Conversion, Creation & Collaboration = The Three C’s Of Retail
The Future Lab’s “Futures Retail Report 2010” details the ways in which consumers are now more active when it comes to brand engagement. New emerging trends through eCommerce, Social Media and Smart Phone applications are seeing consumers flocking to take part in digital conversion.
Talking and listening to consumers is a key point of discussion in this report; doing this makes the consumer feel valued and will increase their confidence in purchasing goods from the brand. The aim is to get them involved, whether it be asking them to upload photos to the brand’s Facebook page and share favourite items with friends, letting customers design and customise their own products, or ask them what they think about their experience on the brands e-Shop.
Consumers are constantly re-defining their priorities when it comes to purchasing goods, and encouraging them to interact and share with a brand will ensure they get the best experience possible, and see profits increase.
http://www.thefuturelaboratory.com/
Online Status Symbols For 2011?
Trend Watching produced a consumer report for 2011 stating that one crucial trend that will be up and coming is online status symbols. Just like a brand logo on a piece of clothing, consumers will start to want to display their love for brands online with virtual symbols which will show off their ‘online contributions, interestingness, creations and popularity’. Status and image tagging as well as geo-location badges are already signs of this happening.
http://www.trendwatching.com/trends/pdf/trendwatching%202010-12%2011%20TRENDS%202011.pdf
The Rise Of video In eCommerce: The virtual Shop Window
The up and coming year will show that video will be part of the growth of eCommerce. Robert Tarrant predicts that the use of video in eCommerce will grown in 2011, enhancing excitement around brands and will lead to increase in profits.
Currently fashion eStores can use video to exhibit their products using catwalk shows and moving stills that give the consumers a better idea of the fit, shape, design and texture of the product when on the body. This gives more information to the customer, in turn increasing the confidence for purchasing, and decreasing the return rate.
Retailers will however, be doing more than just showcasing their products with video this year; video will also be used to create tutorials and demonstrations (personifying the brand), to advertise the brand to new audiences, and to encourage UGC from their consumers, which can be used to share personal experiences with the brand and products to their fellow consumers.
Tarrant states that if retailers change their way of thinking, and start to “adopt and understand” video, then the industry will “really will begin to start seeing the 140% uplifts” Adobe have recently claimed that video can have on conversion rates.
http://www.digitalstrategyconsulting.com/netimperative/news/2011/01/top_tips_the_rise_and_rise_of.php
