Cisco Retail Survey Underlines Increasing Role of Interactive Digitalized Content in Buying Decisions

NRF 2012 (National Retail Federation) is expected to engage participation from the biggest of global brands, including leading retail technology solution-providers like Cisco. Cisco executives are expected to participate enthusiastically at NRF’s Big Idea presentation and unleash their range of retail solutions that are being awaited eagerly. A survey was recently conducted by Cisco’s IBSG (Internet Business Solutions Group) that spanned across a thousand shoppers each from the US and UK. This retail-themed research underlined the need for retailers to equip themselves with more digitally-progressive and easy-to-handle shopping solutions to convert tech-savvy shoppers into potential customers. Shopping preferences derived from this research are expected to influence demonstrations to be showcased by Cisco at NRF.

Decoding Results Derived from Cisco’s Latest Retail Study

Blend of Offline Shopping with Online Consumer Activities—shopping is increasingly becoming a blended experience where people use online content to search for the best deals or product reviews before indulging in actual, physical purchases. This suggests an intermingling of conventional retail format with online content. Thus, digital content has surfaced as a powerful tool that influences shopping tendencies.

Cross Channel Shopping is Undeniable—the survey emphasized a growing trend of cross-channel shopping. This suggests an increasing tendency of shoppers to continuously hop between different brands, always searching for the best deal. This suggests that brand or store loyalty has taken a beating and retailers depending upon brand promotion only need to neutralize cross-channel shopping’s effect on their sales with newer, more attractive tools for capturing a customer’s attention.

Need for More Consumer-themed Technological Solutions—Cisco’s survey further explored the kind of technical solutions retailers could adopt to boost consumer step-ins. For this, shoppers were questioned about the kind of technological solutions that would make shopping a more pleasing experience for them. The answers indicated an overwhelming preference among shoppers to make quicker buying decisions and need of progressive retail tech that could provide solutions like:

1. Using Engrossing Shopping Aids

The respondents wanted a shopping experience that was more hands-on and provided a more realistic idea about their buying decisions. For instance, trying clothes in a digital way where an individual merely needs to stand in front of a screen and can choose & combine various clothing items virtually. This is expected to be utilized in the Cisco StyleMe retail solution at NRF that will allow shoppers to create a virtual mirror image of themselves when trying different apparels.

2. Using Customer-Engaging Solutions within Stores

Customers entering a store could be pleasantly surprised with a personal greeting from the retailer, communicated to the shopper’s mobile device along with a summary of special schemes, discounts and offers chosen according to a customer’s past purchases.

3. Using Digitalized Displays

Most surveyed shoppers had a preference for digital display to be exhibited along the shelves or communicated via tablets held by store employees or communicated to shoppers via Smartphone. Such digitalized displays when combined with video chats with an expert can make shopping more accurate and interactive. This survey finding is expected to be reflected in Cisco’s Interactive Services for Retail service where a store’s crew can increase their interaction with customers within the store to restrict channel-hopping.

Source:  MarketWatch