Below is a complete example of a hot topic update from the PracticeView monitoring service. It includes background information, client discussion points, and resources and commentary which can be used by your firm and its professionals to stimulate discussions with clients and/or prospects. Click here to learn more or subscribe to PracticeView.
Background
Holiday shopping surveys are predicting cautiously optimistic returns. Today’s consumer is more likely to shop around for the best value, and e-commerce sales are becoming increasingly important to retailers’ success. Bain & Company forecast that e-commerce holiday sales will grow 15% in 2011, 4 points higher than 2010. An important matter for retailers to consider is the role that social media plays in consumer behavior. IBM’s studies show that people who arrive at a retailer’s site from Facebook are nearly twice as likely to buy something than other shoppers.
As the number of social tools has increased, consumers expect more from retailers and desire connections with brands and retailers on many platforms. Big players in e-commerce offer a variety of products online, easily compared for the bargain shopper, with free shipping. Successful businesses identify brand advocates and encourage ratings, reviews, and conversations. Businesses must recognize that today’s consumer has a multitude of ways to communicate their opinions to thousands of potential customers, and they must strive to achieve positive ratings for product quality and value, as well as for customer service.
Implications
Retailers must effectively promote value to consumers while using technology to provide a constructive customer experience across multiple channels. Characteristics of a positive experience include large amounts of user content (reviews, comments, pictures), exclusive deals available to followers via social channels, and quick response time to customer comments and needs. Additional considerations include a smartphone-friendly environment, useable customer apps, previsualizing a purchase (the customer can superimpose the eyeglass purchase they are considering onto their photo), and incentive programs.
Client Discussion Points
- Are e-commerce sites and customer apps user friendly and efficiently taking customers to the point of sale?
- How are social channels being maximized? What further incentives can be introduced to support a retailer’s social following?
- Are customer expectations supported with quick response time across the retailer’s channels?
- How are retailers prepared to incorporate the next wave of technological advances?
Resources & Commentary
- Deloitte – Deloitte Store 3.0™
- Accenture – Accenture Research: 2011 US Holiday Shopping Survey
- Bain & Company – Bain Predicts Solid Growth for the Holidays
- J.H. Cohn – Retail Outlook 2012: Staying One Step Ahead of the Economy
- Booz & Company – Shopper Marketing 5.0: Creating Value with Shopper Solutions
- IBM – Why Social Commerce Matters on Black Friday and Every Day
- Kurt Salmon – Tech Tools That Bring the Consumer into Focus
- L.E.K. – Which Retailers Are Winning in Social Media, and Why They Win
- McKinsey – Reimagining Retail
- PwC – Understanding Consumer Trends to Help Weather the Storm
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