• Marketing Land
  • Sections
    • CMO
    • Social
    • SEM
    • SEO
    • Analytics
    • Display
    • Retail
    • MarTech
    • Resources
    • More
    • Home
  • Follow Us
    • Follow
  • Marketing Land
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Analytics
  • Display
  • Retail
  • MarTech
  • Resources
  • More
    • Follow
  • SUBSCRIBE

Marketing Land

Marketing Land
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Analytics
  • Display
  • Retail
  • MarTech
  • Resources
  • More
  • Home
  • Newsletters
  • Home
Retail

Survey: More consumers seeking to buy directly from brands vs. retailers

Survey of 1,000 US adults contains lots of findings and implied recommendations for both brands and traditional retailers.

Greg Sterling on August 30, 2017 at 4:14 pm
  • More

One of today’s marketing mantras is “brand loyalty is dead.” As always, the truth is more complicated than a slogan.

While millennials and Generation Z are less likely to be loyal than previous generations — chiefly because there’s more transparency and information available to them — there’s a strong argument to be made that brands and retailers that get the customer experience right will see greater loyalty. Amazon is example number one of customer loyalty in a digital age.

An extensive new report from Astound Commerce, based on a consumer survey of 1,000 US adults, takes a look at shopping patterns and explores the relationship of brands and retailers and how different channels impact purchase behavior, including physical stores. In many cases, these brands (apparel, appliances, electronics, sporting goods and others) have their own stores; in some cases they do not.

I spoke to Lauren Freedman, SVP of digital strategy for Astound Commerce and the author of the report. Among the many findings, I asked her what stood out or what surprised her. (In this post, I discuss only a few of the findings in the 50-page report.)

She said the fact that 59 percent of respondents preferred to do research directly on brand sites and 55 percent want to buy from brands directly (vs. multi-brand retailers) was a bit surprising to her. She also pointed to generally positive sentiment surrounding purchase and service experiences with brands.

“These people have mostly favorable views of brand experiences; they’re meeting or exceeding shopper expectations,” Freedman said.

While the survey responses vary by gender and age group, the majority of respondents expressed the general notion that brand/manufacturer websites offered better and more complete product information — and better prices. Whether or not that is actually true, it was the perception.

Beyond positive brand purchase experiences, whether online or in stores, respondents gave them high marks for “engagement,” which includes pre- and post-sale contacts. Another thing Freedman pointed to as something of a surprise was the role of social media as a discovery tool and in driving traffic to brand websites. It was the top source, above search and word of mouth.

In some cases, this is probably social media communications to followers. But more broadly, it speaks to the role that social media now play in shopping and product discovery in general.

Driving site traffic is not the same as driving conversions, however. And the study makes it abundantly clear that there are many channels and touch points involved in consumer purchase decision-making, including physical stores.

Nearly 80 percent of these consumers visited a store as part of their shopping journey, though they also purchased a great deal online. Though it’s not reflected in the chart below, search is also a key channel in the purchase process.

The main reason for visiting a physical store, as you might imagine, is to see the product in person. Interestingly, a smaller majority said that they couldn’t get a “full sense of the brand experience” outside of a store.

The report contains a lot of implied recommendations about functionality on brand websites. It identified hierarchy of tools and capabilities that consumers wanted from brands and manufacturer sites.

There’s a corresponding discussion of what consumers want from in-store experiences. Immediate access to product inventory was the top desire; they also wanted same-day delivery.

Historically, one of the major reasons people go to physical stores is to buy and take something home the same day.

As I indicated, there are many more findings in the report that are worth reviewing if you’re a retailer or product maker or an agency that works with either.

My inference from all the data in the report is that loyalty isn’t dead. Consumers are just much more impatient and demanding now. The bar being set for loyalty is much higher and harder to get over. And the study argues that brands are doing a better job than multi-brand retailers at meeting rising consumer expectations.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.



About The Author

Greg Sterling
Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land, a member of the programming team for SMX events and the VP, Market Insights at Uberall.

Related Topics

Channel: RetailSocial Media MarketingStatisticsStatistics: Online BehaviorStatistics: Online ShoppingStatistics: Popularity & Usage

We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn Group.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

MarTech 2021: March 16-17

MarTech 2021: Sept. 14-15

MarTech 2020: Watch On-Demand

×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

February 23, 2021: SMX Report

April 13, 2021: SMX Create

May 18-19, 2021: SMX London

June 8-9, 2021: SMX Paris

June 15-16, 2021: SMX Advanced

August 17, 2021: SMX Convert

November 9-10, 2021: SMX Next

October 2021: SMX Advanced Europe

December17, 2021: SMX Code

Available On-Demand: SMX

×


Learn More About Our SMX Events

White Papers

  • A Beginner’s Guide to Omnichannel Marketing using Marketing Automation
  • The Top Five Objections That Hold Companies Back From Doing SEO
  • How To Optimize SEO With UGC
  • Email Tune-Up: A 5-Point Inspection to Get Your Program in Gear
  • Digital Marketing Report Q4 2020: Benchmarks and Insights for 2021
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • The Secret Behind SEO Success: Predict Rank with the Power of Data Science
  • How to Avoid the Digital Transformation Trap
  • How to Build a Marketing System of Record
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • Local Marketing Solutions for Multi-Location Businesses
  • Enterprise Digital Asset Management Platforms
  • Identity Resolution Platforms
  • Customer Data Platforms
  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
See More Research
Receive daily marketing news & analysis.
Marketing Land
Download the Marketing Land app on iTunes Download the Marketing Land App on Google Play

Channels

  • MarTech
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Mobile
  • Analytics
  • Retail
  • Display

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • SMX

Resources

  • White Papers
  • Research
  • Webinars
  • MarTech Conference
  • Search Marketing Expo

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff
  • Connect With Us

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Youtube
  • iOS App
  • Google Play

© 2021 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok