Written by Newseditor , FINCHANNEL.com
The FINANCIAL — Shoppers have never been more empowered than they are today. They're connected, aware of where the deals and best products are and they have a more complex path to purchase to navigate. As a result, retailers are challenged to stay on top of trends – and understand what they mean for their businesses, according to the Nielsen Company.
Today, there's no bigger trend for retailers than the evolving path to purchase. And with that as a backdrop, the onus is on them to know how consumers are shopping and where. If they don't, consumers may shop elsewhere, find another vendor's products more easily or decide to make a purchase because one option is easier than another.
Digital is a big factor affecting the consumer's evolving path to purchase. App usage in 2013, for example, grew 115%, and tablet usage increased 141% since 2010, both of which highlight the impact digital is having on consumer behavior. Nielsen expects online consumer product goods (CPG) sales in the U.S. next year will be 2.5 times greater than they were in 2010 ($32 billion vs. $12 billion), impressing upon retailers the growing importance of understanding the interplay between online and offline shopping trends, according to the Nielsen Company.
Touch Points are Expanding
In addition to exploring new digital avenues, consumers are broadening the number of touch points – sources they refer to before and during shopping – and most of them are digital. And this is good news because shoppers who engage with more touch points are more loyal, and retailers that embrace more touch points will command a higher share of wallet and gain higher brand equity scores.
Nielsen research recently analyzed 11 key marketing touch points…(read the complete article here)
