1、IPSOS VIEWS THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER BEHAVIOUR By Stuart Wood | January 2020 SHOPPER BEHAVIOUR IS EVOLVING The world is changing at a rapid pace. Continued developments in digital technology and advances in eCommerce mean that the way we shop for products and services is also evolving. Technology ha

2、s created a digital retail landscape that is unrestricted by geography and the normal dynamics of bricks and mortar stores. Physical stores are also changing as they not only integrate technology in-store but better connect with the digital world to increasingly deliver a seamless omnichannel offeri

3、ng. As a result, we need to understand these changes and their implications when planning go-to-market strategies or when optimising shopping marketing programmes. In this paper, we will look at five changes were experiencing in the world of retail, consider why they are happening and reflect on how

4、 Ipsos is adapting to the situation. Find all of this in the sections listed below based around the key themes. 1 Complexity of choice and decision-making shortcuts 2 The effect of pre-store preferences 3 The digital revolution 4 Disruptive eCommerce models 5 Omnichannel: merging the physical and di

5、gital 2IPSOS VIEWS | THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER BEHAVIOUR INCREASING COMPLEXITY OF CHOICE PROMOTES SHORTCUTS IN DECISION-MAKING Complexity of choice is an issue for shoppers buying everyday products. Continuous, iterative innovation and the proliferation of line extensions (where brands create variant

6、s of their products by flavour, pack size, and so on) mean that most categories have become very fragmented. Trying to consider all options is a cognitive task that our brains simply cannot handle. Therefore, we use visual shortcuts to selectively focus on what is most important and filter out irrel

7、evant information.1 The brain has to eliminate unwanted stimuli to cope with the complexity of the surrounding environment, which is why shopping (both in store and online) is really about “de-selection”. This is arguably getting more acute today with consumers increasing expectations of convenience

8、 and ever-decreasing attention spans. Technology can of course help us make faster decisions, and we are seeing increasing adoption of AI, chatbots and voice activation.2 Likewise, retailers can aid shoppers through increased curation of their ranges and by enabling more intuitive navigation both at

9、 physical fixtures and online. “Shopping, both in-store and online, is really about de-selection.” 3THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER BEHAVIOUR | IPSOS VIEWS PRE-STORE PREFERENCES SIGNIFICANTLY SHAPE PURCHASE DECISIONS We are seeing evidence through our Path to Purchase research at Ipsos that a high percenta

10、ge of brand decisions are being influenced pre-store, particularly for the things that we buy very frequently. Complexity in-store certainly plays a role, but so does the cumulative impact of brand touchpoints and (of course) our experience of products, which drives repeat purchasing. Even for a cat

11、egory like confectionery, which may be traditionally thought of as a strong impulse category, we see that existing brand preferences are stronger than any of the other individual influences encountered during the purchasing process. This doesnt mean that in-store merchandising and activations are no

12、t important, but just being on the shelf is not enough. Brands need to win the hearts and minds of shoppers by creating mental saliency and driving desire. Our study on pre-store preferences confirmed that attitudinal equity (what people know and believe about brands) has much more impact on purchas

13、e decisions than the other touchpoints consumers encounter during their purchasing journey. You can see in figure 1 below that this is more than twice as influential as the next-ranked touchpoint in the list (seasonal display). Figure 1 The influence of touchpoints on brand choice (confectionery cat

14、egory) Source: Ipsos study, 2017 Touchpoint infl uence Attitudinal Equity (brand desire) Seasonal display Price reductions / coupons Online (Self-Initiated) Special display Recommendation TV Ad Free volume or multi-pack deals Other display Print Online (Imposed) POS on shelf Other promotion Coupon/f

15、ree product sample Pre-store touchpoints In-store touchpoints What people know and believe about brands has a greater infl uence on purchase than any other individual touchpoint encountered on a specifi c purchase occasion. 4IPSOS VIEWS | THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER BEHAVIOUR THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION IS

16、REINVENTING SHOPPER BEHAVIOUR Our smartphones and tablets provide us with a wealth of information about different products at our fingertips, including reviews, comparative pricing and product features. We also have the power to influence others through what we post in social media and through ratin

17、gs and reviews. Access to this digital environment helps us to make more informed and rational decisions about the product choices that we make. We are also influenced by increasingly sophisticated and more targeted digital advertising. But digital goes beyond what we read on a screen: the rise of A

18、I-powered digital assistants and voice activated systems like Amazon Echo show a trend towards consumers relying on these tools to help them make the right decisions. This does raise ethical considerations relating to whether our decisions are at risk of being led by AI and the algorithms that drive

19、 them. Technology is certainly making things more seamless, but it also raises expectations of convenience. Companies like Amazon have fundamentally reset our expectations of convenience and how we shop for products. “Technology is certainly making things more seamless, but it also raises expectatio

20、ns of convenience” 5THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER BEHAVIOUR | IPSOS VIEWS DISRUPTIVE ECOMMERCE MODELS ARE EVOLVING EVERY DAY eCommerce continues to grow. It now accounts for around 14% of total global retail sales (averaged across all categories and markets) and is set to grow to 22% in 2023. eCommerce i

21、s particularly strong in markets such as China (37%), UK (19%) and US (11%). eCommerce is dominated by major players in the marketplace, the biggest being Amazon and Alibabas Tmall. Amazon commands a 45% share of the eCommerce market in the USA and has a global community of more than 100 million Pri

22、me members. Amazon is ruthlessly innovative and focused on delivering ever-increasing levels of convenience through large-scale investments in logistics and fulfilment. Amazon is also investing in voice technology, and this intuitive way to communicate voice commands for shopping is set to grow. Ama

23、zon Echo has become commonplace in our homes, 18% of all US homes now have one and the total penetration of smart speakers is 26%. A great example of the use of voice-activated sales is the collaboration between Starbucks and Tmall Genie (Alibabas equivalent of Amazons Echo). Starbucks fans can voic

24、e- order their coffee and favourite food and have them delivered within 30 minutes. Members can also receive personalised recommendations based on their previous orders and trending items from Starbucks seasonal menu. The collaboration helps both companies meet the needs of Chinas digitally savvy co

25、nsumers, who are increasingly expecting seamless, on-demand deliveries for everything from ordering groceries to food and medicine. However, eCommerce is not about simply buying the same products through a different channel. The digital environment reduces the “cost of entry” for new brands so allow

26、s new players to emerge, creating even greater choice. eCommerce also allows transactions to take place in very different ways and ultimately changes the way that we buy products. Figure 2 eCommerce as a proportion of global retail sales Figure 3 eCommerce share market comparison, 2019 Source: Stati

27、sta, 2019 Source: Statista, 2019 2019 14% 23% 2023 US 11% UK 19% CHINA 37% 6IPSOS VIEWS | THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER BEHAVIOUR DIRECT TO CONSUMER (DTC) This model allows brands to communicate directly with shoppers and, in this way, own their relationships with customers. Dollar Shave Club is probably

28、 one of the best- known and most successful Direct to Consumer (DTC) eCommerce models. It took on the male shaving category, which was dominated by Gillette with 72% market share at the time and reinvented the way many of us shop for razors. This also provides a new blueprint for challenger brands.

29、Today DTC spans almost every category from cosmetics, pet food and even the mattresses we sleep on. Companies like Casper, who sell mattresses online, are one such company. It may surprise many that mattresses could be a category that is dominated by DTC start-up brands, but if you think of the bene

30、fits of having such as bulky product delivered to your home in compact form and having a 100-day free trial it starts to make sense. ECOMMERCE SERVICES A whole service economy has sprung from technology that can link those who want something with those who can deliver it. Companies like GO-JEK in In

31、donesia and Rappi in Latin America are great examples. Users of the app can get products purchased and delivered on demand. Rappis business model is to get FMCG companies to pay for prominent placement (the app is organised by product not by stores) and placement accounts for 55% of Rappi revenue. B

32、ut people also use Rappi for many other services, such as moped drivers delivering cash to save individuals having to venture out to cash machines themselves. Similarly, companies like Just Eat, Deliveroo and GrubHub have transformed home-delivery for the takeaway food market which is growing at a r

33、apid pace. SOCIAL COMMERCE The growth of social and chat platforms has provided brands with an opportunity to generate impulse purchase opportunities digitally, platforms such as WeChat in China are most advanced with this. Beyond messaging, WeChat offers shopping, music streaming, taxi booking, cin

34、ema tickets, all with integrated payments. A massive 95% of luxury brands are present on WeChat. The power of chat platforms is of course their sheer scale: WeChat has 1.15 billion users in China. While this is largely an Asian phenomenon, WhatsApp, the worlds biggest messaging platform with over 1.

35、5 billion subscribers, is also moving towards integrating eCommerce opportunities for brands. Instagram has created shoppable content by building shoppable tags into their stories feature. Millions of users access Instagram stories to stay in the-know with brands theyre interested in, get an insider

36、 view of products they like, and find out about new products. By hitting a little shopping bag sticker in a story, users can now immediately purchase what they see, if it appeals to them. Figure 4 Most popular global mobile messenger apps, based on number of monthly active users Source: Statista, Oc

37、tober 2019 Whats App1600m 1300m 1133m 808m 314m 200m Facebook Messenger WeChat QQ Mobile Snapchat Telegram 7THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER BEHAVIOUR | IPSOS VIEWS OMNICHANNEL BRINGS TOGETHER THE PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL WORLDS True omnichannel retailing means we can buy online, on mobile or in-store and choos

38、e to collect or have these items delivered to us or at a location thats convenient to us. It also allows us to manage returns through multiple channels. Omnichannel therefore provides ultimate convenience and reduces barriers to purchase. Physical locations allow us to view, touch, try and evaluate

39、products (an important factor in many categories), while digital channels provide access to inspiration, information and of course efficient remote purchasing. For true omnichannel businesses, this potentially changes the role of the physical store, which can become smaller if they no longer need to

40、 stock all products and can focus on delivering more of an experience. OMNICHANNEL RETAILING EXAMPLES: AMAZON, ALIBABA AND SEPHORA Many pure play retailers (operating solely online) have expanded into omnichannel retailing. Beyond its Wholefoods acquisition and seamless Amazon Go format, Amazon has

41、launched “Amazon 4-star”, which stocks a range of products that are popular online: those rated 4 stars and above in Amazon Reviews, top sellers and new and trending products. This is a great example of how eCommerce data can be used to support decisions about the range of products to stock offline/

42、in-store. Amazon has also come full-circle by opening physical book stores. This may seem like a kick in the teeth for the book stores it has put out of business, but these stores are fuelled by eCommerce data that defines the range of books available and introduces shoppers to Amazon products and t

43、echnology such as Kindles and Amazon Echo. Similarly, Alibabas mission is not to put everything online, but to bring digital technology to all of retail for greater efficiency and better shopper experience. Alibaba has developed many retail concepts, but probably its best known is Hema (Hippo Fresh)

44、 Supermarket. At these stores, everything is driven by mobile: you scan products for more information and to purchase before checking out seamlessly with Alipay. These supermarkets also act as distribution centres from which deliveries are made within a 3km radius within 30 minutes. Hema now has mor

45、e than 150 stores located across 21 cities in China. Alibabas closest competitor JD.com has launched its own format 7Fresh and plans to open 1,000 stores in the next 3 years. In this changing world, traditional retailers need to adapt to remain relevant and competitive. A great example of how this c

46、an be done is the Sephora Flash store which is only 100 square metres (a quarter of the average size of the brands boutiques). A selection of best-selling makeup and cosmetics products are available in-store alongside a digital catalogue of more than 14,000 products from 150 brands. If a product is

47、not in stock, customers can supplement their physical shopping basket by adding it to their digital basket, represented by a digital tag. There are also tablets to allow shoppers to discover premium perfumes including classic and niche fragrances such as Serge Lutens, Tom Ford or Atelier Cologne. Pe

48、rfume testers with an NFC (Near Field Communication) tag provide shoppers detailed information on the fragrance through the connected screen. Customers can then instantly add it to their digital basket. Both physical and digital purchases are paid for at the checkout counter in a single transaction.

49、 Finally, customers can choose to have their online purchases delivered to their home or to pick them up at the Sephora Flash store. The physical store can become smaller and focus on delivering more of an experience 8IPSOS VIEWS | THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER BEHAVIOUR “Omnichannel provides ultimate convenience and reduces barriers to purchase . In this cha