Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

The online retail ecosystem is fast evolving, and increasingly, shoppers no longer simply go to the nearest store. Rather, they grab the nearest digital device. And with the world at our fingertips, why only shop domestically? In fact, digital analytics firm eMarketer projects that online retail sales will more than double between 2015 and 2019 and account for more than 12% of global sales by 2019. Retail therapy is giving way to e-tail therapy.

To gain a better understanding of how consumers are navigating the connected commerce landscape, the Nielsen Global Connected Commerce Survey polled respondents in 26 countries. We looked at how consumers are using the Internet to make shopping decisions both in stores and online, and we examined what they’re buying, where they’re purchasing and how they’re paying for goods and services.

While connected commerce is still largely a domestic affair, with consumers primarily ordering from retailers in their own country, cross-border ecommerce is a growing phenomenon. Shoppers are increasingly looking outside their country’s borders, as more than half of online respondents in the study who made an online purchase in the past six months say they bought from an overseas retailer (57%).

Nearly three-quarters of Indian respondents* who purchased online in the past six months say they bought items from an overseas retailer (74%). But this isn’t just a developing-market trend. Roughly two-thirds of respondents in the Western European countries in the survey say they purchased from an overseas retailer, including 79% in Italy—the highest percentage in the online study—and 73% in Germany....

So why is this? Why do some societies not encourage casual smiling? I got my answer, or at least part of one, when I stumbled across a new paper by Kuba Krys, a psychologist at the Polish Academy of Sciences. In some countries, smiling might not be a sign of warmth or even respect. It’s evidence that you’re a fool—a tricky fool.

Krys focused on a cultural phenomenon called “uncertainty avoidance.” Cultures that are low on this scale tend to have social systems—courts, health-care systems, safety nets, and so forth—that are unstable. Therefore, people there view the future as unpredictable and uncontrollable.

Smiling is a sign of certainty and confidence, so when people in those countries smile, they might seem odd. Why would you smile when fate is an invisible wolf waiting to shred you? You might, in those “low-UA” countries, even be considered stupid for smiling.

Krys also hypothesized that smiling in corrupt countries would be, um, frowned upon. When everyone’s trying to pull one over on each other, you don’t know if someone’s smiling with good intentions, or because they’re trying to trick you....

If you listen to marketers and advertisers, the key to success these days is targeting. “The right ad to the right person at the right time” is the common mantra.

Nope, says a new survey from brand expert network Experticity, the 2015 Marketing Mix Survey. The key driver in making a sale is the trust possessed by a source of product information.

Conducted by ReRez Research, the survey finds that 83 percent of marketers think advertising — online, broadcast, and print — is effective in influencing buyer decisions. But less than half of consumers — 47 percent — trust or believe advertising....

A Snarketing post by Ron Shevlin

I’ve been conducting consumer research in banking for a number of years now, and while it’s certainly debatable whether I’ve learned anything or not, I would argue that I have learned one thing: There IS such a thing as a stupid question when it comes to market research. 

Especially in the field of banking.In general, stupid research questions include those that pose false dichotomies or tradeoffs–like “What’s more painful? a) Going to a bank branch, or b) Sticking needles in your eyes.”

Don’t be surprised if 72% of survey respondents choose the first option. I’d like to stick needles in those people’s eyes…just to teach them to not give stupid answers when completing a survey....

How can retailers optimize on the Consumer Confidence Index? We reveal patterns in color and pricing that change with the economic outlook.

With EDITD’s Color Analytics tools, it’s possible to view commercial activity by color. The lowest the CCI has been in the last ten months was December 2013, and the second lowest was February 2014.

Interestingly, products which sold out during those two months have something in common – there’s a huge dominance of black and grey tones. Certainly there’s some seasonality around this, but the activity in December is noteworthy – not only is this gifting and party season, but a time for sales. In February, as new season products arrive into store, it is usual to see some uplift in the palette – but with low CCI, none was evidenced....

Generation Z, America’s youngest generation (Born in 1996 or later) has never lived in a time when the barrier to real-time information and communication has been nearly nonexistent.

By 2020, Gen Z will account for 40% of all consumers, making it more important now more than ever to successfully connect with and engage this generation to create life long relationships. While many brands invest in Millennial marketing initiatives, with Gen Z, everything is going to get even crazier. This is the generation that will end the ideals of generations.

Researchers say goldfish have a larger attention span than Gen Z (6–8 seconds) and they cannot concentrate for long period of time. YES, this is technically right. But what the data won’t show you is Why. Gen Z just has a fast pace, highly selective and decisive filter that marketers have never seen or had to encounter before. However, once they find something they deem ¨worthy¨ they can become obsessively committed and engaged. This creates a unique opportunity but it also requires a new perspective and approach.

When I am asked, ¨Connor what was the ROI?,¨ the question goes in one ear and out the other. When executives use the acronym ROI, they are using the typical meaning which stands for Return On Investment. However, I think of it in terms of Return On Interaction. Putting resources towards relationships, engagement, and giving value to meaningful interaction, meaningful to them AND you, will mean way more for your brand than any form of traditional advertising, marketing or communication....

 At first glance, the weakness in luxury is puzzling because consumer confidence is high and Tiffany's customers still have discretionary income to spend.

But Yarbrough points out that people are increasingly spending on categories other than luxury retail. 

"People are still willing to spend on auto, and they're still willing to spend on their homes which are bigger-ticket items," he said.

"They're more interested in cars or homes or experiences," he said, pointing to movies and traveling as examples — not apparel.

An analysis by Jharonne Martis, director of consumer research for Thomson Reuters, confirmed that people were spending their money on hotels and casinos, too, Business Insider's Hayley Peterson reported earlier this month....

Some 58% of consumers in the United States say they have shopped online while watching TV, according to a recent report from Blackhawk Engagement Solutions.

The report was based on data from an April 2015 survey of a nationally representative sample of 2,608 adults in the United States.

The most popular time for online shopping is between 4 PM and 9 PM, local time, with 48% of respondents saying that's when they do so.

Some 37% of consumers admit to shopping online while at work; 18% say they do so often, and 19% say they do so sometimes.

In-Store Behavior

-  40% of respondents say they use their smartphone camera to demo, share, and compare products they find in-store.

-  19% have purchased a product from a competitor on their smartphone while being in-store.

-  38% say Amazon.com is their first choice for comparing prices on their smartphone....