FROM RETAILWIRE:
A new survey by Accenture on how consumers use mobile devices to shop shows that a large majority prefer to get information they need on products and pricing from their smartphone rather than talk to a store employee. In what ways do you think smartphones will most affect how consumers shop?
MY COMMENTARY:
I join others here with the cautions about how far and how fast this Convergence of Online, Mobile and Bricks-and-mortar (COMB) will go and when, but it does seem inevitable. However, in my practice I act as if it will NEVER happen. This is because this is a $14 trillion global industry (retailing,) that is quite conservative, and we need solutions that are good for a million stores, right now.
The fact that anyone presuming to advise this industry thinks that the big role of smart phones will be to provide information to shoppers–or pay them to buy something, AKA coupon or discount–confirms the title of Neale Martin’s book: “Habit: The 95% of Behavior that MARKETERS IGNORE.”
Shopping is mostly NOT a cognitive process, but an instinctive and emotional process. If Spock is your target market, you richly deserve the mediocrity of your sales.
About the Author
Dr. Herb Sorensen - Guest Blogger for Phenomena
Dr. Herb Sorensen is global scientific director of shopper insights at TNS Sorensen.Since the late 1970s his market research has focused on shoppers at their points of purchase. TNS Sorensen, the in-store research company®, captures shopper behaviour, motivations and perceptions at the point of purchase.
Dr. Herb Sorensen,
TNS Sorensen
http://insidethemindoftheshopper.com/
herb.sorensen@tns-sorensen.com Twitter: herbsorensen
