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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trendsthat are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
With the rise of online, mobile and now social shopping, many predicted the rapid demise of the antiquated "brick-and-mortar" store. Yet it proved rather resilient… This whitepaper, co-created with eYeka’s creative consumer community and a panel of retail experts, highlights how consumers envision the future of shopping. It provides visual and authentic insights into how consumers expect to navigate through an ever-growing, dizzying array of brands, products and ways to purchase them. Will retailers listen and deliver on consumer expectations? This co-created whitepaper will prove invaluable to those interested in consumer trends and retail marketing.
5 consumer trends about the future shopping experience:
• Responsible shopping: consumers want a socially and environmentally responsible retail ecosystem
• Augmented shopping: consumers value rich and interactive shopping experiences
• Informed shopping: consumers look for relevant, personal information about brands and products
• Facilitated shopping: consumers expect technology to help them choose
• Experience shopping: consumers hope that shopping will become more entertaining
#. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
To write this whitepaper, we conducted interviews with retail experts and asked them to share their views on the retail industry as it is today and how they imagine it to evolve in the future. We also asked eYeka’s community of creative consumers to imagine shopping in 2020. They sent us more than 100 quality entries - photos, illustrations, videos - showing their own interpretations of how they expect to shop in the future.
How would you shop in 2020?
• BRIEF
The year is 2020, and you are shopping… Will it be similar or completely different to today?In what ways would it be easier, funnier or smarter?
Pick any shopping category you like - food, clothing, electronics, healthcare… and tell us how you will experience your vision of shopping in 2020. Think about the whole shopping experience, from stores to salespeople, even to the way products are displayed or the way you try and pay. Think about where you might shop, how you might shop, and what you might shop for that is unique from today’s shopping experience.
• FORMAT
Pictures, videos, animations, illustrations, sketches - anything that will make us hold our breath and help us understand you vision clearly.
#. METHODOLOGY
"Some men see things as they are and say why - I dream things that never were and say why not."
George Bernard Shaw
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
1. RESPONSIBLE SHOPPING p. 5
2. AUGMENTED SHOPPING p. 9
3. INFORMED SHOPPING p. 12
4. FACILITATED SHOPPING p. 16
5. EXPERIENCE SHOPPING p. 19
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
Consumers are now shopping with a conscience: they are concerned about what they are buying, where products come from, and how they are made. According to Mark Raison from Yellow Ideas, today’s consumer is a "local world citizen". The more opportunities he has to travel and to experience a variety of products, the more he wants to have local and green products. How can conspicuous consumption and environmental responsibility be reconciled?
Creative consumers have answers. Fitting supermarkets and shopping malls with solar panels and wind turbines is a first expected step towards greater sustainability. Stores will be encouraged to grow their own produces too, turning roof space into vegetable gardens for example. Shorter supply chains, from producers to shops or directly to consumers, will be made more efficient with technology, allowing just-in time ordering and less transportation, thus achieving greater product freshness. Mobile technology can also help implementing more environmentally-savvy shopping habits. For example, a consumer could get all the information related to a product by scanning its barcode with a smartphone, paving the way for a significant reduction in packaging and information leaflets.
Responsible shopping is already gaining ground and is a trend that will increasingly permeate all aspects of the retail industry. Retailers that embrace it early and innovatively have a window of opportunity to standout before it becomes "the new normal".
"We are seeing increased interest in legacy, or the quality of an endurance beyond our own. One way retailers are already tapping into these values is by engaging consumers in a cause-based relationship or altruistic association. In the future, this will be far more pervasive in retail."
Valerie Jacobs, LPK Beauty
1. RESPONSIBLE SHOPPING
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
1. RESPONSIBLE SHOPPING / consumer voiceRetail supply chains will have to be more transparent.
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Elduke / Slovakia
Abibich / United Kingdom
nutons / Latvia
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
1. RESPONSIBLE SHOPPING / consumer voiceRetail outlets will be energy-neutral - or even energy producers.
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Abibich / United Kingdom
Paragraphe / France
Zazu / Indonesia
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
1. RESPONSIBLE SHOPPING / consumer voiceRetail will encourage social responsibility and foster community relationships.
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good4love / France
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
Anyone who excitedly purchased an item of clothing online, only to return it a few days later upon trying it, could testify that texture, fabric, fit and feel are hard to gage even from high-resolution or rotating product pictures.How can retailers break the virtual trial barrier? How to create a seamless, cross-channel shopping experience?
According to creative consumers, shopping should not be limited by time or space, as online and offline shopping will continue to merge into a seamless experience. The primary device to enable consumers to shop whenever, wherever they are, is the smartphone. Shopping will become an ever-greater part of our daily life, to encompass commuting, entertainment or even casual conversations with friends. A consumer could see an item he likes when walking in the street with friends, tag it with his smartphone, review it and immediately buy it or add it to a wish-list. Creative consumers suggest that all products should be viewable in 3D on online shopping platforms, with holograms being a possible future development. Creative consumers even envision the rapid adoption of 3D printers where one could buy online and "print" a product or a sample via a home device. Specialized companies are already offering 3D printing and as its cost becomes more affordable, more consumers will expect the product they just purchased to appear on their desk at a click of a mouse. Today’s consumers can shop from a smartphone, a website, a Facebook page as well as from a store. The future is to integrate these channels into a seamless real-time shopping experience and to provide more opportunities for instantaneous sharing and information access. Immersive technologies may help overcome the contradiction between consumers’ desire to see and touch products and their increasing reluctance to go to physical stores.
2. AUGMENTED SHOPPING
"Multichannel is going to transform into cross-channel. In the future, we will still shop in-store, but also via smartphone or iPads."
Jean-François Masson, Carrefour
"The need to see and engage products at first hand will never go away."Dan Foxman, TNS Global
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
Consumers expect more than a website when shopping from home.
2. AUGMENTED SHOPPING / consumer voice
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adintermedia / Germany
daflleje / USA
Weizz / Indonesia
breako / UK
itsme9001 / India Ninjatogo / Cayman Islands
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
Consumers expect virtual reality to revolutionize the in-store experience.
2. AUGMENTED SHOPPING / consumer voice
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Phillipp / Germany
Nicko / Philippines
Leaderleg / Russia
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
Today, thanks to online and mobile shopping, consumers can shop everywhere and shopping lists are typed on the go to be shared across devices and family members. Reading consumer reviews, using price comparison engines, always being alerted about the best deals and group buying to get even bigger discounts have become common online shopping tactics used by savvy shoppers. In the very near future, the humble fridge - whose only function was to keep things cold - could soon be able to count products inside it. The shopping list will be done automatically by smart, interconnected appliances and the consumer will become part of the network instead of being its sole driver. Creative consumers have all expressed the need to be better informed about the best prices and the best places to buy the products they want, quickly and hassle-free. When shopping for a meal, suggestions for the best drink to go with, as well as cooking recipes reviewed by friends, are taken for granted. Consumers expect more participation from brands and from other consumers as seen in "social shopping", an emerging trend where consumers ask for instant feedback from friends while trying products, via social media tools on their smartphones.
Consumers are expecting to learn more about the products they pick-up off the shelves. Information should tell brand stories but also consumer stories. While many companies are already providing recommendations and suggestions to consumers, a truly inter-connected, cross-shopping platforms and easy-to-use intelligent shopping recommendation application has yet to hit the market. Furthermore, while virtually all shoppers carry their phones with them while shopping, retailers have yet to offer mobile services that add value to a shopping experience (apart from limited trials in offering mobile coupons).
"I believe that in the future, shopping will be more and more about the sharing of experiences, rather than shopping itself."Edwin Song, Synovate
"Technology has changed the way people buy – empowering consumers with a host of pricing, ‘credentialing’ and locating options. Consumers are less impulsive and more thoughtful in less time."
Valerie Jacobs, LPK Beauty
"The digital world is already integrated into our lives outside of stores, but it has hardly scratched the surface inside the store."
Dan Foxman, TNS Global
3. INFORMED SHOPPING
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
Home appliances will be connected and smart.
3. INFORMED SHOPPING / consumer voice
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Deutek / France
Newlc / France
Tamires_San / Brazil
Ghis182 / Thailand
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
Consumers want mobile devices to provide them with relevant information.
3. INFORMED SHOPPING / consumer voice
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Urbansicc / Hungary
Markka / UK
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
Technology will enrich in-store shopping.
3. INFORMED SHOPPING / consumer voice
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Kutudaun / Indonesia TimArmstrong / New Zealand
Milkybarstu / UK Xgeroimo / Germany
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
The more options a consumer is faced with, the more complex and painful the decision process is. This often leads to the simplest decision: don’t buy anything. How can retailers simplify the shopping experience while offering enough variety to fill shopper needs? And how to make brick and mortar shopping faster and easier?
Consumers suggest differentiating supermarket shelves by colours to better orientate shopper in a supermarket or number product categories to simplify purchase via smartphones. A smart shopping cart could guide a shopper in a supermarket, enabled by touchscreen to provide product information on-demand as well as a full check-out service. Creative consumers also envision smart promotions that guide consumers throughout stores, in the form of personalized virtual promotional displays that are visible only by specific types of consumers for better relevance. As the check-out process is perceived as too time-consuming, consumers suggest paying with smartphones or even through personal identification systems (face recognition, fingerprint), making cash or credit cards redundant - and speeding up the payment process. To meet consumers expectations, retail companies will need to either adopt a "less is more" strategy or simplify the purchase decision process. Creative consumers see technology as the main driver towards "easy shopping". Any technology or innovation that speed up the traditional shopping experience will go a long way to meet expectations of present and future consumers.
"Less can be more - focusing on fewer products can lead to higher sales, as long as we have a reasoned view on which products to retain/delete."
Dan Foxman, TNS Global
"Today’s consumer is patient and pressed at the same time. He wants to spend a good time when shopping but also he wants everything to be on time."
Mark Raison, Yellow Ideas
4. FACILITATED SHOPPING
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
Easy shopping, at any time, everywhere.
4. FACILITATED SHOPPING / consumer voice
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Atipik / Belgium
artelledesign / Ukraine
cecchetti / Brazil
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
Faster check-outs and easier payments.
4. FACILITATED SHOPPING / consumer voice
432 / Indonesia
cecchetti / Brazil
Yannick2x / France
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
"The main theme is how to improve store performance and build brand loyalty. But the uncommon question is how to offer an unforgettable shopping experience."
Davide Cavalieri, Cavalieri Retailing
"Shoppers in some parts of Asia are already finding modern trade shopping more monotonous, due to the store being the same week to week."
Dan Foxman, TNS Global
"People don’t want to go to a big box and buy what everybody else are buying. It is important that the virtual or physical store can really be your store."
Jeff Ducette, SINS International
If shopping is done online, what is left to do on the high street? The answer: experiences that cannot be replicated online and that brings the fun back to shopping.
How to make the shopping experience unforgettable? According to creative consumers, the distinction between shopping and entertainment is blurred. Online as well as offline shopping experiences will be filled with new, more playful shopping options. Traditional shopping spaces will transform into coffee houses or showrooms, and spa centres will become skincare product distributors. Such retailers would de-facto become real expert-companions to consumers, as opposed to purveyors of products. Future retailers should offer their clients the possibility to shop and to be entertained at the same time. Unsurprisingly, creative consumers in Asia ask for more fun shopping experiences than their pairs in the Western world.
Despite shopping becoming institutionalized as a leisure activity in most part of the world, the retail environment still has a long way to go to provide the level of fun and stimulation that consumers, especially in Asia, expect. Social media already offers an opportunity for brands to gather personal insights in order to offer engaging brand experiences. The traditional high-street store now needs to adopt these best practices and indulge its patrons with the "me-centered" distractions and entertainment they have come to expect.
5. EXPERIENCE SHOPPING
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience
Consumers value the purchase experience at least as much as the product.
5. EXPERIENCE SHOPPING / consumer voice
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Annethy / China
Shobz / Philippines
leon_z / China
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The Future of Shopping: 5 consumer-generated trends that are shaping tomorrow’s shopping experience