Paradigm Shift in Consumer Behaviour

The Covid pandemic and the lockdown that followed have brought a fundamental change in the shopping behaviour of consumers. With a slight unlocking & reopening people have also begun to step out and shop, this implies that retailers have to be ready to handle the in-store rush. Now is the time for retailers to innovate & discover new methods of marketing, product coverage, pricing and customer service. To elevate their sales by understanding the evolving customer shopping preferences, retailers are adopting data analytics solutions that leverage emerging technologies such as Augmented Reality. Such solutions will help retailers gather actionable insights from the colossal amount of consumer data available and devise strategies to attract new and retain existing customers.

Consumers of all ages are inspired by rebellious companies who are resisting conventions to set a new standard and implement new and unique ideas. Research suggests that 57%  Chinese and 46% Americans agreed to be drawn to rebellious companies who are ready to take risks & experiment with technologies. 

Indian consumers are undergoing a fundamental change in shopping behaviour driven by health, privacy and hyper-localisation, says a report. People are paying close attention to how brands are responding to and acting during the COVID-19 crisis. Listening, reporting, and quickly adapting to customer concerns is paramount to protecting brand sentiment and perception. The key differentiating factor will be to successfully apply technology such as AR that steers a cohesive digital-purchasing experience between different marketing organizations. Along with that, having the feature to track and report analytics across multiple customer touchpoints will become vital to showcase marketing success during the time of churns.

 

Enhancing customer experience should be the prime focus of businesses that wish to win over their customer loyalty after the pandemic. Keeping in mind that the global economy is going through a rather ambiguous time, augmenting customer experience and improving customer service should be the prime focus of every business. In 2020, there were 1 billion augmented reality users. 70% of consumers believe AR can bring them benefits. The AR market is projected to be worth over $18 billion by the year 2023. 

There are many reasons for businesses to start focusing on augmenting customer experience, to state a few : 

1. Customer Satisfaction due to augmented reality is the key to driving traction in the long run. Satisfied customers turn into loyal customers and the chances of them giving you more business than the new customers are higher. According to a survey, 61% of consumers prefer shopping with AR.
    

2. Enhancing customer experience by providing them with feel-good technology in the comfort of their home. In these unprecedented times, AR has become more valuable to consumers. Also, 55% of consumers feel AR makes shopping fun.
    

3. By the year 2022, there should be around 3.5 billion AR users. This amounts to over 25% of the world’s population. In the US alone, 83.1 million people are projected to use AR at least once a month. Some people are using AR subconsciously on a consistent basis. 
    

Indian E-commerce market was estimated to grow to $200 billion by the year 2026 on the basis of research done prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the consumer behaviour and market dynamics have changed hugely, which means that the E-Commerce industry will reach $200 billion much sooner than expected. 

To win in adversity, companies need to tailor their strategies to meet today's unique shopping behaviour. Brands that will be nimble enough to capture the pulse of these changes, make timely alterations to their operations and add digital and convenience as a service will thrive in these unprecedented scenarios.

Today virtual jewellery experience is on the rise, where people can simply use their smartphones and try the jewellery virtually to see how it fits them. Also, the jewellery shopping trend is gradually becoming outdated because many retailers have been very slow in building a web presence. It is high time to keep clients engaged and serve them digitally.

Read our last blog on What do you need to implement Augmented Reality for jewellery retail?

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