Shopper Culture

What’s Love Got To Do With It? What brands can learn from the art of attraction

Valentine’s Day has come and gone, and all things pink-and-red-hearted have gone on deep clearance until next year. But in the wake of the season of love, it seems like a good moment to reflect on what brands can learn from people in terms of attraction, relationship building and even love.

So many fish in the sea

The first lesson is that there are a lot of people out there who are single and ready to mingle. 50% of US adults are not married. Single person households are the fastest-growing household composition. 40 million Americans use an online dating service.

The same holds true for brands. Most consumers keep their options open. Just 25% of shoppers say that brands influence their purchase decisions. Shoppers across categories are highly promiscuous. And unattached shoppers are fair game. Datable. Ready to fall in love. 

 

New Checkout Study: The On-demand Shopper

Culture tends to be cyclical and reactionary, yet every once in a while, a disruption comes along that is so gigantic that it shifts society forward into an entirely new era. Less than a decade ago, we could easily trace the pathways of our shoppers; it was a very linear process. Of course, today, that’s no longer the case. The digital age has reshaped and reimagined shoppers’, and retailers’, expectations and experiences. We're now surrounded by a constellation of new devices, information, and services that are sparking different behaviors and resulting in a brand-new type of shopper, the on-demand shopper. 

In this edition of The Checkout, we'll explore the triggers brands and retailers need to implement in order to reach this new, on-demand shopper. For example, did you know that 41% of respondents now look for discounts/promotions on their mobile devices while shopping in a physical store? Or, that 28% of respondents find access to various social platforms and the ability to use "buy now" buttons as one of the most compelling reasons for shopping online?

Click here to learn more about this new shopper in the latest edition of The Checkout. 

Redefining Moment-Based Promotional Occasions: The Blue Monday Example

We all have a friend who (or we), when asked the question, “What are your plans for Valentine’s Day?”, will roll their eyes and reply with the most colorless tone, “I don’t buy into this marketing celebration of consumerism” or something to that effect.

Black Friday, Valentine’s Day, Dry January, Back to School, Halloween… There are now so many occasions created by retailers and marketers in order to price discount, run competitions, and ultimately boost sales. No wonder consumers can be skeptical and dismissive. The wide variety of tools and shopping evolutions (e.g., price comparators, shopping apps, forums, rise of convenience and "locally produced" stores) has evolved consumers’ purchase influencers. Therefore, the relationship between the retailer and its consumers has to change and adapt.

How Fast is Fast Enough: Online Shoppers Expect Delivery Now

Instant gratification has become the consumer expectation, but up until now shoppers have cut shipping some slack. Historically, shoppers exercised patience waiting for their deliveries. Now, that's all changing. According to a new study by Temando, online retailers aren't meeting the needs of online shoppers when it comes to shipping. 80% of shoppers want retailers to a same-day shipping option, yet only 53% of online retailers do. In fact, 61% of shoppers want their packages even faster within 1-3 hours of placing the order, however, merely 23% of online retailers offer that as an option. Temando CEO and co-founder Carl Hartmann says the study exposes a glaring problem. He shared, "consumer expectations are increasing. Retailers aren't offering a full gamut of services that consumers are expecting."

Grocery Shoppers Are as Unique as Snowflakes

Photo Source: The Integer Group

Zero.

That's how many homes in the US buy exactly the same groceries as any other home.

It's an amazing statistic that was uncovered in an analysis by Catalina Marketing of their massive POS shopper database.

32 million shoppers were included in the analysis, each of which shopped at least once a month over the year. The 10,000 stores in the study had on average about 35,000 UPCs to choose from.

Is French Toast The Best Defense?

We have long known that shoppers are predictably irrational. Sometimes shoppers say and do different things and then can’t explain why they behaved that way. However, few examples make this shopper truth more undeniably obvious than when the weathermen call for inclement weather.

There’s hurricanes, severe storms, or lots of snow and suddenly, the grocery stores are essentially battle zones with shoppers fighting to get their carts down the aisles or fill their baskets as fast as possible. Most notably, the bread, milk, and egg aisles are mad houses of irrational behavior. The sense of urgency and fear of running out drives shoppers into frenzies. But why? It can't be that those are coincidentally the ingredients to make french toast. 

OMG GMOs: Campbell’s and the GMO Label

While many major food companies are reinventing their supply chains to omit GMOs, Campbell’s has decided to take a different approach. In a convention-breaking move, it will become first major food company to voluntarily label its food as containing GMOs.

There’s no scientific proof that GMOs are a health risk. Yet, despite this, consumers are hungry to know if GMOs are present in their foods. In fact, according to Nielsen, 43% of consumers say that non-GMO labeling is the most important factor when making purchase decisions.

Raising Our Image-Consciousness

Visual communication is becoming a larger and larger part of our cultural vocabulary. In fact, there are some indicators that visual communication is eclipsing the written word. Instagram rises as Twitter declines. A surprisingly comprehensive range of emotions, reactions and assertions can be expressed through custom avatars with Bitmoji. And in November, the Oxford English Dictionary declared the word of the year was an emojii.

While marketers have been practicing the art of visual communication since the dawn of advertising, the difference is that now shoppers are fluent in this language as well. So as we mine for insight and solicit feedback, we should take advantage of visual fluency. Trolling Instagram and Pinterest to understand what’s on our audience’s minds. Using image-based research techniques to get at underlying feelings and emotions. Listening with our eyes can be a way to learn new things about what people want and need.

Photo source: author's Bitmoji

The Importance of Community Building

For brands, cultivating and nurturing a strong community has never been more critical than it is today. With the proliferation of products, services, and brands, it’s not news that consumers increasingly want to support brands that identify with their lifestyles and values. What is new is that brands need to tap into audiences that are passionate about the same shared values and beliefs with the brand in order to earn long-term loyalty.

Communities like Lululemon and Starbucks transcend a singular product; it becomes about the brand experience as a whole. Yet many brands continue to treat community building as a piece of their marketing strategy vs. a high-level, integral part of their overarching strategy. Starbucks community building efforts empowered its members to be advocates for the brand but also idea-generators. For example, the My Starbucks Idea online community encourages members to post new ideas and suggestions to better enhance the overall experience, making members a pertinent piece of Starbucks’ innovation strategy.

How To Become A Company That Matters

Many companies exist to fulfill shoppers’ needs, but what if a company really mattered to them? Stood out in their mind as the company and had an impact on their daily lives?

Integer and The ShopperCulture team are proud to be part of Peter Sheahan’s new book, Matter: Move Beyond the Competition, Create More Value, and Become the Obvious Choice. In this latest book, he explores how companies have elevated themselves above their competition to become an obvious choice in their markets. The book is the result of an extensive research study undertaken by Peter and his writing partner Julie Williamson looking at companies both large and small that have developed innovative approaches to their business which have helped them win in our radically changing world. There are many fascinating cases in the book, one of which is the story of the birth and growth of ShopperCulture.

We are very proud of the distinctiveness that ShopperCulture has created for The Integer Group over the last nine years. Our continual mission of driving “a global conversation about the impact of shopping culture on brand strategy” has helped us stand out amongst agencies around the world, and we are excited to have been asked by Peter to take part in this project. As Peter says:

Consumers Aiming to Live Life to the Fullest in 2016

The new year is a time when consumers rethink their goals and consider what they want to improve in their lives. Almost half of consumers make resolutions every year yet, only 8% actually achieve them. Why? Are we thinking too big? Are we just not committed? Or does life simply get in the way?

According to a GOBankingRates survey of 2016 resolutions, money-related goals were less important this year than in the past. Instead, consumers are choosing to focus on life and lifestyles. The top resolution stated by respondents was “to enjoy life to the fullest,” followed by “to live a healthier lifestyle.” In fact, the first financially relevant resolution, “save more, spend less,” was number four on the list!

Integer Pulse: Shoptimization

This past year Integer Pulse covered many macro trends from their Insightings work that not only illuminated the many shopper marketing trends that have persisted over the past decade but also outlined the unique examples of how it manifests itself in today's world. 

The final 2015 Integer Pulse issue discusses Shoptimization. Shoptimization is about borrowing from what shoppers enjoy doing on their computers — and even more so on their mobile devices — and then leveraging it in the retail environment. From integrating augmented reality (AR) into displays to make them more engaging, to reconfiguring packaging so that it interacts with individuals’ devices to offering ways for stores to stay “always open,” here are a few examples of how shoptimization is everywhere today.

Click here to read the Dec '15 issue or read past issues by clicking here.

Functional Design

Good design is continuing its quiet invasion of the mainstream. From Warby Parker’s affordable and stylish eye wear to Snowe’s home goods to Everlane’s progressive take on fashion, the access to design-forward products without a hefty luxury price tag is unprecedented.

This has at least two implications for marketers. 1) Bad design stands out more, and in the often snarky and reactionary digital world of instant feedback, that can mean significant backlash for missteps. 2) The bar is higher for good design -- it has to be even more notable to stand out.

Top Ten Things to Avoid for Last-Minute Shoppers

If you're like me, you've still got some holiday shopping to do. According to RetailMeNot.com, 9 in 10 shoppers have last-minute gifts to buy and 30% wait until the week before Christmas to do a majority of their shopping. This will account for 34% of overall holiday spend, reported by NPDGroup. Last-minute holiday shopping can be both exhilarating and stressful. Adding to the stress is this year's holiday calendar. With Christmas falling on a Friday, the shopping season loses a weekend, and the jam that would normally spread over the last 10 days, will be condensed into five or six.

Because of the time crunch, many shoppers let their guard down and become victims to shopping blunders. We've aggregated the best tips from Money.com, U.S. News and World Report, Today.com, and Forbes.com to bring you the Top Ten Things to Avoid over the final days of shopping. 

1. Beware of phishers. “Phishing emails are a common way for hackers to get at your personal information or break into your computer,” the BBB warns. “Around the holidays, beware of e-cards and messages pretending to be from companies like UPS, Federal Express or major retailers with links to package tracking information.”

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.