While no-one likes a little ‘alone time’ more than me essentially too much time to navel gaze can be detrimental and, if COVID has made me realize anything, it’s how important interacting with other people is for a magnitude of reasons.
In that regard we believe that the social element of shopping is vitally important, so much so we have ‘social’ in our name and are focused on making it as much a part of online shopping as it has historically been in physical stores. However, while we have done our market research it’s always nice to have your beliefs backed up, which is why we were pleased to read a recent report from Sherwen Studios entitled Bricks & Mortar vs Online Retail https://www.sherwen.com/retail-whitepaper. Not only is it based on a serious piece of market research, but it articulates its findings in a straight-forward manner, as well as providing lots of great stats and easy-to-read visuals.
One chapter of particular interest to us was the one on Social Commerce that includes three phrases – the meaning of which it helpfully explains the nuances of. ‘Social commerce’, ‘the social element’ [of shopping] and ‘shopping experience’ are mostly jumbled up and used interchangeably when discussing online vs physical shopping so it’s good to have a bit of clarity. Here’s how the report introduces the topic:
“In the UK, shopping is a social pastime. For generations, shoppers have been flocking to the high street or their nearest shopping centre to spend a few leisurely hours with friends, browsing through the shops and sharing suggestions of items they like. But the challenge for retailers is to work out how they can convert the ‘social element’ of shopping into physical sales.”
Social commerce
We recently wrote a blog about what we were, at that point, calling ‘social shopping’ https://beretailsocial.com/news/the-latest-fashion-seamless/ that discussed the demand that shoppers, particularly those in Gen Z and millennials, have for ‘seamless’ shopping experiences all contained within a platform, while integrating both physical stores and on line. The Sherwen report echoes these thoughts and terms this as ‘social commerce’ which is a neat phrase that accurately encapsulates the meaning. The report says:
“Shoppers have changed the way that they purchase products. They want to use social media sites to research new brands and products. They want to see user-generated content integration, from real life photos and reviews to testimonials and case studies.”
The social element and the shopping experience
The report is chock-full of great facts and figures and one of the most striking is the number of people who still feel under-served by their online shopping experience. The report says,
“It’s important not to underestimate the overall ‘shopping experience’ impact on the customer. Our research has confirmed that 30% of all customers believe that online shopping is missing that “experience” – something which every online retailer must work hard to define.”
Whereas customer experience in other sectors is positively heightened by digital, social, etc. it’s certainly less the case currently in retail, not evolving remarkably in many years.
Conversely, the report also highlights the problem bricks and mortar retailers have with integrating their online and in-store experiences and this is a problem Simon Iddon, founder of be Retail Social believes can be addressed.
“The report talks of customers wanting to share their shopping experience, the ‘social element’ with their friends, while not drawing a distinction between bricks and mortar stores and online in that regard. Improved customer experience, more effective use of digital, and deeper integration between physical and online are some areas where other sectors have made more progress over recent years. But whereas some would say the hospitality sector has maybe gone too far on feedback, and some are now drowning in their homemade data soup while still learning the right balance of what’s actually valuable to know, there is unquestionably scope for the retail clothing sector to bring human nature back into online shopping, inviting others to your virtual changing room for instant feedback from your most trusted.”
Essentially, the first chapter of the report backs up our previous thinking about seamless shopping. Through its clarification of the terminology, it’s now possible to think a little more clearly about the perennial challenges facing retailers as opposed to just the issues that are highlighted by the media that may be cyclical or transient in nature. Plus, the report also applies this approach to customer service, the checkout process and delivery – the broader customer journey – so it’s a useful read.