December 22, 2014
Is the digital holiday shopper different?
According to a study commissioned by Argos, the U.K. retailer, 59 percent of U.K. shoppers agreed they "morph" their retail purchasing behavior at Christmas in order to "compete," with a noticeable shift to more online shopping.
Some 17 percent of all shoppers said they actively switch their priority to online at Christmas when, for the rest of the year, they tend to do their shopping in-store. Forty percent said they would be shopping mostly or exclusively online.
A further 10 percent said they are more likely to specifically use a tailored delivery solution, like buy-online, pick up in-store, during the holidays than the rest of the year.
Based on a survey of 2,057 U.K. consumers by Opinion Matters in partnership with Leeds Beckett University, the study also identified eight tribes that also showed how online shopping and social media is changing gift buying for some but not all shoppers. The tribes are:
Secret Shoppers (one third of shoppers) – Prefer to shop alone and tend not to ask or give opinions on purchases.
Advos (10 percent) – Strike the most balance between online and offline and become very loyal to preferred retailers.
Cruisers (10 percent) – Have the most time on their hands and like the social side of store shopping.
ReTrads (10 percent) – Still prefer to go into a shop for face-to-face advice and interaction before buying a product.
Shopping Einsteins (8 percent) – Most likely to use tablets or Smart TV for shopping and often wait for flash sales to hop on deals. A fifth tend to research online but choose to shop in store, higher than other tribes.
Digital Magpies (7.7 percent) – Pride themselves on securing the best deals and the very latest gadgets and technology. Most likely to be use smartphones to do their shopping and twice as likely to shop while at work compared to the average shopper. Highly influenced by online forums.
Radar Shoppers (7 percent) – Hit stores at the last minute because their purchasing is impulsive and unplanned.
Peacocks (one in forty shoppers) – Pride themselves in brands that treat them well. Tend to brag about their purchases most likely group to be influenced by friends and family.
Among the tribes, particularly standing out, according to the researchers, were Digital Magpies and Shopping Einsteins "who are leading the pack in identifying and spotting bargains and using digital tools to snare them first, gaining competitive advantage and turning shopping into something of an art form."
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
How is digital shopping different during the holiday season than the rest of the year? How is omnichannel retail and social media overall changing shopping behaviors specifically during the holiday season?
Poll
The key difference may be shopping versus buying. Non-holiday periods, without the crush of time and crowds, allow the shopper to visit stores to browse, shop and eventually buy merchandise. The sense of urgency that accompanies the holidays is not present.
On the other hand, the time and budget constraints presented by holiday gift buying move shoppers online where price transparency and convenience become primary. Whether it be Black Friday or Super Saturday, the malls and stores with their masses of shoppers provide little shopping time or fun.
Digital shopping during the holidays is different because shopping in general is different. Holiday shoppers want to make sure that desired items are in stock and that they are getting a competitive price. Some shop online to take advantage of delivery options, such as home delivery or buy online pick up in store. The sheer volume of shoppers heighten all aspects of the shopping experience.
The fact that online holiday shopping is gaining momentum is really no surprise. It’s easy, quick and allows the gift giver to avoid the crowds at the local mall.
And there’s the point: The person buying isn’t the person who’s going to use the item. When it doesn’t fit or the recipient doesn’t like the item, they will take it back or go through the online return process. It is the recipient who ultimately makes the final purchase decision.
I do very little shopping for myself online. I like to touch, feel and try-on in-store to make my buying decisions. But the holidays are different for me. I ask for lists (lots of times with the URL) of the things my family wants and I buy it all online.
So I wouldn’t use the fact that online shopping is gaining momentum during the holidays as proof that brick-and-mortar is dying. It’s just that holiday shopping has a different mission.
Consumers are always going to find the easiest and fastest way to do their shopping. In the case of the holidays, that’s online.
For the consumer, the collision of time compression and the amount of shopping to be done in conjunction with crowds and parking problems increases the movement to online shopping during the holidays. Retailers have had a lot of challenges making omni-channel shopping work smoothly for consumers. The increased interest in online shopping during the holidays is an impetus for improving systems every year. During the holidays consumer receive a lot of mail, flyers and promotions about sales. Having received all of this information about products and prices at the local store, they are armed with that information when they shop online. Discrepancies are much more noticeable during this time of year putting pressure on the retailers’ omni-channel strategies.
First a nod to our British marketing brethren for adding eight more useless buckets to parse customers into. How could we have stumbled on with the addition of ReTrad Tribe to our already bloated marketing vocabulary?
Now on to the question. It seems to me it’s an expression of a growing disconnect between marketers and the market.
Consumers shop via the path of least resistance, punta.
Calling it omni-channelism—or anything else for that matter—just serves to obscure the truth of the behavior. Consumers have needs and a growing arsenal of channel and platform options. If a click at home is easier than fighting crowds in-store, then the click wins.
And guess what? Give shoppers more options and they’ll use them as long as they are more convenient than existing options. You can put as many labels as you want to on it, nothing changes the fact that all of us take the road easiest traveled.
Digital shopping, just like traditional shopping, is different during the holidays due to extreme time deprivation and knowing that others are after the same popular item as you are. When you’re short on time and can plan a day or two out, then digital shopping for gifts during the holidays is a highly efficient and effective coping mechanism.
As to how omni-channel and social media are changing shopping behavior, that topic has been well-covered in these columns in the past. However, during the holiday season the impact is exaggerated by the stress of time and the ubiquity of free shipping offers, combined with the growing ease of triggering purchases from social sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
After completing a survey of almost 20,000 consumers across several countries, we at IBM have found a definite trend toward brand enthusiasm, especially during the holidays season. Shoppers fuel each others’ excitement for brands via social channels. I think the characteristics enumerated in this article will continue to evolve. Online brand advocacy is too easy for shoppers not to take advantage.
The above comments indicate how different psychological conditions trigger online activity during the holidays. These include time pressure, fear of out-of-stocks, budget concerns, gifting to others, and the like.
I would add two other influences:
- Calendar. Adoption of new digital behaviors slant up and to the right during the calendar year. Thus by definition, more people use social media, buy-online, pick up in-store, and use other growing digital enablers in December.
- Aspiration. Respondents “say” they are more likely to do something than actually do it, which magnifies the above influences.
Time and efficiency play a part in holiday shopping—and shopping online offers a convenience not found in the other choices. I think everyone that has responded to the question so far have all given the same answer in varying ways.
Tribes? That’s the first time I’m seeing this word used this way. Or, as W.C. Fields might have said: “Digital Magpies, what a euphonious appellation.”
The first gifts are to oneself; convenience and time. Whatever serves those purposes wins. If the holiday season heightens digital shopping it’s because there are more responsibilities in less time.
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The key difference may be shopping versus buying. Non-holiday periods, without the crush of time and crowds, allow the shopper to visit stores to browse, shop and eventually buy merchandise. The sense of urgency that accompanies the holidays is not present.
On the other hand, the time and budget constraints presented by holiday gift buying move shoppers online where price transparency and convenience become primary. Whether it be Black Friday or Super Saturday, the malls and stores with their masses of shoppers provide little shopping time or fun.
Digital shopping during the holidays is different because shopping in general is different. Holiday shoppers want to make sure that desired items are in stock and that they are getting a competitive price. Some shop online to take advantage of delivery options, such as home delivery or buy online pick up in store. The sheer volume of shoppers heighten all aspects of the shopping experience.
The fact that online holiday shopping is gaining momentum is really no surprise. It’s easy, quick and allows the gift giver to avoid the crowds at the local mall.
And there’s the point: The person buying isn’t the person who’s going to use the item. When it doesn’t fit or the recipient doesn’t like the item, they will take it back or go through the online return process. It is the recipient who ultimately makes the final purchase decision.
I do very little shopping for myself online. I like to touch, feel and try-on in-store to make my buying decisions. But the holidays are different for me. I ask for lists (lots of times with the URL) of the things my family wants and I buy it all online.
So I wouldn’t use the fact that online shopping is gaining momentum during the holidays as proof that brick-and-mortar is dying. It’s just that holiday shopping has a different mission.
Consumers are always going to find the easiest and fastest way to do their shopping. In the case of the holidays, that’s online.
For the consumer, the collision of time compression and the amount of shopping to be done in conjunction with crowds and parking problems increases the movement to online shopping during the holidays. Retailers have had a lot of challenges making omni-channel shopping work smoothly for consumers. The increased interest in online shopping during the holidays is an impetus for improving systems every year. During the holidays consumer receive a lot of mail, flyers and promotions about sales. Having received all of this information about products and prices at the local store, they are armed with that information when they shop online. Discrepancies are much more noticeable during this time of year putting pressure on the retailers’ omni-channel strategies.
First a nod to our British marketing brethren for adding eight more useless buckets to parse customers into. How could we have stumbled on with the addition of ReTrad Tribe to our already bloated marketing vocabulary?
Now on to the question. It seems to me it’s an expression of a growing disconnect between marketers and the market.
Consumers shop via the path of least resistance, punta.
Calling it omni-channelism—or anything else for that matter—just serves to obscure the truth of the behavior. Consumers have needs and a growing arsenal of channel and platform options. If a click at home is easier than fighting crowds in-store, then the click wins.
And guess what? Give shoppers more options and they’ll use them as long as they are more convenient than existing options. You can put as many labels as you want to on it, nothing changes the fact that all of us take the road easiest traveled.
Digital shopping, just like traditional shopping, is different during the holidays due to extreme time deprivation and knowing that others are after the same popular item as you are. When you’re short on time and can plan a day or two out, then digital shopping for gifts during the holidays is a highly efficient and effective coping mechanism.
As to how omni-channel and social media are changing shopping behavior, that topic has been well-covered in these columns in the past. However, during the holiday season the impact is exaggerated by the stress of time and the ubiquity of free shipping offers, combined with the growing ease of triggering purchases from social sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
After completing a survey of almost 20,000 consumers across several countries, we at IBM have found a definite trend toward brand enthusiasm, especially during the holidays season. Shoppers fuel each others’ excitement for brands via social channels. I think the characteristics enumerated in this article will continue to evolve. Online brand advocacy is too easy for shoppers not to take advantage.
The above comments indicate how different psychological conditions trigger online activity during the holidays. These include time pressure, fear of out-of-stocks, budget concerns, gifting to others, and the like.
I would add two other influences:
Time and efficiency play a part in holiday shopping—and shopping online offers a convenience not found in the other choices. I think everyone that has responded to the question so far have all given the same answer in varying ways.
Tribes? That’s the first time I’m seeing this word used this way. Or, as W.C. Fields might have said: “Digital Magpies, what a euphonious appellation.”
The first gifts are to oneself; convenience and time. Whatever serves those purposes wins. If the holiday season heightens digital shopping it’s because there are more responsibilities in less time.