaranteeing seamless fee experiences can put customers comfy and encourage repeat visits.
Decision 3: Deal with each the transactional and the experiential
Historically, in-person procuring has been regarded as experiential, and e-commerce has been regarded as transactional: If you wish to see and really feel a product, you head to the shop, and if you wish to analysis or purchase proper now, you go surfing. Nonetheless, the COVID-19 pandemic has blurred these distinctions and even reversed the roles of the 2 channels.
More and more folks need in-person procuring to be environment friendly—44% of in-store buyers within the US say a quick/specific checkout would considerably enhance the expertise—they usually need e-commerce to be immersive, with 63% of internet buyers globally agreeing with the assertion, “I need to nearly attempt on merchandise from the consolation of my own residence.”
Moderately than focusing solely on the slender alternative to seize present intent, manufacturers should take into consideration how they generate recent demand. This strikes e-commerce from a backside funnel exercise to a full funnel one, with completely different roles to play throughout it.
Nicola Mendelsohn
Vice President at Fb EMEA
What it means for entrepreneurs:
By bringing digital efficiencies to in-store experiences and immersive applied sciences similar to augmented actuality (AR) to on-line experiences, it’s potential to ship the most effective of each worlds to customers.
Decision 4: Construct loyalty with
a multifaceted technique
COVID-19 has led folks to experiment with new merchandise, providers and e-commerce choices. Over 60% of worldwide customers say they’ve tried a brand new model or retailer because the onset of the pandemic, and 58% say they’ve tried a brand new on-line procuring platform.1 This branching out has helped to erode loyalty, with customers across the globe saying they now really feel much less loyal to each bodily shops and on-line procuring platforms.
More and more, loyalty is received by extra than simply affordability—although that is still key—and is pushed by extra components, similar to availability (e.g., stock), accessibility (e.g., communication), attributes (e.g., environmental practices), actions (e.g., omnichannel experiences), altruism (e.g., response to COVID-19) and assurances (e.g., security measures).
Whereas pricing comes first to drive loyalty for on-line and offline procuring, broader concerns round buyer expertise (supply and return, proactive customer support, shopper security actions, and many others.) have been highlighted in gentle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ikkyu Sohn
Head of Business for Retail in South Korea at Fb
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