Create a 'connection' with your customer

Why retailers must adapt to changing consumer demands

Consumers are driving unprecedented change in the retail sector. Some of these changes are driven by technology but sociological and psychological drivers are increasingly influential. Customers no longer have the patience to wait to receive their purchases, but they are more concerned about the environmental and social impact of these purchases. In this report, we will explore the drivers of consumer change and the current response of retailers to meet this change.

Customers are More Connected and More Demanding

It is no secret that everyone has become more connected. Next time you are walking in the city, look around and you will see people of all ages staring at their mobile or with their headphones plugged in. When you are next on the train, see how many people are actually talking. Or when you enter a conference room or are waiting for a meeting to start, how many people will be on their mobile or tablet? We are becoming increasingly connected and, at the same time, more isolated from human interaction.

The trend of digitalization, the process of becoming a digital business, is influencing how and when we obtain information about prices, products and trends that plays a part in deciding what we purchase. We have all the information about brands and retailers within our reach. Recent research indicates that 72% of customers use their mobile in store to look up price or product information (note 1).

Contributing to that trend is the increasing value we place on the information we get from one another. Social selling is on the rise. For example, 50% of trendsetters, or those who quickly adopt new technologies, will watch product or service demonstration videos before they buy. And more than half of the same group have bought something directly from a social media page such as Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat. (note 2)

Live streaming is also influencing purchasing in many markets such as China, where its estimated value is $5 billion, according to recent research. In comparison, the cinema market is worth $7 billion and the mobile gaming industry $10 billion. This increasing influence may also affect retail. (note 3)

Consumers are also becoming more demanding. The ‘now’ generation have become accustomed to instant gratification and this can influence their choice of retailer. More than 60% of early adopters in the four countries surveyed choose a retail store because it has quick ways to check out. This jumps to 80% in China. Half of these same early adopters choose a retailer because shopping can be completed quickly, leaving them time for other things. (note 4)

Delivery speed is now considered a necessity. Naturally, the availability of products is key to faster delivery. According to the Chinese Post, the number of consumers using express delivery is expected to reach 250 million in 2018. (note 5)

Several examples illustrate the desire for increased delivery speed as a way to gain market share. In 2016, Whole Foods Market invested $36m in Instacart, which enables your grocery shopping to be delivered to your home within the hour. (note 6)

In December 2017, Target bought Shipt, an Instacart competitor, for $550m with the aim of offering same-day delivery to its customers in half its stores by 2018. (note 7)

Another B2B2BC example uses advanced sensor technology. In May 2015, Audi, DHL and Amazon launched a pilot for direct-to-car parcel drop-off. The system, Audi Connect Easy Delivery, was successfully implemented in 2016. (note 8)

Customers are Becoming Less Consumeristic and Want to Trust Retailers

Trust is playing a greater role in shaping customer preferences and buying behaviors. However, an interesting paradox exists here. One of the first reasons a customer decides to shop at a retail store is because they trust it. But therein lies the paradox; customers are losing trust in retailers, as well as in brands. Trust can be destroyed very quickly amid frequently occurring scares or scandals. Examples include the Chinese baby milk contamination scandal of 2008 or, more recently, Fipronil insecticide being used on eggs in Europe in 2017. There are still concerns about food safety in China although there have been improvements. (note 9)

Traceability and transparency is another factor eroding trust in retailers. Today’s customers want to ensure they understand where and how products are made along the entire supply chain. They want to understand the sustainability of raw materials and the working conditions and labor standards to produce the goods. And they want to understand the price before they buy. Over three-quarters of the buyers we surveyed in the Chinese market (77%) will scan the QR code to see information or pricing before buying (note 10), an increasingly important factor in a global market, where growing pressure on international sourcing has led to initiatives such as China’s new ‘Silk Road’ trade corridor. (note 11)

More examples of companies aiming for greater transparency are appearing and it’s a trend that looks set to continue. Customers want to trust retailers but need reassurance. There are two ways that retailers can respond.

The first is through open communication about product traceability and transparency. This is an objective approach. Some retailers are already responding to this trend. Clothing and accessories store Everlane promotes something called ‘radical transparency’ where the cost of each material used to make the final product is completely transparent to buyers, and the production cost is used to justify the sales price. (note 12)

The other method to reassure buyers is to choose to stock more local products. This carries a more subjective appeal for the customer. More than 50% of early adopters in China, Japan and South Africa prefer buying products made by a local artisan. (note 13)

Niche, independent brands, while not necessarily ‘local’, are taking on these characteristics, which are widely acceptable to shoppers compared with national corporations. With low barriers to entry, thanks to e-commerce, m-commerce and social media buzz, new brands can be brought to market more quickly. Smaller, more agile companies can respond faster to market trends and satisfy shoppers who want products now, rather than those that may take months to produce in traditional supply chains.

Local products represent a unique value proposition compared with slower product development from larger corporations. For example, handmade or small-batch products that are traceable, fresher, healthier, free from preservatives, sustainable and fair-trade can often boast a unique founder’s story.

Examples include: Etsy, an online platform selling artisan goods from retailers including Macy’s and Whole Foods; Peligourmet, a similar offering specialising in French artisan foods; Marie’s Baby Circle, a Korean store which features products made for moms by other moms; and the Organic Pharmacy, a global brand which sells batches of beauty products that are made that week.

Another interesting example is Farmy, an e-commerce start-up that collaborates with 400 producers across Switzerland to promote e-commerce primarily for regional products. Farmy guarantees its customers local products collected directly from the producer, without intermediaries. The locavore (note 14) customer fills his shopping cart online and the company delivers orders using electric bicycles throughout the city of Zurich. 

Why are more customers sensitive about traceability? Because they want to make meaningful purchases. They have become less consumeristic and are searching for the right reasons to buy. They may be concerned with the sustainability of the planet. This has led to the explosion of organic products. For example, UK supermarket chain Tesco, reported that sales of organic goods have risen by 15% in the past year. The UK home delivery service, Ocado, stocks more than 3,000 organic products and its sales increased by 16% last year. (note 16)

What is Needed to Address the Customer Desire for ‘Belonging’?  

Customers want a convenient shopping experience that fits their busy lifestyles. Retailers have made significant inroads in this area. Digital tools and software have made shopping faster and easier while removing some of the inconvenience, and examples abound in today’s society. Ordering has been made hassle-free by using Click and Collect – ordering online and picking up at the store. Over two-thirds of Chinese early adopters (67%) have done this at least once in the last 12 months. (note 17) Scanning products through self-checkout kiosks or mobile phones is also common. Swiss coffee company, Nespresso, uses RFID to enable a self-checkout process without customers even needing to remove the articles from their bag. Paying for purchases has become less of a hassle too. For example, Alibaba launched a virtual reality payment system where users can make a purchase simply by nodding their heads. (note 18)

Our research shows that these innovations are widely used in China by early adopters. 81% choose a retail store because they can pay with an app. (note 19) Other examples include easy returns, the rise of home delivery, subscription services and automatic replenishment, as well as the ability to shop directly from social media channels such as Instagram.

Furthermore, retailers must either reduce or eliminate the wait at checkout to meet the demands of customers whose connected, busy lives mean patience and attention spans are decreasing. The Dutch supermarket chain, Albert Heijn, is testing an NFC card on the electronic labels of selected products which automatically debits purchases as the buyer exits the store, resulting in no queue to pay for purchases.

Finally, retailers must respond to consumers’ desire for immediate receipt of their purchases by developing an ultra-fast delivery capability. Those without this facility or expertise should consider partnering with specialized companies. For example, Walmart purchased Parcel to deliver to its customers in less than two hours.

But even these actions are not enough and retailers must raise the bar further. Customers are looking for a personal connection or a sense of ‘belonging’ when they shop. In response, retailers are already using predictive analytics to determine a customer’s personal data, lifestyle information and preferences, based on purchase history, past behavior and comparison with other shoppers.

The next step is to move from predictive to prescriptive analytics to influence customer decision-making, such as the ability to push relevant information to the consumer when they are present in a physical or virtual store. 71% of Chinese early adopters want their stores to provide personalized recommendations. (note 20)

Predictive targeting and personalized ‘prescriptive’ recommendations are becoming more widespread using such innovative tools as Tiny Clues, Dynamic Yield, Reelevant, and LuckyCart. (note 21)

Personalization is increasingly applied to the product itself, regardless of whether it is bought on the internet or in stores. And it doesn’t have to be high-tech, like 3D printing – it can also be low-tech, such as the St. Ives pop-up in New York where you can create your own face wash. 

Finally, customization can also apply to product price. Through mechanisms such as loyalty programs, special promotions, and continuous price adjustment on internet sites, consumers are accustomed to price variations for the same item. But the price can also be customized by the customers themselves, such as with Jet.com, bought by Walmart in 2016. On the Jet.com website, the price of the customer's shopping basket varies according to different factors – the price is lowered if the customer renounces the free return option. It is ultimately the customer who determines the price and remains the sole arbiter of their decisions.

Conclusion

Today’s retailers must attune to the needs of an ever more demanding consumer, and take immediate action to implement the necessary technology, processes, and people to simplify the purchase process. Paradoxically, consumers are ever more connected with technology but are in search of trust, personal consideration, and a sense of belonging. 

Our next reports will explore how retailers in selected countries in Asia (China, Japan) and Africa (Nigeria, South Africa) are giving different answers..

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