Consumer behavior can be a moving target. It’s important to adjust your marketing as nimbly as you can to match adopted practices and predicted buying trends.
Many consumers are brand loyal and remained so after the pandemic. However, there were many lifestyle changes during that time and consumers found the “try it, you’ll like it” philosophy worked well for them during those unsettling years and is still an attractive practice. This is especially true with apparel, accessories and health and beauty products.
Boredom and uneasiness during the pandemic made shoppers feel even more as though they deserved a treat. They hit the “buy now” button with regularity. And that isn’t going away.
Whether that means trying a new brand or visiting a different website, younger consumers favoring casual clothing choices continue to lead the way, especially when good deals are dangled in front of them with great selections and easy online ordering platforms.
The retailers that succeed ensure items are in stock and delivered to customer expectations, whether that means home delivery, in-store purchasing, or in-store pick up of orders. Consumers from older generations and with higher incomes were not as enticed to try new brands as Millennial and Gen Z shoppers.
Savvy brands will always evaluate where their core audience is before making sweeping changes.
“Let’s make a deal” is still a popular buying philosophy. Consumers are more likely to try a new product when the deal seems so good that they feel like they are getting a product valued at much more than they paid. Companies also should ensure that even though “your first order” discounts may nudge consumers to give you a try, it is important to offer incentives also to the loyal customers who have kept you in business consistently in good times and bad.
The ease of online ordering — purchasing a product from Amazon before you go to bed and seeing it already waiting on your doorstep when you awake the next morning — has become a regular expectation. People gravitate toward online ordering because it’s easy and convenient.
This makes it even more important for companies to have just as attractive a presence and user experience online as they do in person. Think of your home page as having the same priority as your store’s window display in terms of enticing the customer to want to explore further.
Though increased online shopping is here to stay, consumers have also returned in droves to shopping centers to enjoy the energizing environment, ease of browsing through multiple brands in one trip, and being able to evaluate product quality, fit, taste, value and more in person. And there’s nothing like finding a special treat while shopping and having the immediate satisfaction of taking it home with you, or knowing your prompt delivery will be exactly what you ordered.
Even though programs like Happy Returns have made returning purchased clothing and shoes to retailers simpler, it still is another trip customers could have avoided by trying on the items in a store in person in the first place.
Companies aware of their customers’ current buying habits can better target customer preferences to keep them engaged through loyalty programs, sales in their area and more. By knowing which customers and groups prefer to buy online or within an actual store, you’ll be better able to deliver your marketing messages appropriately and in a timely fashion.
Know what deals are needed to attract prospects to brands, websites and stores. Learn how to preserve your existing customer base by knowing their sales history with your brand. This will help your brand continue to succeed by providing effective marketing messages to the important people keeping you in business – your customers.
