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Consumer Advocacy

Retail trends point to smarter consumers driving the marketplace

The IBM Institute for Business Value surveyed more than 30,000 consumers in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Brazil, India and China to determine how they choose where to shop, what shopping methods they prefer and what they will demand from retailers in the future.

IBM's newest survey reveals that consumers want to use multiple technologies to shop and purchase, making price comparisons and instant brand critiques—or criticisms—available to a much wider audiences than ever before. The study also reveals three fundamental realities of the new marketplace.

Here's a summary of the findings.

Download "Meeting the Demands of the Smarter Consumer" (PDF 485K)

 

Seven areas that matter most to consumers and where they think retailers need to improve.

Get up close and personal

Consumers want personalized discounts and want to engage with retailers to develop products catered to their preferences and needs. In fact, 78% of consumers say they are likely to co-create—helping retailers develop new products and services that they prefer.

Generation Y will change the retail world

Gen Y'rs is eager to forge ahead with new channels—and they most likely use two or more technologies to shop. They feel that retailers can improve most by building technologies into the overall shopping experience. For example, this generation of consumers are interested in using their remote controls to buy items advertised on television.

It's not just about price

It's about the right offer at the right time. And that requires intelligence. Using analytics to spot trends early and proactively structure planning and inventory efforts will allow retailers to shape demand, rather than react to demand. Retailers have to narrow down the assortment to map tightly to consumer preferences and make sure the product is available.

 

Customer loyalty

Trust. It's a word we typically associate with a family member. Close friend. Good neighbor. But more and more customers are using the word to describe their relationship with a favorite retailer. In uncertain times, customers are turning to the retailer they know and believe they can count on... for a quality product, dependable service and an experience they will want to repeat.

Trust means delivering on your promises: getting the product you've promoted to your customers onto your shelf and into their hands. Yet retailers continue to disappoint: The out-of-stock rate for promoted products is around 17%.1 And the retail industry loses a staggering $93 billion in sales annually due to not having the right merchandise in stock.2

One reason is that many supply chains are built on systems that are three decades old, tremendously complex and rooted in a push-based philosophy. But that is starting to change as retail operations get smarter.

What do you think? For the first half of 2009, will your spending increase, decrease or stay the same? Take our poll.

What do you think? What makes you choose one retailer or another? Take our poll.

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1 GMA Direct Store Delivery Research, June 2002

2 IHL Consulting, 2008 Store Systems Study, January 2008