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Online Shopping Habits Are Changing

Shopping habits are ever changing, both online and in the real world, and they affect many of the choices that brands make towards the way they operate. A brands main aim should be to provide the customer with a great experience, and it’s important to monitor shopper behaviour so that you can decide the best choices to make for your business.

A great example of brand changes as a result of evolving shopping habits is the recent dismissal of 24-hour opening times in many large supermarket stores. Many of the supermarket chains that cut 24-hour opening times made clear that this was done due to changing customer shopping habits, where more shoppers are buying online rather than visiting stores – with online sales surging to 51.1% of all sales in the 2016 holidays.

So what online shopping habits will we see change through 2017?

Increase In Seamless Spending

The amount of people using convenient seamless payment methods is very high and continues to rise. Contactless cards are on their way to becoming more prominent than Chip and Pin card payment in the UK, and the amount of shoppers using smartphones to pay for products has increased massively in the past year – with a report from DMA showing that 80% of millenials use mobile phones as part of their in-store payment method.

Though these figures show real world shopper habits changing rather than online, the extent of mobile use for shoppers gives brands many opportunities to target consumers with ads and apps. Infact, studies show that brands that do create mobile shopping apps are much more likely to reach consumers – with mobile app shoppers browsing 286% more products that mobile web shoppers, and 54% of all mobile transactions being carried out on apps in 2016.

Rising Prominence Of AI, VR and AR

According to the global home technology tradeshow, CES 2017, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and virtual reality technologies are going to be some of the most impactful products and the biggest disruptive home technologies for the next 20 years.

Technology Company Mintel foresaw the rise in VR leading to new advertising methods and effects in shopping behaviour and habits. Some brands have already created virtual reality advertisements, the Boursin Sensorium refrigerator rollercoaster being one example of many.

Easier Shopping & More Convenient Customer Service

With a rise in the use of both social media and mobile devices, many brands are adopting new ways to communicate with consumers and provide them with the easiest and most convenient services available.

Brands are taking to instant messaging sites like Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp and Snapchat to advertise and connect with customers. Many are even making use of Facebook Messenger’s automated bot feature – which allows you to provide a selection of automatic preset messages and replies that are sent to users who message your brand.

Certain brands are being smart with their online offerings, and those brands that provide fast hassle free shopping experiences and good, responsive customer service are building customer loyalty by providing great services to their audience.

Adapting Your Brand To Suit Changing Shopping Habits

Shopping habits are ever evolving, and never stay the same for a long period of time. It’s only a matter of time before a new technology is released that takes the spotlight, but for the coming year much of the marketing world is in agreement of what online shopping behavioural changes we can expect.

If you want to reach online success for your brand, you need to adapt your online presence to suit the needs and wants of consumers.

Need help putting your ideas into practise? Contact UC4 today to discuss your eCommerce plans and see how we can help.