Consumer Behavior
Shoppers hungry for discounts, digital shopping
Photo by istock.com
September 29, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered consumer shopping in two major ways: Consumers have a greater love for digital commerce and they're on the hunt for discounts.
In response retailers should be striving to personalize the retail experience, drive digital engagement and satisfy the consumer's want for instant gratification.
Those are prime findings of a study commissioned by Simon Data, a customer data platform provider, and conducted by Worldwide Business Research and eTail.
Today's consumer wants to avoid long lines and even trips to the store during peak periods such as the upcoming holiday season.
Additional findings include:
- More than half of the respondents demonstrate a willingness to try new things. Specifically, 57% of shoppers who don't know what they want to buy yet say they are at least somewhat willing to test new brands this holiday shopping season.
- Most of the respondents (92%) say it is at least somewhat likely they'll continue shopping with a retailer after they've taken advantage of their holiday discount.
- Consumers are also shopping for holiday gifts based on specific criteria this year, such as discounts. For example, 66% of the respondents at least somewhat agree that they don't know what they want to buy yet during the 2022 holiday shopping season, but they'll probably focus on discounted products.
- The respondents overwhelmingly prefer email for almost every type of communication, whether it's a new product announcement or a response to an inquiry.
- However, over one third of the respondents (34%) prefer to be contacted via SMS about at-home shipping updates.
- Similarly, 27% prefer to be contacted via SMS with item back-in-stock messages, and 21% prefer it for responses to inquiries.
- 68% will fill up their digital shopping cart, then leave a website without purchasing while doing their holiday shopping online.
- Most of the respondents (57%) at least somewhat agree that they're willing to give retailers some basic information about themselves in the form of "zero-party data." However, they do so under the expectation that retailers will provide personalized recommendations and discounts during the holiday shopping season.
