The cost of living crisis obviously increases consumer sensitivity to pricing and spending overall. This doesn’t mean people are always looking for the lowest prices possible, though. Quality is still a key factor, even if consumers have to prioritise some purchases over others.
According to ONS data, 89% of adults in Great Britain say their cost of living has increased. Among this group, 57% say they are spending less on non-essentials and 36% say they are shopping around more for purchases.
With consumers shopping around more for their purchases
the balance of quality and cost is more dataset important than ever. Google says it has seen more than a 40% increase in search interest on YouTube for terms including “review”.
At the same time, 88% of consumers say YouTube makes it easier to decide what to buy.
In other words, shoppers want to know they’re getting a good deal when they buy from a retailer and this sensitivity only increases during difficult times.
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As consumers spend less of their money on non-essential purchases, retailers need to emphasise the value of products.
Google recommends using high-quality images,
videos and reviews on your product pages 10 laws of list of phone number to emulate the experience of inspecting products before purchasing in-store. Retailers may want to consider networking with relevant influencers on platforms like YouTube who can publish reviews of the products they’re selling.
Retailers selling camera gear can send the latest products to relevant YouTube channels for them to review.
Positive reviews can increase the value perception of products but this isn’t the only way to improve the quality-price balance for consumers. One obvious tactic is reducing prices to beat your competitors but this creates a race to the bottom that could cause more harm than good.
Alternatively, you can work on improving the overall customer experience. This way, you’re not only increasing the value and quality perception for new customers but also incentivising loyalty among existing customers. This will be particularly important for retailers selling both online and in-store.
If we stay on the topic of camera stores, retailers can win new customers online while offering in-store sessions to help them set up and use their new cameras and servicing incentives to keep their products in the best possible shape.
You could also implement a points system where customers buying online earn points for special deals. If you want to incentivise store visits, you could make these offers redeemable in your shops or offer extra points for in-store purchases (including items reserved online for collection).
Trend #4: Omnichannel is the new normal
Unsurprisingly, the Covid-19 pandemic usa lists forced consumers to spend more of their money online. What’s more telling is that people in the UK continue to spend more of their money online, long after lockdown measures were fully lifted.
Retailers need to understand that this includes a lot of people who may have spent very little of their money online before the pandemic. Lockdowns essentially forced people to adopt online spending and many of these people will continue to spend more of their money online.
This means new audiences are accessible online but also that pre-Covid audience insights will be less relevant.