With high street giants, Next, John Lewis, Aldi and the Co-op having all reporting solid online Christmas sales helping offset challenges on the high street such as declining footfall, the need for an omnichannel approach, where online sales complement offline and vice-versa, is more tangible than ever.
You can find the full report here and infographic here
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Interestingly, an increasing number of consumers are reading online reviews to qualify their buying decisions prior to making an in-store purchase. This ‘research online, buy offline’ (ROBO) trend highlights a paradigm shift in the way consumers shop in-store and online, presenting an opportunity for marketers to engage with and influence shoppers in different ways.
To dive into this further, Bazaarvoice just released its second ROBO research report, showcasing how consumer-generated content, like online reviews, impacts offline purchases.
To compile the report, Bazaarvoice researched consumer behaviour from more than 30 of the world’s leading retailers across hundreds of brands and categories.
Key takeaways include:
- 45% of brick-and-mortar buyers read online reviews before purchasing products, marking a 15% YoY increase
- 50% of all e-commerce traffic now runs on mobile – omnichannel is the only channel when it comes to marketing in today’s environment
- Online research doesn’t stop when shoppers are in the aisle; 82% of smartphone users consult their phones on purchases they’re about to make in a store
- From 2015 to 2017, searches for what have traditionally been considered low consideration products (e.g., “best umbrellas”) have grown faster than those for high-consideration products, such as “best mortgages”
- Data revealed a 20% year-over-year increase in mobile page views across more than 5,000 Bazaarvoice brand and retailer client websites.
- The biggest product categories being researched online before being bought offline are appliances (59%), health, beauty and fitness (58%), and toys and games (53%). These were followed closely by electronics (41%) and baby merchandise (36%)
- ROBO multiplier:
- Art – for every dollar of online revenue that is influenced by review content, reviews influence another $6.07 of in-store revenue
- Video Games – for every dollar of online revenue that is influenced by review content, reviews influence another $5.19 of in-store revenue
- TV & Home Theater – for every dollar of online revenue that is influenced by review content, reviews influence another $4.83 of in-store revenue
You can find the full report here and infographic here
