With the cost-of-living crisis making purchases more considered, a new study by Akeneo has found that 63% of shoppers in the UK want brands and retailers to do more to improve product information to support their buying journeys.
“With shoppers becoming increasingly cautious with discretionary spend, every purchase is now a considered purchase, which means brands and retailers are having to fight harder for each and every conversion,” said James Barlow, Regional Sales Director UK&I at the product experience management (PXM) and product information management (PIM) company.
“While pricing and promotions might seem an obvious area to address, often these are blunt tools which end up in a race to the bottom. This course of action does little to build loyalty, while putting greater pressure on retailers’ margins at a time when they are facing inflationary rises across their manufacturing, supply chains and labour.
“Despite price sensitivity, consumers consideration sets still span a wider set of triggers – from product information to brand values and sustainability. This means retailers need to consider how they speak to those conversion-prompting elements both within product discovery and at the point of purchase, lest they risk lost conversions and abandoned baskets.”
A survey of over 1,800 shoppers in Akeneo’s latest 2022 B2C Survey: Product Experience Satisfaction Around the World’ Report, showed that 62% of shoppers would abandon a purchase due to poor product information about an item being available, while 66% would switch to a competitor if they deemed the product information to be poor.
Akeneo’s data also suggests this goes further than lost sales alone; 65% of shoppers would stop buying from a brand all together if product information was poor because they would lose trust with the brand, demonstrating the impact on long-term loyalty if product experiences aren’t delivered.
NAM Implications:
- Two aspects to this issue:
- A way for own-label to convince potential switchers via a like-with-like comparison.
- A way for own-label to highlight advantages vs brands that have not listed key attributes.
- Consumers are shopping around with unprecedented intensity…
- ..it therefore appears to be a no-brainer to make every little help.
- Via product information…
