5 Digital Shopper Marketing Trends Dominating 2014
Shopper marketing has seen a sea change over the past few years as the digital age put consumers in the power seat, and retailers must now work harder than ever to win them over. One thing hasn't shifted, however: the need for retailers to get shoppers into stores in order to boost sales and category leadership.
Digital tools, from e-commerce to social media to mobile, have given consumers the freedom to shop how they choose. Smart shopper marketers are also using the latest in digital options to influence shopper behavior and engage them at home, on the go and in-store.
The following are the five biggest digital shopper marketing trends that are dominating (or are on track to dominate) this year:
1. Webrooming will beat out showrooming. If the 2013 holiday season was any indication, webrooming (i.e., researching a product online before purchasing the actual item in-store) was set to see a boom in 2014 and virtually cancel out problems associated with showrooming (i.e., checking out products in-store before buying online). A December 2013 Harris Poll found that nearly half of U.S. consumers (46 percent) said they've "showroomed," but more than two-thirds (69 percent) said they've "webroomed." This trend will continue to play out this year.
2. Digital marketers are moving beyond the cookie. The cookie, that small but infamous piece of data stored in consumer web browsers that allows advertisers to track shopper behavior, may have outlived its welcome. Publishers are concerned about cookies’ impact on page load times, ad discrepancy counts and data leakage, while consumers worry about privacy issues related to cookies. In addition, the rise of smartphones and tablets has made cookies far less powerful because they can't track behavior on those devices. Instead, solutions that aren't reliant on cookies are popping up, including those that focus on leveraging Wi-Fi networks to deliver targeted ads.
3. Mobile analytics are even more essential. According to comScore, nearly half of all Americans now own a smartphone. And with most consumers using smartphones in-store, mobile has moved from an experimental shopper tool to one that's nearly status quo. In 2014, digital shopper marketers focus heavily on mobile analytics — whether within apps or on the mobile web — to increasingly identify who customers are and provide them with targeted, personalized offers that engage them, enhance loyalty programs and boost sales.
4. Retailers aim to provide seamless shopping experiences. It's a word that's been floating around for the last few years, but omnichannel is proving to be the digital shopper marketing term of 2014. More than ever, consumers demand a shopping journey that's easy and consistent no matter what channel they choose — smartphone, desktop or in-store. According to a study by Accenture, consumer expectations may still be higher than retail capabilities in this regard, but forward-thinking retailers are testing new technologies and engagement methods that may bring the shopper's wish for a truly omnichannel experience to fruition.
5. Brands will continue to invest more in digital, but insist on greater transparency. Global digital advertising is now a $117 billion industry, and with companies like Mondelez pledging to put more than 50 percent of its North American media budget into digital by 2016, it's growing faster than ever. At the same time, advertisers have a strong desire for greater transparency across media buys in order to make their investments more effective and reduce waste. That was the strong message sent at a February event held by the ISBA, the leading organization for advertisers in the United Kingdom. "There's a strong appetite from advertisers for much more information about how their money is being spent in this increasingly complicated supply chain," said Bob Wootton, ISBA's Director of Media and Advertising, in an event panel.
Digital shopper marketing has long proven that it can leverage the latest in data-driven solutions and technologies to go far beyond traditional print inserts, circulars and in-store displays to influence and drive positive shopper behavior. 2014 is turning out to be the year when digital and brick-and-mortar truly begin to merge and evolve into the omnichannel, personalized, targeted experience that consumers want and retailers and brands need to provide. However, it also continues to be the period when long-simmering digital advertising issues such as transparency and tracking privacy finally are being addressed.
Matt Knust is the director of shopper marketing for MaxPoint, a provider of hyperlocal online advertising.
- People:
- Harris
- Places:
- United Kingdom
- US