Akeneo’s Consumer Research Reveals Changing Shopping Habits of Price-Conscious Consumers

The findings reveal that consumers expect reliable, rich, consistent and informative product experiences across all channels where they interact. Consumers are also making purchases and seeking information about potential purchases from brick-and-mortar stores, not just exclusively online. Additionally, the results show that consumers around the world continue to prioritize purchasing from brands that have similar values to their own, expect easy returns and are open to utilizing emerging retail technologies. On top of this, consumers are now more price-conscious due to the cost-of-living crisis and are more selective with their purchases, often staying loyal to a brand that they trust. All of this indicates to merchants the need to prioritize aspects within their control during today’s economic climate, like product experiences, in order to tell strong product stories, drive brand loyalty and compel price-conscious buyers to choose their brand.

Top insight from Akeneo’s third annual B2C survey include:

● Bad Product Information Kills Sales: 60% of consumers will abandon their purchase if they obtain bad product information from any source.
● Consumers Demand More Information Prior to Purchase: 66% of consumers now spend more time validating purchases and need more product information to be made available.
● It’s Still an Omnichannel World, Not an All-Digital One: 84% of consumers have researched products online before buying offline (in a store), and 77% have browsed products in-store but purchased online.
● Product Information Directly Impacts Return Rates: 54% of consumers have returned a product due to incorrect pre-purchase product information.
○ 40% of consumers rank an easy return process as one of the top two services a retailer should offer.
● Consumers are Open to New Retail Technologies: Nearly 66% of consumers are interested in utilizing one or more innovative technologies when shopping, including chatbots, voice assistants and VR tools.
● Compelling Shopping Experiences Creates Loyal Customers: Nearly 66% of consumers say they would become a loyal customer if a brand/retailer offered a more compelling shopping experience.
● Transparency on Values Pays Off: 40% of consumers are willing to pay more for brands whose values align with their own.
● Influencers are Persuading Purchases: 58% of consumers have made a purchase based on an online influencer’s advice in the past year.

“There is a lot of talk about “digital shelves” which of course are important to shoppers. However, year after year our surveys confirm that consumers are interacting with brands across online channels as well as in-person, highlighting the importance of an omnichannel product experience strategy, not just a digital one,” said Kristin Naragon, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Akeneo. “If your products’ stories are not showcased everywhere your shoppers are, you are not delivering on the customer experience (CX) promise that you committed to the board and to your customers. This means that your CX strategy cannot exist without a product experience (PX) strategy. This report acts as a tool for retailers to understand consumer behavior, build great product experiences and apply that experience to every shopping and post-sale channel.”

For this year’s study, Akeneo’s goal was to discover insight into business-to-consumer (B2C) product experiences, omnichannel shopping trends and enhanced shopping experiences. To do this, Akeneo conducted surveys from February 22 to March 8, which were completed by 1,800 consumers aged 18 and older from France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia and China. Two key additions to this year’s survey asked about the importance of availability as a type of product information and sought to better understand the role influencers play in purchase decisions. The report is referenced by retailers in order to offer better quality product information and enhanced product experiences.

The 2023 Global B2C Survey Report is accessible here: https://www.akeneo.com/white-paper/2023-b2c-survey-results-report/