In the wake of the pandemic, counterfeit purchases and payment patterns are fast becoming the “next normal” we anticipate starting in 2020. As the dust settles, we are seeing more clearly how digital investments and consumer preference are profoundly changing commerce around the world. ,
In the 2022 Global Shopping Index, a PYMNTS and Cybersource collaboration, we surveyed more than 13,000 consumers and 3,100 merchants in Australia, Brazil, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States, analyzing breakout trends and customer satisfaction. assessed. An index that measures the characteristics of the consumers they find most valuable in comparison to the features provided by the traders.
Discussing how the findings can help merchants around the world to more closely match their tech investments to consumer demand, Carly Jacques, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Acceptance Solutions at Visa, and PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster said that this apparent purchase is now a continuum that can start and end either way — and consumers love it.
Noting that traders invested heavily in technology in 2020 and 2021, he said these strategies are bearing fruit after the pandemic as consumers enjoy their newfound shopping freedom.
In 2020, the average index score was 101.8, Webster said. In 2021, this increased to 103. At face value, this may not sound like a significant increase, but it shows a greater commitment from merchants to provide a robust digital customer experience, regardless of channel.
“Digital and in-person are no longer separate channels,” Webster said.
Jacques agreed, saying, “When I think of the mobile native as the person starting their shopping journey in mobile and ending in mobile, it’s already a high base of 2020. But it jumped 26 points in 2021. That’s an amazing number. The satisfaction of people who are using digital to complement their physical experience was quite astonishing. That kind of digital assisted It was about 50% more satisfaction in the experience.”
Such is the effect of people using their mobile phones as a shopping remote control, a trend that is growing inside physical stores and further erasing the line with eCommerce.
“34% of brick-and-mortar shoppers now use their mobile devices in stores to replicate their experience when shopping online,” Webster said, from reading product reviews to accessing offers and promotions.
These forces are also having the effect of doubling up standalone physical stores as eCommerce fulfillment centers as more and more shopping on mobile begins. According to the index, about 20% of eCommerce shoppers are shopping online, then opting for curbside or in-store pickup.
“In that case,” Jacques said, “the store has really become the fulfillment choice” rather than a shopping destination in a pre-pandemic sense.
Get Study: 2022 Global Digital Shopping Index
Finding Choice Balance
How merchants put into practice the findings of a large-scale study, fine-tuning aspects of the shopping journey, is at the core of the 2022 Global Digital Shopping Index utility.
“There’s a real difference in how consumers are setting a preference with merchants who make digital part of that physical experience, and certainly what they choose to spend their money with,” Webster said.
It discussed the payment option – a line of demarcation in the pandemic-era economy – with Jacques noting that it is most valued by consumers and shapes their behaviour.
“The fact that nearly half of customers said that if their preferred payment wasn’t accepted, they were less likely to make a purchase with that merchant in the future — that’s a really powerful statement,” she said.
Solving a conundrum in which three-quarters of consumers reported shopping with merchants that offer a payment option, while only 45% of merchants said they offered such an option, Webster said, Turns out that consumers are 63% more likely to shop with merchants that accept their preferred payment methods. It’s not just what consumers say they will do; that’s exactly what consumers are doing today “
It’s much the same with app features, as the study found “too much” versus “just right.”
“In the UAE, merchants don’t provide consumers with many features, but what they do offer are features that drive satisfaction,” Webster said. “In contrast, in Mexico, consumers are offered a lot of features, but the friction associated with taking advantage of those features is such that the index satisfaction scores are very low in Mexico with merchants.”
play for differences
Expanding payment options and merging all channels into “buying only” is part of the migration we’ve entered into the “new normal” phase, where the stakes will get higher. This means that traders will need to be more strategic in adding (or not adding) new features.
Using voice-enabled commerce as an example, Jacques pointed out that “merchants have moved slightly into voice-enabled shopping, with 65% of merchants offering the capability, but only 39% of shoppers actually using it.” are doing.”
Stating that with some technical investments only time will tell, Webster said, “This is one area that I was also surprised by. maybe it hurts a little [whether] Consumers have really zeroed in on the use case for Voice now that adds value to their shopping experience. ,
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is also facing problems with its growing popularity. Jacques said that “buy now pay later options have really popped up” during the pandemic, which is undeniable.
However, usage patterns are not uniform from market to market.
“It’s one of these interesting findings in markets where many consumers in our study have tried to pay later, not 50%, but pretty but close. This is one of the areas where consumers are using it.” And the merchants are offering it, [but] There is a slight disconnect,” Webster said, offering higher usage in Brazil and lower usage in the US as a comparison.
Simultaneously, Jacques said, “When you offer a payment option … you have to make sure you are honoring a good transaction. This has the power to attract the consumer, but also leads to false degradation.” Is [ability] To tarnish your relationship with that consumer. Making sure you’re providing the full experience is incredibly important from a merchant convenience point of view.”
Get Study: 2022 Global Digital Shopping Index
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