The influence of technology on consumer behavior: Impossible to ignore
New technology has empowered consumers. They have unlimited access to information and demand products and services when they want. Social media has given consumers a bigger voice and new channels to communicate with brands and share their opinions with peers.
As the speed of technology and trends in consumer behavior accelerate, companies have to evolve quickly. The brands that deliver on consumer demands will thrive, and those that are slow to react will not survive.
The 3 effects of technology on today's consumer:
1. Consumers Are More Connected
Consumers are more connected to business than ever before. Using smartphones, they can research products, ask sales questions, and purchase products no matter where they are and what they are doing.
For example, the time spent commuting to work on a train or bus has been massively changed because of technology and connected devices. According to a study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, UK consumers spend over £22.8 billion per year online shopping while using public transport.
When it comes to social media, consumers use these channels to interact with brands and submit customer service queries. But also as a resource to help them make purchasing decisions. According to GlobalWebIndex, 54% of social media users have used social media to research products.
With consumers becoming hyper-connected, there is an increasing number of opportunities to engage new and existing customers. However, companies need to understand how they can cut through the noise and meet consumer demand.
What Do Businesses Need to Do?
To take advantage of this change in consumer behaviour, it's vital that the brand has a strong social media and digital presence. That starts with a dynamic digital ecosystem. Companies need to integrate all marketing channels to deliver a cohesive customer experience irrespective of the channel used to reach your business.
There are more opportunities to engage consumers and improve sales revenue, but only if your business is equipped with the right tools and data infrastructure to capitalize. Companies need a deep understanding of their customers and their shopping behaviour to deliver seamless experiences consumers demand. That's only possible when customer data is effectively utilized.
The success of an omnichannel marketing strategy depends entirely on the end-user experience - the customer. As consumers switch between channels, devices, e-commerce, and brick-and-mortar stores, the transition should be seamless.
For example, a shopper might discover a product on Facebook and ask a sales question on the platform. After receiving an answer, the shopper visits the company website to complete the purchase but elects to pick up the product in-store. The transition between digital channels and e-commerce to brick-and-mortar should be smooth.
All of the touchpoints in the journey contribute to a strong customer experience and a successful omnichannel marketing strategy.
2. Consumers Use Multiple Devices
In 2019, mobile accounted for 50.44% of total global internet traffic and 77% of total digital minutes in the US. Along with increased household penetration of tablets and wearables, consumers use a wide variety of devices to access the internet and purchase products.
Consumers don't use a single device throughout the buyer's journey. According to a Google report, 90% of consumers use more than one device to accomplish a single task online. A shopper looking to purchase a product might start the journey after seeing an advertisem*nt on television and research products using their smartphone. After evaluating different products, they might use their laptop to check pricing and complete the purchase.
Companies need to be there with the right messaging at the right time, whichever device their customer uses to reach out. Determining how to reach every audience segment and how digital touchpoints interconnect is the challenge that needs to be overcome.
What Do Businesses Need to Do?
Companies need to build an omnichannel marketing strategy to be flexible to the influence of technology on consumer behaviour. An omnichannel strategy enables the brand to create personalized, contextually relevant experiences that engage consumers in the right place, at the right time, and with the right message as they move between devices.
Remarketing strategies play a crucial role in a successful omnichannel strategy. Cart and browser abandonment emails and push notifications to allow for re-engagement tactics once a shopper has left your website and switched to another device at a later time.
Omnichannel means not only the integration of digital channels but also the in-store experience provided to customers. Location-based messaging can be a powerful tool for creating personalized customer experiences in-store.
This approach offers a number of benefits for the business. According to a study by Monetate, shoppers that are tracked across multiple devices outperform those that aren't across several KPIs, including:
- 30% increase in product views
- 49% increase in purchases
- $15 increase in average order value
A key advantage of an omnichannel strategy is the access to relevant customer data to inform personalization tactics and deliver the experiences that consumer demand. Customers tracked across multiple devices produce 6x more data than those that are not.
3. Customers Have Higher Expectations
Consumers' expectations are at an all-time high as a result of the influence of technology. With digital pioneers continually raising the bar, your customers compare the experience of buying from you to your competitors and the experience they receive from Amazon, Netflix, etc. Consumers expect more responsive, relevant, and targeted communication, products, and services from the companies they buy from.
Companies used to have set business hours, and consumers would have to wait before contacting a customer service representative or purchasing a product. Consumers now expect tailored experiences on demand.
If a consumer is forced to wait for a response from customer service or to buy a product, they will find a competitor that offers a better experience. The bar for satisfactory customer experience is higher, with consumers expecting more and more from companies.
Consumers are aware of their power and will use it when they don't receive a positive experience when dealing with a company. According to a study by American Express, over 50% of Americans have scrapped a planned purchase because of a bad customer experience, and 74% of people have switched brands because the purchasing process was too difficult.
For businesses that fail to acknowledge and meet consumer demands, smaller market share and irrelevance will result.
What Do Businesses Need to Do?
While the influence of technology on consumer behavior is the cause of higher expectations, it also offers companies solutions to meet those expectations. Marketing automation software and AI-powered chatbots enable brands to better communicate with their customers.
Chatbots are becoming increasingly integrated into the everyday lives of consumers. According to Mobile Marketer, 40% of millennials interact with chatbots daily. AI-powered chatbots enable companies to be there with relevant messaging and information whenever the consumer chooses to reach out.
This has a significant impact on customer service, and the experience brands can offer to their customers. Consumers are also increasingly more willing to purchase directly through chatbots. According to HubSpot's research, 47% of consumers are open to making a purchase from a chatbot.
Chatbots also provide detailed records of conversations with customers. This provides a new stream of data that can be analyzed to reveal insights on consumer pain points and ways to improve products and services.
As more and more companies utilize AI to empower their customer communications and marketing, consumer expectations will increase even further. Companies need to prepare and equip their departments with the tools they need to provide a consistently high-quality experience that exceeds their customers' expectations.
