Retail & Ecommerce
Consumers like to use different channels when speaking to customer service. According to February 2016 research, many users in the US, as well as Germany, prefer to send a text rather than phoning because it’s less-time consuming and more convenient.
Consumers are steadily downloading more retail apps to their device compared to a year prior, research found. Indeed, nearly a quarter of respondents said they have between six and 10 retail apps on their smartphone as of April 2016, up 3 percentage points from October 2015.
The majority of ecommerce sites in Brazil use social media for marketing purposes, and Facebook is the top choice. But not much referral traffic comes from social.
More than one-third of US internet users said they first find out about small businesses when researching online, according to a survey. Walking into a local store, however, was the least likely path to discovery.
Ecommerce represents a growing opportunity for businesses in Vietnam, although government data suggests many companies are still early in the process of implementation. Consumer suspicion about the quality of products and services purchased online is also hindering adoption.
Smartphones are a key part of the dining experience for many internet users, even before they head to a restaurant. According to April 2016 research, about half of diners use their device to find a restaurant location or browse a menu.
Nearly half of executives worldwide anticipate that data analytics will result in a significant, across-the-board shift in their ability to deliver a superior customer experience within the next two years, February 2016 research found. More than a quarter said it has already done so.
Most people in the US are not using gift cards or mobile wallets to pay for goods, according to August 2016 research. Other payment methods like Bitcoin are used even less.
Marketers are continually looking to meet, and exceed, customer expectations. And in the end, improving the overall experience can be beneficial for marketers. In fact, more than eight in 10 business executives find that improving customer experiences is fundamental to future success, as well as improved brand reputation, according to January 2016 research.
While 40% of digital buyers in North America do their back-to-school shopping over the month of August, 52% begin before then—including around one in four who are already shopping by the end of June.
One-third of affluent internet users in China believe that loyalty programs have increased in value over the past year. And almost all of them say loyalty programs encourage them to spend more money.
The on-demand economy is growing, and companies like Amazon are thriving on two-day shipping, but some consumers are willing to wait days for their order. In fact, nearly a quarter of internet users in North America say that three days is an acceptable timeframe for ecommerce order shipping, according to research.
The shift to cloud-based solutions is a large part of the digital transformation for businesses across industries, but going digital doesn’t always mean moving all solutions into the cloud. Ahmed Elemam, senior digital marketing and analytics strategist at WestJet, spoke with eMarketer about why the airline is keeping some technology on premise.
Walgreens customers use their mobile devices to research products, but they don’t convert until they get to the store, according to Kartik Subramanian, Walgreens’ director of product management and mobile commerce. Subramanian spoke with eMarketer and explains that the pharmacy chain is now exploring ways to effectively engage with smartphone users while they’re in store and measure the impact of mobile on in-store purchases.
The sharing economy is continuing to expand and many US internet users agree that it’s not only good for them, but for businesses and the economy as a whole. However, there are also those that remain neutral about the sharing economy in general.
Traffic to retail sites in Brazil comes primarily from desktop PCs as opposed to mobile devices. Another traditional source of traffic to digital merchants in the country is search, which accounts for more than half of visits.
Being able to see product pictures via a smartphone or tablet device is one of the most important mcommerce-related capabilities retailers can offer, according to US mobile shoppers. For the most part, tablet- and smartphone-based shoppers want similar things from digital merchants.
Nearly a quarter of internet users in France are willing to receive targeted ads based on their search history—if they get something good in return, like a deal or special offer. But six in 10 said they would not take any personal-data-related actions no matter what.
Millennial men tend to be far removed from the traditional gender roles that males in previous generations took on. eMarketer spoke with Romy Nehme, vice president of insights and strategy at VaynerMedia, about what makes this generation of men unique, how they use digital and how brands can effectively engage with them.
Customers are basing their expectations today on their interactions with firms like Airbnb, Amazon and Uber. In response, brands are focusing now more than ever on creating and delivering the same type of seamless customer experiences. Topics in this webinar include: Understanding the evolving nature of today’s always-on, need-it-now customers; Key functions being carved out at brands to help achieve customer experience goals; The role client-side marketers are taking to define and deliver on their customer experience strategy; Approaches to measure and analyze customer experience improvements.