It's beginning to sound a lot like the holidays.
This year's forecasts and predictions are zeoring into the proverbial market trifecta -- more focused spending, business moves from digital-native commercial powerhouses like Amazon, eBay, and Google to deliver products faster, and consumer rising expectations are converging to create a very interesting pre-holiday season.
Brian Kilcourse at RSR Research says expect a wild cyber weeked, not just Monday. RSR eCommerce Benchmarks# on digital channels influence over spending:
- 40% of retailers believe that between 5-25% of their total sales are influenced
- 16% think that 25-50% of their sales are impacted, and
- 11% say that between 50-75% of their sales are affected
Closing the gap between ordering and delivering by the digital giants will tempt many consumers who have no interest in using their precious time to fight crowds and/or no time to go in store.
Plus, as digital experiences improve, store environments -- from half-stocked shelves to fewer product selections to bland check out -- make waiting a few days for free or low cost shipping very desirable in exchange for the ability to find the perfect item.
Looking for inspiration? You can browse stories on Wanelo#. Seeking a unique item for a gift? Better yet with a touch of French style? Garance Dore' has you covered at her site#, and on Pinterest# if you prefer going for the ensemble.
My own pet peeve with Pinterest is that like an overzealous lover, the site is all to eager to get you to log in quickly. In the physical world I walk out of stores with that kind of pressure; online it creates friction for me, which means I browse the Dore' outfits just on her site. Jumpsuits# are in, it looks like.
This is personalization -- in the absence of convenience, we look for delight and there are plenty of online resources we can rely on, many are very engaged with their communities or are communities to begin with, earning preference that way.
How many products are on Wanelo? A self-reported 20 million and 350,000 stores. 90 percent of users are female between 18-24 in age, and 90 percent use the mobile app. Stores with the top followers are Forever21, Urban Outfitters, and Nordstrom.
Indeed when it comes to digital/in store, the consumer does not care who gets the credit for the sale. On the other end of the spectrum, curation like Dore's and community building through sharing style tips are back into fashion.
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Valeria is an experienced listener. She designs service and product experiences to help businesses rediscover the value of promises and its effect on relationships and culture. She is also frequent speaker at conferences and companies on a variety of topics. Book her to speak here.