A study PWC carried out in Spring 2017 exposes the purchasing habits, preferences and feelings of consumers as well as the concerns and priorities of retailers in the era where retail is changing rapidly.
Omni-channel on the rise in French brands
Online purchases are experiencing ever greater penetration in France. Indeed, in 2016, there were 18% of new online consumers in France compared to an average of 15% in the rest of the so-called “mature” countries.
France is one of the countries where the frequency of online purchases is one of the highest. 33% of French consumers make more than one purchase per week on average online. This is well above the average in emerging countries which is 26% or the average for mature countries (28%).
In France, many brands use multi-channel. 85% of French retailers surveyed generate revenue using this method (multi-channel is defined here as the use of two or more of the following channels: stores, website, mobile applications, catalog, calls, third-party omni-channel service provider such as Amazon, Zalando, etc.). As for the brands in the rest of Europe, 71% of them generate multi-channel revenues. France is therefore at the top of the ranking.
The mobile as an essential device throughout the purchasing process
The mobile has become the most used device to perform online queries. It is used everywhere, all the time for any reason. In stores, it is used to show a product to the seller, to compare prices, to find additional information about the product or to pay for a purchase. Outside the store, the mobile is used to search for a product, to make a purchase (payment), to access a transactional email or to access a service. France has more than caught up on mobile purchases compared to other mature countries.
The mobile purchasing penetration rate in France was 26% in 2013 (compared to 35% in mature countries). It was 56% in 2016 (compared to 53% for mature countries). Web specialists also indicate that it is not over! Mobile shopping penetration will only increase in the coming years. In fact, 41% of young French people aged 25-34 rely on the smartphone to become their main purchasing tool in the future.
This strong trend for mobile was already perfectly illustrated during the 2016 end-of-year celebrations. The vast majority of orders on Amazon during this period were made from mobile. Christmas 2017 is likely to be even more marked by this nomadic trend!
This is how brands are increasingly prioritizing investments in mobile. For 67% of retailers surveyed, the priority is to accelerate revenue growth from online and mobile channels. To achieve their goals, brands must overcome obstacles to progress on mobile. Ergonomics (30%) and security (20%) on these devices must be optimized.
The mobile experience must also be worked on by setting up “best practices”. For example, for a successful mobile experience, it is a question of requiring little input effort from the customer, of proposing a minimal number of steps, of using native mobile functionalities as well as an information architecture clear.
The physical store must reinvent itself through the uses it offers!
Have you ever wondered if you have reinvented your customers' experience by integrating technologies and new uses throughout their buying journey? To answer this question, you must first understand what the perceived benefits of stores are in the minds of consumers.
First, the French buy online for convenience. They are also looking for expert advice from sellers. 74% of consumers surveyed stressed the importance of the depth of knowledge and advice from sellers. It's up to you to offer real added value in-store thanks to the involvement of your sales staff. Do they have a real ability to listen to consumers? Are they able to offer recommendations based on customer usage? Do they know the in-store visitors well enough to offer them personalized offers? It's up to you to equip the sellers so that they are able to recognize the different customers. In this way, your contact staff will have all the cards in hand to boost sales.
On the other hand, in-store consumer expectations also concern services: recognition, personalization, speed of handling, warm atmosphere, fast checkout (self-service checkout, out-of-checkout payment), VIP benefits, etc.
Finally, who says omni-channel says brands' ability to capture data and ability to use it for useful purposes. Retailers succeed in capturing this data but have difficulty setting up intelligent processes afterwards by processing this data. The unified vision of customers across the various channels is not yet there for all brands. 45% of companies are struggling to build such a unified system and 30% have done so but want to improve it.
Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the upcoming holiday season will undoubtedly confirm the trends detected in this Pwc study. It's up to you to set up synergies between your distribution and communication channels!
