Survey: Retailers Missing the Mark

Results of a survey:

How Retailers are Missing the Mark with Shoppers    by Sara Spivey in ChiefMarketer

Consumers are continuously changing the way they shop. They have high expectations for speed and convenience, they consult social media for ideas and inspiration and they’ve become very comfortable making transactions on mobile.

These dynamic shifts in consumer behavior are putting increasing pressure on brands and retailers to create the most innovative shopping experiences to stay competitive, attract new shoppers and foster loyalty among their existing customers. It’s already difficult to identify the shopping experiences that boost optimal sales and revenue, but it’s even trickier to understand whether consumers actually like or want these experiences in the first place.

Sixty-five percent of shoppers don’t consider voice assistants important to the customer experience.
To better understand how retailers are meeting customer expectations and more importantly, the areas where they are missing the mark, Bazaarvoice surveyed more than 400 brands and retailers and 2,000 consumers across the U.S., UK, France and Germany to identify the gaps between what shoppers want and what the industry is delivering. Here’s what we found:

Incorporating the right digital in-store experiences

Innovation and developments in virtual reality and augmented reality continue to make headlines and generate buzz, but blending digital experiences with physical retail is complicated. Though new technologies are flashy and impressive, it begs the question whether they enhance the customer experience or detract from it. Some retailers have introduced creative virtual reality features into their shopping experiences, like the ability to virtually try on outfits or visualize furniture in the home, but are consumers adopting and enjoying these new functionalities? .... " 

Beyond Just Sales Numbers

Brief example:

In Shopperception: Shopper Analytics for the Retail Industry?  .... Do Sales Numbers tell us all we need to know?  .... Sales numbers tend to be considered the only relevant metric when evaluating in-store performance. Changes to a category that increase sales are considered to be good, and those that decrease sales are considered to be bad, which to the untrained eye makes sense and seems easy to manage, after all it is ultimately about increasing sales, and offline retail is just that simple.  .... "  

The Uses of SmartPhone Beacons

A slideshare on the effective use of beacons.    " ... Movintracks:  We have chosen the top 5 stories from June, 2015 to get your creative juices flowing. These include Ford Cars Selling Themselves with Beacons, A Tour App Enhanced by Beacons, Culture Map launching 200,000 beacons,  150,000 Tourists Test Beacon App plus our company highlight - Macy’s and IoT.  ... "  Via Kirk Borne

June Issue of Shopper Marketing

Steve Frenda writes:
The June 2015 issue of Shopper Marketing is available. Digital version: http://goo.gl/qEcbkQ. if you prefer a .pdf: https://goo.gl/YT23Fn 

Digital Shopper Marketing Magazine

From the Path to Purchase Institute.  Contains the 2015 trends report for Shopper Marketing.  Good resource.   See also their Linkedin Group.

RFID and Beacons

A recent query reminded me that the RFID journal now covers Beacon type systems.  This is an interesting kind of application than might be expected for in-store beacons:

Epicurious to use Swirl Beacons to Deliver Localized Servces to In-Store Shoppers.  
In-store mobile marketing company Swirl Networks ( An iBeacon Network ) has announced a partnership with Epicurious, a Condé Nast online and mobile service focused food. The two companies say they plan to bring exclusive in-store digital experiences to Epicurious' audience. Swirl's marketing platform leverages Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons to deliver targeted content and offers to consumers' smartphones, based on their specific location and behavior at the store.  ... " 

Millennials and Shopper Marketing

In Smartblogs: The rise of the omni-channel shopper in the millennial.  The link below is also of interest and new to me.

" ... The Coca-Cola Company sponsors this blog post and leverages proprietary insights to create world-class shopper marketing activities designed to help retailers convert more shoppers into buyers.  Visit www.cokesolutions.com to learn more.

Digital media has changed the way and the speed in which people shop. Marketers must now provide consumers with a full buying experience both online and in-store, adding a new dimension to their jobs. In particular, understanding the purchasing habits of millennials, who were raised with online shopping as a part of daily life, can be a challenge since many younger consumers have different expectations and approaches to buying. ...  " 

October Shopper Marketing

Always interesting online Mag.  Sign up. Via Steve Frenda

" ... The October issue of Shopper Marketing is a cause for celebration for those of us at the Institute. I'd like to offer a hearty toast to Peter Hoyt, the Institute's founder & CEO for his 25 years and the 25th anniversary of the publication. For me, 6+ years and proud to be a part of the Institute and enjoying some of the most exciting times of my career. Please take a few moments and read Bill Schober's editorial (pg.8) and Peter's interview (pg.22).

The e-issue of Shopper Marketing is now available for reading or download at http://goo.gl/ZyrFw8

Another can't miss article in the issue is the cover story. One of our Keynote speeches at Expo features Jocelyn Wong, Family Dollar's CMO sharing the stage with Coca-Cola's Allison Lewis, the SVP, Marketing N.A. to explore the framework of their "Shared Media" efforts.

Shared media... Why do you care? Enlightened retail chains realize that investment in traditional media (TV, print) by brands is shifting --- The funding and resources are going to two places --- "Earned Media" (Digital) and "Shared Media" (Retail Collaboration). ...  " 

Emotions of Shopper Behavior

It has been a known for a long time that emotions are powerful drivers of shopping behavior.   Good piece.  Supermarket News writes:  " ... Shopper Intelligence founder Christopher Brace says that because shoppers are swayed by emotion, "past purchases are poor indicators of the decisions they may make in the future." Shopper insight is not an end but a starting point for discovering true motivation for purchases, he says ...

 " ... Whenever shoppers are faced with a choice, their emotions that trigger the behavior, he said. These emotions come from the shopper’s beliefs and attitudes about the world, not about a brand or category. ... “One of the major arguments for big data is that shoppers’ past and/or current behaviors will help establish trends that are indicative of their future behavior,” Brace told SN. “The problem is that a shopper’s past purchases are poor indicators of the decisions they may make in the future.” ... "

What is Shopper Marketing?

In Shopperception:   Part 1 of what looks like a good introduction to the topic." ... If products are not purchased, nothing else matters. The best marketing and advertising campaigns in the planet fail if products stay on the shelf, and the one making the difference is the shopper. This basic realization has made Shopper Marketing so useful and vital for successful brand building in the past few years. Companies have always spent a big part of their budget driving awareness among consumers. ... " 

P&G and Shopper Marketing

In Adage:  P&G regains top slot in shopper marketing.  Based on a survey of agencies.  No direct indication of innovation.