Understanding consumer patterns and preferences in multi-channel

To view this page ensure that Adobe Flash Player version 9.0.124 or greater is installed.

Please login or register to make a comment!

IBM Global Business Services IBM Institute for Business Value Understanding consumer patterns and pre 5erences in multi-channel retailing In our survey, participants were asked to select the product category they had used most recently, and describe their pre/erences and behavior /or that shopping experience. Respondents came /rom the U.S. and the UK, and represented a wide distribution o/ demographics (gender, age, /amily status) comprising equal numbers o/ men and women.

Their mean income was slightly above that o/ the national averages 3 capturing insights /rom an attractive segment o/ retail customers. Some key fndings In the U.S. and the UK, Consumer " Electronics is the product category most o/ten chosen by multi-channel shoppers, /ollowed by Apparel/ Accessories & Footwear, and Home Improvement/DIY & Appliances.

pre/er the combination o/ cOnline to Store, d /ollowed by cStore to Online d (7+ percent) and cOnline to Call Center d (3+ percent) /or all product categories. The age group that has the highest " percentage o/ /requent multi-channel shoppers (defned as once a month or more) in the U.S. is 18-24 years; those in the UK are slightly older 3 25-34 years.

A signifcant number (46-50 percent) " o/ shoppers in the U.S. and the UK switch ... more. less.

retailers when they move among shopping channels. Not surprisingly, price is their primary motivator, /ollowed by convenience and product availability. Today, browsing, comparing and purchasing retail merchandise is a multi- channel proposition for retailers and consumers. Our survey of nearly 4,300 consumers in the U.S. and the UK answers many questions retailers need to consider when evaluating multi-channel initiatives: cWhat channel combinations do shoppers prefer? Why do shoppers switch channels and retailers across channels? What functions and features do consumers expect when shopping across channels? What can retailers learn from seasoned multi-channel shoppers? How do consumers 9 multi-channel priorities and patterns change by product category, customer demographics and shopping frequency? d Source: IBM Institute for Business Value. U.S. and UK 3 total respondents. Retail 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 Consumer Electronics Apparel/ Accessories & Footwear Home Improvement/ DIY & Appliances Pharma/ OTC & HBA Sporting Goods Groceries Home Decor United Kingdom United States 1087 414 629 205 490 259 215 67 178 66 155 100 146 31 The top multi-channel combinations " are nearly the same /or the U.S. and the UK. The vast majority (over 75 percent) o/ multi-channel shoppers How consumers are flling their baskets When looking at total basket size and additional impulse purchases, we see some noteworthy trends that vary by channel. We discovered that: Based on average basket size, multi- " channel consumers in the U.S. spend the most money shopping between cOnline to Call Center, d while multi- channel consumers in the UK spend more money shopping between cOnline to Mobile. d While Consumer Electronics and Home Improvement/DIY & Appliances in the U.S. and the UK show the largest basket size: In the U.S., Apparel/Accessories " & Footwear and Grocery have the greatest percentage o/ impulse purchases per basket. The greatest percentage o/ impulse shoppers is in Grocery and Pharma/OTC & HBA. In the UK, Grocery has the highest " percentage o/ impulse purchases per basket, as well as the largest percentage o/ impulse shoppers. Why shoppers change channels The top reasons consumers change channels and retailers vary by product, channel and demographic. For example, in the Consumer Electronics category, we discovered that shoppers who move /rom cOnline to Store d do so /or reasons relating to: Store experience, convenience " and assortment (in the U.S.); store experience, convenience and price (in the UK) Product availability, convenience " and promotions /or the most /requent cOnline to Store d shoppers (once a month or more) in both countries Product availability, convenience " and promotions (/or teens and young adults in both the U.S. and the UK). Getting there 5rom here This executive summary highlights just basic fndings /rom our survey. The insights revealed in the /ull study can help retailers better understand consumers 9 pre/erences and the required /eatures o/ multi-channel shopping 3 enabling organizations to develop strategies that align and evolve with customers 9 needs over time. GBE03092-USEN-01 To fnd out more about the (ull survey, e-mail us at iibv@us.ibm.com or contact one o( our IBM experts listed below. How can IBM help? " Strategy and Change - Helps to address changing customer buying behaviors, organizational structure and metrics, and customer-centric processes. " Retail Industry Solutions - Solutions to address multi-channel retailing, including Next Generation e-Commerce, Mobile Commerce, Contact Center, Endless Aisle, Single View o c Customer, Product In cormation and Attribute Management, Enterprise Content Management, Supply Chain Planning and Execution, and Multi-Channel Order Management and Fulfllment. " IBM Products 3 Innovative and market-leading products to support the retail industry, including WebSphere® Commerce, In coSphere" MDM Server, In coSphere MDM Server cor PIM, In cormation Server, OmniFind" Discovery, Content Manager, WebSphere Message Broker, Anyplace Kiosk, IBM Servers and IBM Total Storage® products. Key contacts: Global: Craig W. Stevenson, craigs1@us.ibm.com Americas: Greg Tolman, gtolman@us.ibm.com Northern Europe: Don Shields, don.shields@uk.ibm.com Southern Europe: Stephane Dubois, stephane.dubois@fr.ibm.com Japan: Akiko Itoh, akikoito@jp.ibm.com Asia Pacifc: Susan De Jonge, sdejonge@cn.ibm.com © Copyright IBM Corporation 2008 IBM Global Services Route 100 Somers, NY 10589 U.S.A. Produced in the United States o/ America September 2008 All Rights Reserved IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, WebSphere Commerce, In/oSphere, OmniFind and TotalStorage are trademarks or registered trademarks o/ International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. I/ these and other IBM trademarked terms are marked on their /irst occurrence in this in/ormation with a trademark symbol (® or "), these symbols indicate U.S. registered or common law trademarks owned by IBM at the time this in/ormation was published. Such trademarks may also be registered or common law trademarks in other countries. A current list o/ IBM trademarks is available on the Web at cCopyright and trademark in/ormation d at ibm.com /legal/copytrade.shtml Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks o/ others. Re/erences in this publication to IBM products and services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates.

less