Top 5 Consumer Behavior Trends and The Way it Changes Shopping Experience

All of the events this year have fundamentally transformed the shopping experience. Businesses across industries have been forced to keep up with all of the changing trends and new consumer demands to stay competitive in their respective market. Since there are so many new changes, you need to know the latest retail consumer trends to bring in more customers. Remember, if you show each shopper that you know and care about their needs, you are almost guaranteed to win their business. With all of this in mind, let’s get to some of the consumer retail trends you need to know about. 

1. Online Shopping Has Become the New Normal 

During the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 virus, brick and mortar stores have been forced to shut down and transfer their activities online. Unfortunately, not every business had a platform that could handle the vast amounts of traffic coming into their site. Some did not even have an e-commerce platform altogether. The new trend that we are seeing is that customers now prefer to shop online. In the US alone, there will be 300 million online shoppers by 2023. If you would like to get a sizable portion of this online revenue, you will need to have a professionally created e-commerce platform that is easy to use, scalable, and offers a lot of insights about your shoppers. 

2. Online Shoppers Are Now Segmented Into 4 Categories 

What we see nowadays is that the people shopping online now fall into four main categories: 

• Retirees whose lives were impacted by fewer social contact, but otherwise remained unphased by all of the changes;
• People who are now working from home;
• People who have, unfortunately, been left without a job;
• Those who try to maintain their normal activities as they did before the virus hit.

One of the exciting consumer buying trends we are seeing is that it is the second group on this list, the people working from home, who are now flocking to e-commerce. When we analyze to see why this may be the case, it is pretty easy to see why. They have income, and they try to get as much done as possible while maintaining their social and professional lives. This is why they prefer the convenience of online shopping since it is a lot faster than making the trip to a brick and mortar store. 

3. Customers are More Willing to be Researched and Marketed to

Marketers are always worried about users ignoring their emails and other messages designed to get people to visit their store or website. However, the latest consumer shopping trends show that people are now a lot more open-minded about companies tracking their behavior online and being marketed to in general. This means that you will need to have an innovative eCommerce solution, such as the one offered by Magento and other platforms that allow you to track users and offer them more relevant products. 

4. Customers are Demanding a Higher Level of Customization 

Customers are expecting businesses to provide them with customized experiences since this makes them feel appreciated, and it shows that a particular store truly gets their needs. This is especially true for highly personalized items like makeup. We are already seeing brands like Cosmia starting to offer AR solutions that allow customers to try on makeup online while shopping. Their app uses the shoppers’ front-facing camera to virtually apply individual products or ready-made looks so the person can see how the makeup will look on them. This not only provides a high level of convenience and service but also helps the buyer overcome the fear of buying such products without physically holding them in their hands. 

Such AR/VR technology has also changed consumer behavior in the fashion and beauty industry since people can now virtually try on clothes or cosmetics without making a trip to the fitting room. Companies that utilize such technologies are more likely to increase conversion rates and achieve repeat business as well. 

5. Greater Automation 

As far as brick and mortar stores are concerned, the trends in consumer behavior that we are noticing is a greater level of automation. People no longer want to deal with human employees and would prefer to do everything quickly with the help of machines. This is especially true with things like self-checkouts, which offer fewer lines, and you can pay for your items a lot quicker. They are also beneficial for the stores as well since they can work pretty much any amount of hours and never need an off day. As time goes on, you can expect more stores like Amazon Go, which takes automation to an extreme level since there are no human employees working there whatsoever. 

Keep Up With the Latest Consumer Behavior Trends

We looked at some of the ways of how has consumer behavior changed, and businesses need to keep up to stay ahead of the competition. By taking advantage of the latest technology offered by AR/VR, Magento ecommerce platform, and the newest custom software development, you can take advantage of all the changing trends in consumer behavior and take your business to new heights. Since it requires some time to create a solution that will fit your exact needs, it is a good idea to start now so that you can reap all of the benefits and be better prepared for new trends that still lay ahead.