ebook: optimizing digital throughout the path to purchase
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Optimizing DigitalThroughout the Path to Purchase
4-Step Success Strategy
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
Rapid consumer adoption of digital technologies and online channels has evolved the traditional
path to purchase to the point of no return. Now consumers control when, where and how they
research, purchase and receive products, leaving brands and retailers struggling to connect the
dots between the online, mobile and physical worlds.
Digital influenced around 39% ($1.7T)of all in-store sales, up almost 20% from just a few years ago.
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
Consider this:
Digital is Changing the Rules…
This Leaves Us With Some Eye-Opening Realities:
+ Obviously, physical retail is still very important
+ But, traditional in-store marketing alone will no longer be enough
+ It’s now all about the consumer—getting what they need, when they need it
+ Digital is now a big part of that, throughout the path to purchase—in and out-of-store
Let’s take a look at how some brands and retailers are already adapting...
94% of all U.S. retail sales were still made in physical stores last year.
Ecommerce sales have grown at almost 3x the speed of traditional retail, since 2009.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
But...
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Source: Deloitte
In the last decade, some brands and retailers have rocked the industry by bringing digital in store to support the consumer’s path to purchase.
Marc Jacobs - Popup “tweet shop” Achieved peak volumes of organic reach and unchartered
buzz volumes
Hillshire Brands - Precision-marketing with in-store beacons Purchase intent increased by 20x
Sephora - Virtual beauty makeover and augmented reality app Experienced 8% revenue increase in 2014
Other interesting digital integrations to watch...
John Lewis - Miniature 3-D printed preview of customized sofa
Neiman Marcus - Dressing room “memory mirror”
Vanquish - Virtual mannequins
Alexander McQueen - Lookbook interactive touchscreen tables
Adidas - RFID changing room, security, jukebox & storefront
Made.com - Augmented reality wall projections with NFC tags
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Deal Of The Day
THE SHOPPE
These brands didn’t replace brick-and-mortar shopping...
+ They worked the digital revolution to their advantage.
+ Driven by consumers’ insatiable appetite for technology,
+ They fused physical shopping experiences with phenomenal digital experiences and shook up their retail categories.
+ This is the future of retail.
So, let’s look at how you can optimize digital both online and in store...
Digital Isn’t Online Only…
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
So What Now?Start your digital retail strategy by asking 4 key questions:
What’s the role of digital in my consumers’ path to purchase?
How does digital play in a “MeCommerce” kind of world?
Am I meeting consumers’ mobile expectations?
How do I know what’s working and what’s not?
Let’s take a closer look at these questions…
BUY NOW
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
What’s the role of digital in my consumers’ path to purchase?
Know exactly how, when, where and why consumers interact with your brand AND your competition:
+ How and when they research (on PCs, mobile devices or in store)?
+ How their devices interact with your brand, including the apps they use/want & social media?
+ What influences their “Zero Moments of Truth” —where buying decisions are made?
+ When digital has the greatest impact, and why?
+ Where are the gaps or pain points in the customer experience?
+ Where digital could most influence purchases, and why?
Also Check Out: “How Mobile Research Ensures You Understand Your Customers’ Path to Purchase”
“Path to Purchase”, “Customer
Journey Mapping”... Regardless of
what you call it, Understand it:
Online & Offline
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
Do: + Start with mobile research to get insights
directly from the consumer while they are in the moment
+ Take risks; offer consumers something unique and innovative
+ Be strategic; target specifically who you want to go after, when and with what message
+ Resist the urge to push the sale too early in the path to purchase
+ Keep customer experience above all else
+ Integrate the full experience across both in-store and online channels
+ Test, measure, improve, repeat, constantly
Dont’s: – Get wrapped up in technology for the
‘wow-factor’
– Invest in low-value apps, spam, technology that might frustrate rather than enhance the experience, etc.
– Assume the technology will work without a strategy and consumer research to support it
Some Digital Dos & Don’ts… Digital isn’t always the right solution.
“Digital for digital’s sake” can result in
poor ROI and brand negativity.
What’s the role of digital in my consumers’ path to purchase?
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
Key Takeaway“Digital for digital’s sake” can backfire, especially in store. Mobile research of consumers
and their path to purchase is the key to really understanding what consumers are doing, so
you can determine the best role for supporting the consumer with digital, and ultimately in
influencing the sale.
What’s the role of digital in my consumers’ path to purchase?
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
MeCommerce puts consumers uniquely in charge of their “me-first” quest for products and services.
+ Not too long ago, brick-and-mortar stores were the only way to shop.
+ Consumers were at the mercy of store hours, inventory and selection, and the store was almost exclusively focused on “the sale.”
+ Now digital has put the consumer in charge—with the ability to browse and buy wherever and whenever they please.
+ For you this means it’s no longer just about “the sale”—it’s about the journey that got the customer there.
+ Smart uses of digital can enhance this experience and maximize ROI:
Last year digital influenced $1.7T of in-store sales compared to just $0.33T a few years ago.
Source: Deloitte
MeCommerce(më-ka-mers): noun.
1. A consumer’s “me-first” view of shopping
2. Highly relevant and individualized experiences
3. The ability to shop interactively with powerful digital devices as desired
How does digital play in a “MeCommerce” kind of world?
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
Creating a MeCommerce Experience By focusing on 3 things, you can create
“me-first” experiences that steer the
path to purchase in your favor...
Proximity. Know the location of customers.
+ Doing research at the front of the store?
+ Needing directions?
+ In the aisle seeking product info?
Location-based technologies such as beacons/BLE and mobile apps can be used to identify a customer’s location and increase conversion opportunities.
More: “Proximity Marketing 101: The 3 Must-Haves”
Context. Know what customers are doing, and align the experience with their desires. This could mean using technologies such as sensors, interactive tablets or digital POP displays to trigger relevant content related to a product/brand they may be interacting with or to help alert a store assistant for more help.
Behavior. It’s not just the name that’s important. What really matters is understanding the consumer’s behavior so you can better predict and cater to their needs. Digital elements that incorporate messaging based on who the consumer is—new/returning, likes/dislikes, demographics and purchase history—drive purchasing conversions and upselling.
How does digital play in a “MeCommerce” kind of world?
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
Key TakeawayDigital has changed the game. It’s now all about MeCommerce and creating hyper-
relevant experiences. Winners will be those who learn to adapt more dynamic marketing
techniques to meet consumers, when, where and how they want.
How does digital play in a “MeCommerce” kind of world?
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
Am I supporting consumer use of mobile effectively?
Fact: Consumers are expected to spend
More: “The 2015 Reality of Retail Research Report”
via mcommerce this year
$34 BILLION
75% of consumers are now using mobilewhile shopping in store, with:
+ 61% getting price comparisons + 46% finding product information + 43% accessing social media product + 33% actually purchasing in store
of Smartphone Users Have their Phones with them 22 Hours a Day
Source: IDC
Research
Source: Forrester Research
Am I supporting consumer use of mobile effectively?
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
3 Principles of a Good Mobile Strategy
Focus on value
A good mobile strategy isn’t just about giving consumers the ability to make purchases and pull up savings on the go. Most consumers don’t even purchase on mobile. It’s about influencing consumers at the critcial (often mobile) moments that matter most in their decisions, by offering them value relevant to what they’re trying to do—whether it’s helping to find detailed product information, a nearby store, reviews, price comparisons, store inventory, etc. Be everywhere with consumers
The reality is 70% of consumers are now becoming aware of products through means outside of brand/retailer advertising. To influence them, you have to understand how they’re using mobile and be everywhere with them. Consumers are using their mobile devices in store and out-of-store for different reasons. Have you crafted a mobile experience specific to these two situations?
Source: Deloitte
Use in-store content marketing
Fact: 85% of consumers would be more likely to shop in stores that offer personalized offers. Some brands and retailers have already taken advantage of this with beacons and experienced a 20% conversion rate. Have you?
Sources: Google, Media Post
Am I supporting consumer use of mobile effectively?
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
Key TakeawayMobile will be a critical component to brick-and-mortar survival moving forward.
As the impact of advertising continues to lose its ability to affect consumer
behavior, the key is to ensure that you are using mobile to bring value to consumers
everywhere, especially—in and out-of-store.
60%
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
The benefit of digital done well:
Better data & consumer intelligence
It’s time for standard retail performance metrics to change.
In the past, it was not uncommon to see a brand/retailer compare in-store sales against online sales. Moving forward, retailers and brands need to stop focusing exclusively on where consumers purchase, and instead focus on the bigger picture: the journey that got consumers there.
Consider this:
Consumer digital behaviors have shattered the path to purchase into some 800+ customer journey options and counting.
Source: Cisco
It’s therefore time to start looking at total sales across all channels, and understand the role that each touch point plays in moving a shopper along their path to purchase—online and offline.
How will I know what’s working, what’s not?
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
Traffic Flow. Pair technologies like Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons with the consumer’s mobile device to sense and ID them—demographics and purchase history—when entering the store. And, footpath-mapping or smart cart technologies will allow in-depth awareness of how consumers move through the store, the most visited areas, and length of the visit.
Conversion Rates. Where we have digital elements in retail, like displays, we can use analytics to dig deeper. We can understand what the customer did when they engaged with your brand and when you ultimately lost them. And, by tying in-store data with actual POS data and supplementing the findings with consumer research, we can fill in the gaps. For example, what influenced purchases the most and why they made certain decisions or chose another brand over yours. Here we can also use a content management system to remotely update and A/B test content, so you can pinpoint what gets consumer attention.
Referral Source. This is typically done via consumer research, given the difficulty of tracking consumers before entering a store. However, as consumers become more comfortable sharing information about their daily lives, it’s conceivable that soon we will be able to follow them pre-, during and post store visit via their mobile devices. This allows you to understand which initiatives resonate with consumers and gets them into the store.
More: “4 Metrics to Bring Online Measurement In Store”
Measuring the Entire Path to Purchase… For years measuring store performance
outside of just sales has been a struggle.
But, now thanks to a landscape of digital
technologies, we can bring the intelligence
of online into the store.
How will I know what’s working, what’s not?
How will I know what’s working, what’s not?
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
Key TakeawayDigital brings opportunity for continuous improvement and competitive advantage.
You now have unprecedented tools to measure, test and support other metrics-based
decisions to fine-tune customer experiences and drive sales.
© 2015 InReality. All Rights Reserved.
In Conclusion…
Digital isn’t only impacting ecommerce. It’s impacting the entire path to purchase.
And, given that 94% of all U.S. retail sales are still in physical stores, the strategy is NOT to choose
between ecommerce and brick-and-mortar—but rather, rethink the challenges of digital growth
and how it can work to your advantage. For some brands and retailers, digital will disrupt business.
Others will realize that digital dictates hybrid thinking, and they be rewarded with:
Use digital as an opportunity to create hyper-relevant customer experiences. And take off!
Game-changing customer experiences that drive results.
The ability to personalize every step of the customer’s journey.
Positive influence over the path to purchase and the final sale.
3 Strategies To Captialize on Retail Disruption
The 2015 Reality ofRetail Report
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