Here at ST8 it is not only our responsibility to understand your brand, but also to recognize the needs, desires and habits of your brand’s target market. This requires a vast amount of research into the target mindset and most importantly what influences their purchase decision. Recently, there has been a vast amount of research conducted on the consumer once they have entered purchase mode and some interesting patterns have begun to arise.
In this digital age, the pursuit of a product or service has changed drastically. No longer are retailers strictly relying on storefront displays and striking print ads to garner a customer’s attention. With the access of technology at their fingertips, consumers are relying on their own insights, as well as the insights of other consumers, to reach a purchase decision. Online resources provide a consumer with detailed imagery and product description, user reviews, and often even videos. These features are all designed to lead the consumer towards a more educated purchase decision. By creating this relationship with the buyer, they are more likely to feel confident with their purchase and less likely to experience post-purchase buyers remorse. Because of this, the need for in-store-handling of a product is no longer the most important part of the shopping experience. The fear of online shopping is dissipating and consumers are now relying heavily on search engine “point-and-click” ease of access more than any other resource when making a purchase.
Successful businesses and retailers are catching on to this trend and faceting it to achieve sales and success. By incorporating an Omni-channel approach to retailing, businesses are ensuring that the knowledge their consumer craves prior to making a purchase decision is easily accessible and seamlessly consistent. They are replacing the experience of stepping into a store by providing their consumer with information and an online experience that can mimic, and even exceed, the former.
This article by Nathan Saffran delves further into the insights of consumer purchase decision-making.