By Alicia Fiorletta, Senior Editor
November was an optimal month for retailers to forge ahead with holiday deals and sales, according to research from SDL. Noted as the official kick-off of the holidays, 52% of consumers said retailers should start their holiday-themed promotions Thanksgiving month.
Interestingly, while only 12% of consumers said retailers should start their promotions in December, 28% said October was ideal, reaffirming predictions that consumers want to start crossing off their shopping lists as early as possible.
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During the shopping process, most consumers (63%) said they prefer to research gift ideas in-store. However, standard online search isn’t far behind (46%). Nearly one third (32%) of respondents said they search on specific retailer web sites.
I think the above set of statistics effectively speaks to the value of brick-and-mortar and the hesitations some consumers have about relying solely on the web. Sometimes, you can’t see all angles of the product and can’t truly get a feel for whether an item is right for your family member just by looking at a screen.
This time of year also plagues retailers with another key challenge: Inventory availability. On Black Friday and Cyber Monday, shoppers are desperate to grab items that have steep discounts. But what happens when those items are sold out?
“This frustration was pretty consistent across all respondents,” said David Schweer, Sr. Product Marketing Manager at SDL. “It is frustrating when your spouse wants something, for example, and then it’s out of stock when you want to buy it."
It is expected that more Millennials 18 to 29 (42%) use their smartphones to search for products over consumers who are 55 and over (9%) or even 40 to 54 years old (21%). However, older consumers are embracing tablets: 45% of consumers 30 to 39 years old use these devices to shop.
Understanding the breakdown of smartphone shoppers is important because it can help retailers guide their mobile marketing strategies and investments, according to Schweer.
"You see that shoppers 18 to 29 are the ones using smartphones,” he said. “So you have to ask how you’re extending the experience for these young shoppers. What do you need to put on your app or optimized site to get them to make a purchase? What am I going to do to make this a better experience for them?
Schweer added that because smartphones are small, compact devices, engagement times are much smaller. "You have a limited window so it’s important to use customer data and optimize that experience,” he said. “You need to know who they are, where they are and what they’ve done with you in the past."
At the end of the day, most (80%) consumers prefer to use a computer to purchase products. Yet again, tablets are becoming more widely accepted, with a fair amount of consumers 18 to 29 (23%), 30 to 39 (36%) and 40 to 54 (22%) using their tablets to purchase products.
Regardless of the devices and touch points retailers are present on, it is dire that they create a seamless and consistent experience. The vast majority (90%) of all respondents said they expected this, while 47% said having different online and in-store experiences was a top frustration.
"A consistent experience across devices is one of the key reasons why someone is going to be loyal to a brand or retailer,” Schweer said. “Consumers are willing to switch brands that promise one thing but don’t deliver it."
Click here to access additional information about the study.
Are you surprised by any of these findings? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
