Social media users are changing their shopping habits. A new European study by IBM shows that social media and the reviews it contains from end users are also having a growing influence on purchasing decisions in Europe. Yet 40 percent of those surveyed say they end up buying in stores.
More and more consumers are researching online before making a purchase, using social media in particular. More than half of the 16- to 64-year-olds surveyed for IBM* use social networks when they're preparing to make a purchase. More than a third of social media users read reviews from others and leave reviews themselves.
Despite the important role of the Internet in the decision-making process, 40 percent of respondents say they end up buying in a shop. These “cross-channel” customers are therefore becoming increasingly important for retailers in all industries. Experts stress how important it is that this customer group has a consistently well-thought-out and designed sales environment across all channels, including sales outlets.
Cross-channel customers can sing a song about how this point in particular is criminally neglected in many places. The differences between online/mobile and “real” points of sale are often striking not only in the implementation of the corporate design, but prices and offer packages also often diverge and unsettle new customers in particular. And when promises made in the shop on the Internet are no longer worth anything, the customer is definitely scared away.
Stephan Telschow from the German Society for Innovative Market Research confirms: “Shoppers often get to know the brand in a completely different way during their online research than it is then presented offline. The web shop offers a variety of products or even highly attractively priced packages. The store then only has two standard products, which are expensive.”
Carsten Thoma, COO of Swiss software manufacturer Hybris, which offers software for so-called “cross-channel commerce,” warns: “It will only take one bad experience, whether it be out-of-date pricing, incorrect information about sizing, color, or availability, or the inability to offer a tailored and personalized shopping experience, for consumers that to switch brands or change their retail outlet to make their purchase.”
* For the IBM study, 4,000 adults in Great Britain, France, Italy and Germany were interviewed.
Link: Press release from IBM UK
Link: Between online and offline - Stephan Telschow (Society for Innovative Market Research) in the magazine “Markenartikel” 6/11
Link: Are you ready for cross-channel commerce? - Carsten Thoma on Hybris.com