My five-year-old son recently uttered the phrase, “Why don’t you just ask Siri?” This was in response to my wife asking me a question. Even though my answer, “because I am smarter than Siri” wasn’t fully accepted, something occurred to me. This is his normal.
What does this mean for online retailers and brands that are accustomed to consumers navigating browsers rather than barking voice commands?
Consumer expectations versus reality. It is a complex topic for all retailers, but especially for those who sell online. Look at how Amazon has raised the bar on consumer expectations, such as with fast and free shipping. Consider how accessible mobile phones are, allowing consumers to find any product they are searching for, regardless of where they or the product is located. Social media, and its integration into the shopping experience, is providing a direct connection between brand and consumer.
Consumers are so keyed in about personalization that a recent study found 40% of online shoppers expect that multichannel merchants know about their offline purchases and factor those into their marketing emails. Let me repeat, we’re talking about offline purchases!
Retailers recognize this as a challenge, and are eager to solve it. But realistically, too many retailers struggle to connect their consumer profile data, purchase data, and email data — much less bridge the gap between the online and offline world. Consumers are coming to expect something most retailers are not yet poised to provide.
A colleague recently told me over lunch how much he loves pizza apps. “They’re just so easy.” When I asked him what was so easy, he said that while picking from the menu is part of the ease, the bigger part has to do with paying. It’s one touch.
Now before you run out and hire a team to create an app for your brand, let’s think about how to make paying easier – whether someone visits your website from a desktop or wants to take advantage of email offers directly from their mobile device.
The retail sector is going through drastic changes. Established names like The Limited are closing or filing for bankruptcy. Amazon and WalMart squeeze everyone’s margins. Special discount shopping days like Black Friday have morphed into Gray November, a month-long deep discounting period. As brands fight to keep up with competitor discounts, profits and customer loyalty are harder to earn.
I recently spoke with a fashion retailer who recognized the endless discount cycle dilemma. They had been stuck in this discounting rut, but did not want to be known as a discount brand. They prided themselves on making quality product at a decent price and this constant discounting was bad for their brand and devalued their product. This past holiday season, they made a straight forward business decision: No guts, no glory. At their busiest time of the year, they chose to not discount.
ommon industry statistics indicate that more than 70% of all online shopping carts are abandoned. Yet retailers generally treat all shoppers who abandon carts the same, regardless of what items they were shopping for. While this one-size-fits-all approach may work for many, it doesn’t work for everyone. The reasons for abandoning a cart tend to vary based on cart total, and the needs of the shopper also tend to change as the cost increases. So, using a blanket approach for cart recovery emails is likely costing retailers valuable sales.
I recently found myself popping in and out of stores in the SoHo section of New York City, and one thing stood out to me – the in-store experience left a lot to be desired. Too many times, I walked into a store only to be greeted with a very passive “Hello,” at which point the store associates turned back to whatever they were doing before. To maximize space, stocked items were often jammed together from floor to ceiling, making me feel like I was in some claustrophobic cave of color palettes. The experience wasn’t enjoyable; in fact, it felt more like an exercise in futility.
Miami-dwelling Joe likes the colorful Bermuda shorts and green boat shoes he found on your website. But when he gets the email promotion featuring the black winter jacket? Not so much.
Today’s consumers expect relevant communication from retailers, and in this example, Joe’s expectations were not met. It’s also the kind of example that’s been used to knock batch-and-blast emails as an ineffective strategy. But what if you could still batch-and-blast – and personalize?
How do retailers turn seasonal gift buyers into year-round customers? The fact is, it’s a struggle. Some customers may not want to hear from you for another 365 days, while others may need more personalized suggestions before they’ll make another purchase. Either way, at the very least, you want them to come back next year. But too often, retailers don’t devise a plan and simply lump these customers back into the regular stream of batch-and-blast messaging.
As you may have heard by now, come January 2017, Google’s search rankings will begin penalizing mobile websites that have pop-ups and interstitials. The reason? Google says it is focused on providing users with a smooth mobile experience and allowing them to access the information they are looking for without interruption. The search provider believes that even if “optimized” for mobile devices, these features contribute to a poorer experience because of the devices’ smaller size.
