••• retailing
Consistency across channels
Integrated retail experience could improve customer loyalty
Over 80 percent of U.S consumers are more likely to become loyal customers to retailers that provide an integrated experience across channels, according to a study from hybris, a Munich, Germany, commerce and communications software provider, that examined U.S. consumer behaviors and expectations for a multichannel shopping experience.
The importance of online and mobile strategies continues to increase with more than one-third of consumers reporting that they make more purchases online than in-store. Looking ahead to the 2012 retail holiday season, 46 percent of consumers plan to increase online shopping during the holidays but only 8 percent will increase in-store shopping.
Even while shopping in a brick-and-mortar store, consumers continue to turn to digital channels, with 19 percent reporting that they browse their mobile device while in-store. The vast majority do so to compare prices (66 percent), while others compare product choices (27 percent) and read online recommendations (7 percent).
When asked to rank desired features in a multichannel retail experience, 45 percent indicated in-store pickup options for online purchases were most important and 28 percent of consumers selected in-store returns for online purchases as most valuable.
These features also build loyalty. Eighty-two percent of respondents would shop again at a retailer who accepted in-store returns for online purchases and 73 percent were more likely to become a repeat customer if a store offers in-store pickup.
The survey findings also revealed a gap between consumer expectations and current retail offerings, especially for mobile. Consumers would be more likely to return to stores that distributed personalized offers (40 percent) or in-store mobile promotions (42 percent) but nearly half of consumers said retailers do not currently deliver these capabilities.
Additionally, the study identified specific factors that can potentially impact the likelihood of a consumer following through with a purchase online. The most important factors for following through with an online purchase: easy navigation (59 percent); simple checkout process (57 percent); and presence of product images (42 percent). The most important factors that might deter an online purchase: shipping costs (47 percent); out-of-stock items (28 percent); and lack of product images (23 percent).
www.hybris.com
••• financial services
Haves vs. have-nots
Comparing credit card usage of the struggling and the stable
Are some people going into debt to buy gas as fuel prices rise? Are some people trying to dig out from under a mountain of credit card debt with a minimum-payment teaspoon? How are people who are struggling financially using their credit cards and paying their bills? To better understand the national economic news and credit card statistics, CreditDonkey, a Los Angeles credit card comparison and financial education Web site, surveyed consumers to consider the width of the divide between people who say they are struggling to pay their bills each month and those who say they are not.
To measure the amount of financial distress each person was feeling, the survey asked, “Thinking about all your bills, do you have to choose which bills to pay and which bills to put off each month?” Those who answered “always” or “sometimes” were considered to be struggling financially and those who responded “rarely” or “never” were considered financially stable.
Forty-five percent of those surveyed who say gasoline is the most frequent purchase they make with their credit cards also say they pay the minimum amount due on their statements or just a little more each month. These credit card users are at risk of falling into debt for a consumable and necessary item, which is a worst-case personal economic scenario that will get worse as fuel prices skyrocket.
People surveyed who say they are financially distressed are among the most likely to pay the minimum amount due or a little more (61.7 percent distressed vs. 38.3 percent of those not distressed). Conversely, 85.7 percent of those considered financially stable pay off their balance in full each month, compared to 14.3 percent of those distressed. Although it is impossible to know from this data whether paying the minimum amount is the reason people are struggling or whether they pay the minimum because they are struggling, it is likely that paying the minimum amount is closely connected to their financial situation as well as their knowledge – or lack thereof – about the drawbacks of paying such a small amount each month.
Interestingly, 61.2 percent of the financially distressed report that they do not use a credit card, compared to 62.2 percent of the financially stable who do.
www.creditdonkey.com
••• grocery/supermarket research
Price isn’t everything
ALDI a low-price leader but not a favorite
Discount grocer ALDI was recognized as the nation’s low-price grocery leader for the second year in a row, according to a survey conducted by Market Force Information Inc., a Boulder, Colo., research company. When asked to rank the top eight grocers offering low prices, consumers ranked ALDI ahead of competitors such as Walmart, Costco, Publix, Kroger, Safeway and ShopRite. However, the cheapest doesn’t mean the best: Giant Food is consumers’ favorite grocer, followed closely by ShopRite and then Walmart.
When consumers were asked which grocery store captures the most of their dollars, eight grocers earned more than 2 percent of the vote, with Walmart, Kroger and Publix Super Markets landing in the top three spots. However, since grocery retailers have thousands of locations and others have a fraction of that, Market Force indexed the results by store count in order to get a more accurate representation of the results. This analysis moved Giant Food to the No. 1 position, followed by ShopRite and then Walmart, Publix, Costco, Kroger, ALDI and Safeway. This is a slight shift from 2011, when Kroger and ShopRite held the top two spots.
The survey also asked consumers to rank the top eight grocery retailers on a number of attributes such as pricing; cleanliness; customer service; meat and produce quality; atmosphere; and sustainable practices. Publix fared well when it came to these attributes, scoring highest among the pack for inviting atmosphere, courteous staff, quality produce and cleanliness. Walmart ranked highest for being a one-stop shopping destination but was last in providing high-quality meat and produce and having a courteous staff. The top wallet-share winners – Giant Food and ShopRite – scored middle-of-the-road in most of the attributes. There was also very little variation in categories such as private-label brands, which may be an area for grocers to differentiate.
Location and price are the main reasons consumers shop where they do but they’re not the only driving factors. Operational excellence also plays a large role. When it comes to the food itself, high-quality produce is more important to shoppers than high-quality meat. And, despite a recent industry-wide emphasis on sustainability, it was only significant to 7 percent of respondents.
The good news for grocers is that most shoppers said they were satisfied with their recent grocery shopping experiences. In fact, 88 percent said they were either somewhat or very satisfied and a mere 12 percent of consumers said they were either neutral, dissatisfied or not at all satisfied. For those who reported dissatisfaction, the most common reason given was long checkout wait times (52 percent). Second on the list was the inability to find a desired item (48 percent), poor cashier service was third (39 percent) and produce quality fourth (29 percent).
Does satisfaction lead to recommendation? The data points to yes. Of those who rated their experience a 5 on a five-point scale, 70 percent said they were highly likely to recommend the grocery store to another person. For those who rated it 4 points, only 11 percent said they were highly likely to recommend. That’s a sixfold difference in the propensity to recommend, showing the importance of creating an experience that delights consumers and keeps them coming back.
www.marketforce.com
••• customer experience
Heard, understood, acknowledged
Consumers demand dialogue with companies online
With an ever-growing number of publicly-accessible online communication choices available, consumers overwhelmingly want their voices to be heard by companies via the Web. Consumers expect companies to be listening and 85 percent are very happy when businesses respond to their public comments in online forums and social media venues, according to a study from Maritz Research Consumer Preferences, St. Louis. That sentiment is amplified among younger consumers.
Consumers were asked about their use of direct feedback methods, such as sending an e-mail, placing a telephone call and writing a letter, and online public methods, such as using Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. Customers who received a response from a public comment were overwhelmingly positive about the fact that the company responded, regardless of how well the company actually handled the issue. With 27 percent delighted with a response to their public feedback, compared to only 6 percent for a response to their direct feedback, they were more likely to be happy about companies responding to public comments than direct feedback. Only 2 percent of respondents indicated they were unhappy with the response they received to public comments, demonstrating the acceptance of Web-based public feedback methods.
Looking to the future of customer contact, preferred consumer contact methods are closely related to age. While all age groups still prefer direct feedback methods, young-adult consumers increasingly choose online public feedback over direct, with 33 percent of the youngest consumer age group (18-to-24-year-olds) preferring public feedback methods and 28 percent of those specifically favoring Facebook.
www.maritzresearch.com
••• religion
Worship and the Web
Church Web sites attract members and non-members alike
Twelve percent of all American adults have visited the Web site of a church or other local place of worship within the past 30 days, according to a study from Grey Matter Research, Phoenix. Going back to the last six months, the proportion nearly doubles to 22 percent.
Among Americans who are online, 15 percent have visited the Web site of a local place of worship in the last 30 days; 28 percent have done so within the past six months; and 36 percent have done so within the last year.
But who are these people and what are they doing on these Web sites? There are basically three types of visitors to church Web sites (note: “church” refers to any local place of worship of any religion). The first type is people who are already attending that church. Among online Americans who attend worship services once a month or more, 28 percent have visited their own congregation’s Web site in the last 30 days; 44 percent have done so in the past six months; 57 percent have done so in the past year; and a total of 68 percent have done so at some point while attending that place of worship. Thirty-two percent of churchgoers who use the Internet have never visited their own congregation’s Web site (or their church does not have a Web site).
The second type of visitor to church Web sites is people who regularly attend worship services but at a different congregation. Among online Americans who attend worship services regularly, 13 percent in the past 30 days have visited the Web site of a congregation other than the one they attend. A total of 27 percent have done this in the past six months and 37 percent in the past year.
The third type of Web site visitor is people who do not attend worship services regularly at any congregation. Among these people, 2 percent who are online have visited the Web site of a place of worship in the last 30 days; 10 percent have done so in the past six months; and 16 percent have done so in the past year.
With all of these people visiting congregational Web sites, what are they doing there? Most commonly, site visitors are checking to see the times of services (43 percent). Other common activities include checking what activities are offered (e.g., youth groups, studies, events – 29 percent); looking for a map or directions to the church’s location (28 percent); watching streaming video (26 percent); and listening to streaming audio (26 percent).
Somewhat less-common activities include checking to see what the church’s religious beliefs are (22 percent); requesting prayer (18 percent); downloading a podcast (15 percent); checking what denomination or group they belong to (15 percent); sending a message to the pastor or leader (12 percent); and posting on a bulletin board or forum (5 percent).
www.greymatterresearch.com