The illusion - Anything is accessible
“DO YOU WANT TO GO SHOPPING TODAY? – I’M ALWAYS SHOPPING!”
In an interview published on Adweek 2 days ago, the VP of Marketing at Facebook revealed a few insights on consumer behavior and new path to purchase, especially in the food industry. “At Facebook, we say that people no longer go shopping. Instead, people are always shopping. And when it comes to food and restaurant industries, people don’t just go out to eat anymore. Smartphones have made it so that people are always thinking about food”. That’s because technology has created consumers who are completely in control and crave product variety at their fingertips. If they see something that’s not relevant to their life, it’s filtered out. And if they’re “hungry” now, the smartphone makes it so they can move from awareness to purchase in an instant. This phenomenon is not happening just in the food industry but it’s happening everywhere and especially in the fashion and commodity industries.
What does it mean for us marketers?
So, how do marketers understand what’s relevant for these empowered consumers? It’s about placing more emphasis on moments beyond when a customer is “hungry” for a new product. Since consumers feel empowered, they have the illusion and the perception that anything is accessible and everything is at their fingertips, there’s very little attachment to the actual product that we are buying. The key here is to create a brand experience that eventually drives long-time value. And to drive loyalty, it’s about creating curated experiences around life’s moments. Moments that are aligned with consumers at the early consideration phase. Case in point is that: a McKinsey study found that brands in the initial consideration set were two times more likely to be purchased than brands considered later in the decision journey. Lesson learned: engage with our shoppers early in the journey and drive consideration down the path. Marketing campaigns that communicate a brand experience are important and we can also prove that they drive customer lifetime value and long-term business results.
