The holiday season is approaching and consumers are going to start their purchases. Usually, preparations begin with the Black Friday promotions and continue during the month of December. However, the lockdown is disrupting the end of year sales and generating a lot of doubts. This time of year is no less important for everyone: consumers want to buy their gifts and both brands and retailers have to generate sales. At Click2Buy we are convinced that the success of your commercial actions depends on taking consumers’ expectations into consideration. Which have extremely changed this year, that’s why we analysed them for you through our consumption trends study. Keep reading to discover the essential points!
Digital : the center of the 2020 strategies
E-commerce is the ideal distribution channel to enable retailers to limit the impact of the sanitary crisis on holiday sales. As physical shops are subject to government decisions to deal with Covid, we advise you to develop your online presence for the retailers who can. Even if, overall, physical shops remain the favorite distribution channel for the French population. Indeed, even 80% of the under 25-year-olds, a generation used to e-commerce, expressed the need to go physically to the shop to see the product and ensure its availability.
However, we must consider the risk that the sanitary situation represents on shop openings and consumers might be afraid to go there. Therefore, we believe that your online presence can only benefit your business.
All the more so as digital is a real asset to address the right consumer at the right time and with the right information.
Take the example of Lush that has made a post in which they ask their community to share their bath art. They had to share photos of their creation of bath art with bath bombs from Lush, and their Holiday wishes. The brand plays on the emotional aspect and induces interactions! The perfect communication to find out more about their community and to carry on with a personalised campaign:
©Lush
In addition, this type of communication is very much appreciated by users: a fun moment that brings the community together and encourages social interactions. Which is even more important in these times!
Therefore we suggest you to complete your commercial strategy in physical stores with a digital strategy based on your customers needs. And above all not to underestimate the potential of individualised relations, even digital ones!
Support and customer relations
Some customers can see some obstacles through e-commerce: they can’t see or try the product, nor exchange directly with an adviser. Therefore consumers have an even greater need for support and be reassured when making an online purchase!
To support
This need for support was expressed by the French people interviewed in our study. In fact, 70% of them affirmed that they would buy a product more quickly if the retailer highlighted his support method to maintain the product and optimise its lifespan. And even 82% of them considered that the favourable conditions of after-sales services would accelerate their purchase.
Although nothing can replace an exchange with a real person, solutions or services can be offered to help and support the consumer from home!
For example, by allowing them to be redirected in one click to an e-retailer who sells your product directly from your holiday communication campaigns. In this way, you will be helping consumers by simplifying their purchasing process.
And to boost the conversion, bring the useful information your consumers need to make decisions directly on the product page! Here we are talking about all the product features, but also opinions, information on after-sales services, support services and even the availability of spare parts.
And to make sure you answer all the questions your customers have, some even go further, offering their support by allowing telephone orders. This is the service that Leroy Merlin has chosen to propose directly on its website:
©Leroy Merlin
To reassure
To meet consumers’ need to be reassured about their future purchases, we advise you to put forward the opinions of your customers.
Initially, you can highlight the reviews of other consumers on your communication campaigns or directly on the pages of your products.
Then, you can integrate influencers’ videos who present the use of the product and give their opinion. According to our study, 43% of the French 18-24 year-olds interviewed say they are interested in this kind of content!
You can also mix the videos of consumer reviews with those of influencers in a specific section of your website. This is what Joovence, a Parisian start-up specialising in orthodontics, has done.
Notice that these reviews are all the more important during the Holidays, since during this time of sharing, we mostly buy to offer. The challenge is to be convinced that this gift will please!
As you can see, everything you do to help your prospects make a decision from home will make the buying process easier and faster. Now it’s up to you to retain them!
Environmental concerns to respect
For several years now, consumers’ environmental concerns have also been expressed during the Holiday season, for example with reusable fabric gift wrapping. According to the study we made, the desire to consume more responsibly seems to have increased this year.
86% of the French people interviewed said that they give particular attention to the energy consumption of products before buying them. Information of this type should therefore be highlighted on the pages of your products. Such as the place of production, its environmental impact, whether it is recyclable and/or whether the material of the packaging is recyclable, etc. In the same way, specifically for health/wellness products, you can communicate on this information but also on your labels if you have any.
For other sectors, you can also focus on second-hand products, if your products allow it! It’s a big consumption trend: it is the perfect way to combine budget, environmental awareness and pleasure. This is why 57% of French consumers say they would buy faster if the brand offered them the same reconditioned product with a warranty. The bonus? You’re taking one more step for our planet! Then take the example of Ikea, which recovers used furniture in exchange for a gift card to offer them on the second-hand market!
©Ikea
As you will have understood, the evolution of French people’s expectations also translates into a need to go back to basics and the desire to consume more responsibly. So highlight your efforts towards the environment and continue to do always more!
If you want to discuss this study further, feel free to contact us ↓
Sources :
Shortstack
Leroy Merlin ES
Joovence
Ikea
Noël vecteur créé par freepik – fr.freepik.com
