Naujienos

Travel restrictions, store closures, home schooling, and more; COVID-19 turned most people’s lives upside down overnight — and one area that was immediately impacted was retail. From a shopper’s initial research up until the moment of purchase, suddenly many customer journeys were predominantly taking place online.

 

But what can retailers do to overcome the challenges brought by this major shift? Smart Shopper, a study commissioned by Google and conducted by KANTAR in May 2020, shines a light on shopping behaviours during the pandemic to help inform brand, marketing, and consumer strategies — now and in the future.

 

1. Some retail categories show higher shifts to online shopping than others

 

With a large number of stores forced to temporarily close their physical outlets or operate with significant restrictions in many European countries., there has been a strong shift towards online purchases in 2020. The biggest increase was seen across fashion, home, and consumer electronics as shoppers. were encouraged to restrict their movements to essential journeys only.

 

For instance, in the U.K., beauty products were still bought mainly offline — likely because these are available in grocery and drug stores, which remained open.

 

Action: Be clear. As your physical stores reopen, using ad extensions will allow shoppers to easily see any changes to your operating hours or conditions of opening.

 

2. Shoppers increasingly prefer channel-agnostic purchases

 

Even in this dynamic environment, physical stores remain a crucial part of the user journey. But as routines and schedules change for retailers, so do the shopping behaviours of their consumers, with shoppers demonstrating an increase in channel-agnostic purchase preferences. This shift makes omnichannel strategies, and being present at all touchpoints of a consumer journey, even more relevant.

 

Action: Be integrated. Ensure your online and offline teams work as one unit by giving them shared KPIs.

 

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