A new study from Deloitte Digital says that major retailers are losing their grip on consumer digital behavior. It’s leading to misdirected digital strategies and opening the door to competitors in a $2.2 trillion marketplace.
The $2.2 trillion is Deloitte Digital’s estimate of where digitally-influenced retail spending will be by the end of 2015.
The first mistake is the assumption that the best digital strategy is to drive online sales. But that’s a mistake, says Deloitte’s Kasey Lobaugh. “Last year, e-commerce sales represented $300 billion, or just seven percent, of total retail sales, while digitally-influenced store sales were over five times higher, topping $1.7 trillion. Retailers that prioritize and design digital functionality with the sole purpose of driving sales in the e-commerce channel marginalize the consumer experience and risk ceding authority to competitors.”
The next mistake is the belief that mobile users are primarily using devices for price checking. That practice is actually going down. Consumers are more likely to access social media to gather other types of information once in a store.
Deloitte also says that 76% have checked out their purchases before ever entering a store. By the time they arrive at a brick and mortar location, they’re simply looking for what they already know they want.
Smaller, newer retailers with a better understanding of digital are starting to take share away from larger companies, says Deloitte.
On the plus side, digitally-engaged consumers are more likely to convert once they enter a store.
“Instead of measuring moments that matter during the shopping journey, retailers continue to focus on measuring the buy button – the point at which they actually have the least influence,” said Jeff Simpson, director, Deloitte Consulting LLP and co-author of the study. “Retailers that simply track channel sales and fail to measure the influence of digital along the entire path to purchase can miss key indicators of performance and customer behavior. Retailers should focus on designing and building customer experiences that play to how their customers are shopping for their products – rather than direct consumers to the point of purchase if what they really seek is inspiration or information.”
RBR+TVBR observation: This is business intelligence to share with your retail clients. Ideally, in the process, you can figure out how to use your station’s broadcast and digital assets to get the biggest bang for your client’s buck – we’d guess primarily by making sure your capabilities become part of the consumer’s pre-retail-visit information gathering process. According to Deloitte, that’s where the retailer needs to be to convince them to visit the store in the first place.
