Shopper Culture

Future Forward: Are You Shopping the Aisle...From Your Couch?

More and more shoppers are opting to use their laptop, tablet or mobile to do their grocery shopping these days. While it is convenient, it takes a bit of prep and knowledge about what you, which leaves little room for browsing or impulse. This does not bode well for many brands trying to constantly capture sales from today's shoppers who are at best "promiscuous loyals," according to Byron Sharp's book, How Brands Grow.

The current online grocery shopping environment omits many of the real store experiences that many shoppers rely on. Or it did until now. The introduction of virtual reality devices like Oculus Rift and companies like Retale are making it possible for shoppers to stay on the couch and still shop the aisle.

Mobile Coupons Served Up To Suit The Shopper

Mobile today seems to be where social media was 5 years ago in that if you aren't doing it, you're "way behind" but in reality, it's still maturing and evolving. It seems as though there are new habits, features and functions popping up everyday. Some driven by users and others driven by brands. Though mobile experiences are popping up, using mobile to push rewards and coupons is still a huge play for marketers. 

Just recently, Krispie Kreme went mobile launching the Krispie Kreme Rewards mobile app to deliver information and savings to loyal customers. They also made a scannable bar code out of delicious drizzling glaze that shoppers can snap (via YouTube) to receive a BOGO coupon valid on 12/12 - simply tasty! This type of app and program seems to suit the needs of the Krispie Kreme shopper, allowing them to be in the know of doughnut making, crush their craving where ever they are, and get incentivized to keep up the habit. But apps are not ideal for all brands.

Everyone's Giving Into The Shopping Spirit

According to the latest Checkout study on holiday shoppers, 41% of shoppers have already completed most of their holiday shopping. Between the Thanksgiving sales, Black Friday, the weekend and Cyber Monday, shoppers are making a dent in their shopping lists.

Shoppers are being lured by classic sales and fun experiences like Old Navy's overnight millionaire promotion, which awarded one lucky Black Friday Shopper $1million. But some brands are having more fun than others during this crazy shopping period.

Cards Against Humanity's Black Friday sale raked in over $70,000 by selling nothing. While Madewell's "your boss is shopping today too" Cyber Monday Sale is offering sale prices to those that SHOPATWORK (their promo code).

It would seem that shopping is alive and well despite the issues surrounding Black Friday. This year's Holiday Checkout digs into the Black Friday back and forth both shoppers and retailers are encountering as well as who is doing most of the shopping during Thanksgiving weekend. 

Click here to download the Holiday Issue of The Checkout.

Photo Source: Madewell Email

Get Your Issue of The Urbanist with All The Trimmings

Before you stuff yourself silly this turkey day, fill up on the latest in urban retail news. 

 

This issue includes:

Walgreen's Innovative Loyalty Program

Starbuck's Frictionless Payment Advancements

The Monetization of Snapchat

 

And don't forget to checkout previous issues here and follow us on Twitter for even more urban retail news updates @_The_Urbanist.

New Holiday Study Examines Nuances of Typical Holiday Shoppers

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, even though it's only mid November. But that has not stopped retailers or shoppers in the past. In fact, according to the new holiday issue of The Checkout, 41% of shoppers report doing most of their shopping in the month of November.

It seems that most shoppers have a prime time when they do most of their holiday shopping. This year's Holiday Checkout digs into three types of holiday shoppers to understand who's shopping when and how spending, retailer selection and motivations change over the holiday shopping season.

Do you think you know who the Early Bird shoppers are? The ones that get most all shopping done before Thanksgiving? Click here to download this year's issue of The Holiday Checkout to find out as well as learn about the stat of Black Friday shopping and mobile's influence on holiday shopper today.

Keep Up with Urban Shopping Culture with The Urbanist

The latest issue of The Urbanist outlines the latest urban happenings this Fall including:

• Hashtag, The Store 
• Lowe's NYer Inspired Retail Location
• Inst-Innovations at Retail
• And more!

Click here to read past issues.

And don't forget to follow us on Twitter for even more urban retail news updates. @_The_Urbanist   

The Power of Serendipity

More and more brands are complementing their e-tail strategies, based on analytics and previous buying behaviors, with experiential programs rooted in more human impulses and the desire for unexpected rewards and surprises.

In new neuroscience research, Dr. Gregory Berns, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Emory University in the U.S, and Dr. Read Montague, associate professor of neuroscience at Baylor University, suggest “the brain finds unexpected pleasures more rewarding than expected ones, and it may have nothing to do with what people say they like”.

Food Delivery Needs More Innovative Ideas to Grow

A big question in home delivery has been, when are groceries going to catch up with online books, clothes, and shoes? For a long time, the costs and logistics has kept the perishable food and beverage deliveries lagging other e-commerce efforts. Others have said, shoppers haven't gotten over the perceived hurdle that fresh groceries shouldn't be delivered. 

According to a recent Business Insider Intelligence report, only about 1% of all U.S. consumers do their grocery shopping online. 

Despite that, many start-ups have ignored the barriers, and have innovated their way onto shoppers tables -- By offering a service that brick and mortar is not. Companies like Plated, Blue Apron, and Sun Basket deliver all the pre-proportioned fresh ingredients for shoppers to cook chef-inspired meals in their kitchens. 

Google's Mobilegeddon

What is Mobilegeddon? Google took a bold move and recently altered its mobile search algorithm. From this point on, if a site is not mobile-optimized, it will be de-prioritized in Google’s search rankings—meaning shoppers may never even see your site because it’s hidden at the bottom of the search pile.

Can Google justify this decision? Yes. Google strives to provide the best possible user experience for their users. According to Flurry Analytics, people now spend approximately three hours per day on their mobile devices and if a shoppers experience is seamless on their device, there’s a higher likelihood they’re going to make a purchase. 

Why does this matter?

Buy Buttons: Where Shopping and Social Collide

The next big trend in e-commerce has arrived. Buy Buttons are the new hot topic for social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and most recently, Pinterest. By allowing people to buy products seemingly from social sites and apps, these buttons are the next evolution in creating more holistic shopper strategies.

Social media, specifically Pinterest, offers unique benefits to shoppers, brands, and retailers when it comes to shopping. Buy Buttons have the ability to remove much of the friction surrounding a purchase. With their integration into a feed, consumers will be able to buy as part of their everyday social browsing behavior, removing the extra step of going to a physical store or website. These buttons have the potential to create a more seamless connection between social activity (and the products within it) and purchase.

In addition, brands and retailers on social sites can take advantage of the Behavioral Economics Principle of Social Proof to help encourage purchase through Buy Buttons. Social media is built on social proof — looking to others to help guide behaviors. Any like or positive comment reflects acceptance among peers. This assurance helps reduce dissonance and create a compelling reason to buy.

In her annual Internet trends report, Mary Meeker called Buy Buttons the next big thing. Similar to the quick adaptation of mobile (from calls to text to pictures to video), she believes that these buttons will evolve rapidly and become a mainstay in our shopping habits. What do you think? Do Buy Buttons have the potential to be the next big thing in e-commerce? 

Reimagining the Digital Shopping Experience

 

 

As e-commerce sales continue to grow, more brands are starting to reimagine the digital shopping experience. Who’s in the winner’s circle now? Brands that have brought a new consumer experience to life in an interesting and surprising way are the one's who are snagging long-lasting loyal bonds.  Click here to read more about which brands are being praised:

Reimagining Brick-and-Mortar

The role of physical stores for modern shoppers has been under quite a bit of debate. First we were told that the "death of brick-and-mortar" is here. Then, as it turns out, they matter more than ever. With the increasing presence of e-commerce and retailers fighting back with more of an omnichannel approach, it's no wonder that there's confusion about the relevance of physical stores in the modern shopper culture.

A recent interview with Andy Dunn, CEO of Bonobos, brought an interesting perspective to the table. When it comes to brick-and-mortar, maybe its role is neither dying nor thriving--maybe it's just being reimagined.

New Edition of The Urbanist

Looks like the cold weather is taking its sweet time to leave. Take a break from the chill with some hot news for spring urban retail. 

In this month's issue:

• The Rise of Retail Robots
• Brands and Periscope
• Commerce in a Dash

Click here to explore past issues of The Urbanist. And don't forget to follow us on Twitter for even more urban retail news updates. @_The_Urbanist  

Amazon Dash: Push-Button Ordering From Your Laundry Room

Three years ago, Red Tomato Pizza made an ingenious little fridge magnet that let you order pizza with the click of a button, via a bluetooth connection to your smartphone.

Now Amazon is getting into the game. Their new Dash Buttons let you order common household products (this time through your home Wi-Fi) with a single click.

Our Group Director of Mobile, Ben Kennedy, weighs in on this service over at Digiday. "Will Dash transform the future of shopping?" Find out what he says in the article.

Super Size Edition of The Urbanist

Spring is around the corner. While you wait, catch up on the latest urban trends brought to you by The Urbanist. This month's super sized issue includes the latest on:

• Virtual reality's role in shopping today,
• The role of GPS and dogs in the shopper journey,
• BOPIS (or Buy Online Pick-up In Store),
• and Mobile marketing.

Click HERE to read the full issue.