The holidays are quickly approaching, which means retailers and brands have been preparing for months to manage the influx of demand from consumer shopping. Managing demand, however, is far from the only challenge retailers and brands are facing this year.
In today’s retail landscape, consumers are flooded with options regarding how, where, and when to shop, making the brand or retailer’s job of ensuring their products stand out extremely challenging. What used to be as simple as visiting a brand or retailer’s website and browsing has evolved into discovering a product on TikTok, looking it up on Amazon, before opting to order it through their mobile app for a discount, and picking it up at a nearby retailer.
Coupled with the already stressful holiday season amidst an uncertain global economy, today’s customers are looking for brands to make their shopping experiences as seamless, transparent, and painless as possible. Anything less can deter shoppers from a brand, leading to decreased sales and dropping brand loyalty.
But, that doesn’t have to be the case. Businesses that are investing in a strong product experience (PX) can create a seamless hybrid shopping experience that blends the in-person and online shopping experience, giving users more confidence in their purchase decisions.
Accurate Product Information to Avoid Frustration
Although customer expectations are always evolving, one constant that customers expect is a seamless, accurate, and frictionless experience, especially as customers are planning to be more price-conscious with their spending compared to previous years. Consumers want to be assured that what they are paying for, is exactly what arrives on their doorstep.
Consumers rely on user generated reviews, in-stock reporting, images, and product descriptions to make an online purchase, and often they conduct research across various platforms prior to making a purchase, which is why accuracy and consistency are essential. When shopping online, especially as it becomes later in the season, consumers rely heavily on websites to be accurate with both reviews and availability and function well to hold the increase of traffic.
Recently, Akeneo conducted a study of 1,000 U.S.-based consumers and found plenty of room for improvement to avoid additional layers of stress. Specifically, 30% of Gen-Z consumers said that slow-loading websites or apps are their most common issue when shopping online for the holidays, and overall 49% of consumers ranked out-of-stock items as their top frustration, with difficulty finding product information second. Because 65% of all shoppers research purchases online prior to making a purchase, brands, and retailers need to ensure they are providing simple, complete, and accurate product information consistently via every method of shopping (i.e., social media, third-party, and company website). How your product is described or portrayed on your website, needs to match how it’s described across all third-party sellers so consumers know exactly what to expect, regardless of where they purchase. An accurate online presence and PX can also reduce the amount of returns that a businesses encounters. When buyers are provided with the most reliable and relevant information, they have more confidence in what they are buying, which in turn will help consumers and businesses see a reduce cost of returns.
Because customers have options when shopping, knowing how brands can better meet their expectations and resolve any frustrations can ensure customers keep coming back for future purchases.
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Meeting Customer Tech Expectations
Online shopping is more than simply searching a website and adding items to your cart. In this day and age, it needs to replicate the in-store experience as much as possible and retailers need to provide a complete and consistent omnichannel experience across all mediums. When searching online for a product, shoppers now have the option to choose the business’s direct website, a third-party site, social media, Google shopping options, and more – and all of these channels need to provide accurate information and mimic one another to avoid adding frustration and confusion to someone who is sourcing different options from various websites before making any purchase decision.
This year, and in years to come, technology-driven holiday shopping experiences will continue to evolve and become more common. Within certain sectors, especially retail, AR/VR (Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality) shopping options have become the go-to for younger generations for virtual try-on options. According to a recent Akeneo survey, 15% of Millennials and 18% of Gen Z say they use AR/VR “try-on” options when shopping. Leaning into technology to provide accurate information means that consumers who do crave some aspects of the in-store experience but like the ease and convenience of online shopping can have the best of both worlds. Knowing how a clothing item, piece of art, or furniture, will look prior to making a purchase also lessens the likelihood of a return.
As businesses and retailers are gearing up for the holiday season, knowing what customers expect and how to make their journey as smooth as possible will benefit everyone. Embracing different forms of technology can help reduce returns and negative reviews, and help customers have increased confidence in the product they are ordering – bringing a bit more cheer to everyone’s holiday season. Preparing an online store or presence is no small task, and it’s important that brands put an emphasis on consistency and accuracy of the product experience – shoppers will show their appreciation through repeat sales, word-of-mouth referrals, and boosted loyalty that drives retail revenues up during the holidays and beyond.
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