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Top 3 Places You'll Find Customers Making Purchases
Hubspot defines omnichannel personalisation as: “the ability to deliver a seamless and consistent experience across channels, while factoring in the different devices that consumers are using to interact with your business.”
The problem is that while most ecommerce companies agree that omnichannel personalisation is the way of the future; only about 3% of companies believe they have a fully integrated omnichannel strategy. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, and that’s especially true in today’s competitive ecommerce market. It’s important to meet people where they customarily shop and do it with personalised messaging.
According to BigCommerce, the main three places consumers will venture for a purchase are Amazon, branded websites and brick-and-mortar stores. Although that seems quite apparent, customer rationale can differ by both channel and by generation. So why do shoppers make the decision to make purchases in specific locations and how does this differ amongst the generations?
Amazon Shopping
Competitive pricing and sheer convenience have made Amazon a shopping go-to for a few years now. With speedy and low cost delivery (sometimes free as well) being a major driver for purchasing, Amazon have hit the nail on the head when it comes to making shopping experiences simple. They have also been a huge influence in the personalisation of shopping experiences with their product recommendations. You are likely to get notifications such as ‘products commonly bought together’, ‘recently viewed’, and ‘price drops for recently viewed items’ which are all instrumental in making Amazon an ecommerce site to rival all others.
Generationally speaking, Millennials and families with young children at home were most impressed with the ease of shipping, while speed if most important to Gen Z. With incentives like Prime Day making a huge impact with younger generations, Amazon have used personalisation to build more connections with their customers. Amazon have really invested in their omnichannel personalisation efforts to ensure that each visitor (both onsite and offsite) feels like their personal preferences and budgets are factored in. This has paid off in spades with the ecommerce giant now becoming one of the most profitable companies in the world.
Brick-and-Mortar
Although the rapid growth of e-commerce has significantly reduced footfall to the high street, the research found that three-quarters of customers would still prefer to make a purchase in a store, with 82% of these saying this is because they prefer to receive the product as soon as they’ve purchased it.
Furthermore, nine in 10 UK shoppers stated they’ll always research a product online before going into the store to purchase. (BM Magazine) Access to trying things on is also among the top reasons for UK consumers to shop in-store. Proximity to the clothing, being able to try it on and feel the fabric can be a huge driver in completing purchases.
Smart retailers understand that the strategy for in-store and online need to be aligned and will continue investing in omnichannel to provide customers with the seamless on and offline experiences they demand.
Branded Website
A recent study by BigCommerce shows that convenience, price and free shipping were the top three reasons UK consumers across all generations chose to buy an item at a branded online store and for Millennials and Gen Z, speed on branded websites matters 2.5X more than for Gen X and Baby Boomers.
With personalisation no longer being a ‘nice to have’, consumers expect more when they land on the site of a brand they know. 80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalised experiences. A recent study by Accenture found that 75% of consumers are more likely to buy from a retailer that recognises them by name, recommends options based on past purchases, OR knows their purchase history.
There are so many opportunities to use the personalisation efforts from your website to connect on other platforms – such as email and text message – if done in the right way. Omnichannel personalisation can help you to reach your customers in a variety of ways ultimately leading them back to your online shop and towards the checkout.
For more information about creating a fully integrated omnichannel personalisation strategy with no need for a commitment and a guarantee to scale your ecommerce brand by 20% – book a demo with our experts today!