Emotions in the multichannel
DIGITAL RETAIL DEVELOPMENT
The boundaries between online and offline shopping are blurring, which forces retailers to adapt to the situation. In this new world, the volume of sales carried out through digital technologies continues to grow.
According to the respondents of the Retail Trend Monitor 2017 survey, by 2020 and 2030, the share of online trade in fashion will reach 26% and 38%, respectively.
If we talk about the share of mobile sales in relation to online turnover in general, then by 2020 and 2030 it will reach 32% and 47% for fashion products, respectively, and 32% and 48% for TCG. Moreover, experts expect that mobile retail will capture 50% of the market in these areas.
The development of digital retail influences the choice of areas for investment, which will also contribute to the creation of effective commercial growth strategies, as well as forecasts, understanding of market dynamics, demand for goods and services.
DIRECTIONS FOR INVESTMENTS
The development of technology is accompanied by a sharp increase in the amount of information that modern retailers come into contact with. Mobile communications lead to an increase in points of contact with the consumer. Immersion in the specifics of people's behavior allows you to personalize the service and improve the shopping experience. Therefore, analytical work with big data, according to the survey respondents, turns into the main point of application of forces and investments, provided that the confidentiality and security of customers are ensured.
Other areas include mobile technologies and mobile applications themselves, which will provide customers with a personalized shopping experience, supply chain data, and Internet communications.
RUSSIAN BUYERS IN THE INTERNET ENVIRONMENT
Internet penetration among the Russian population aged 16 and older in 2016 was 70.4%, which corresponds to an audience of about 84 million people. The GfK Future Buy 2016 study, aimed at online users, shows that most of them (85% of respondents) have bought clothes over the past year.
The development of technology has led to the fact that the purchase of clothes, shoes and accessories is carried out both in physical and online stores, and through applications. Over the past two years, 48% of the study participants in Russia have made purchases only offline, with the same number online and offline, and 4% only online. Digital technologies have changed the consumer's path. 42% of respondents make purchases in online stores more often than a year ago, while 50% study the goods on websites in advance.
Research shows that the number of those who do not use a desktop computer is growing, mobile devices are becoming the main channel for them to access the Internet. Among users accessing the World Wide Web from different devices, more than 50% of the connection time is on smartphones. The role of mobile devices in the search and purchase of goods is also growing: 37% of respondents agreed with the statement that they are becoming the most important in the shopping process.
Fashion shopping is increasingly carried out through mobile applications. According to the GfK cross-media panel, in December 2016, the most popular mobile applications that Russians used to buy fashion goods were AliExpress, LaModa and Wildberries, which ranked 9th, 104th and 115th respectively in the list of top 500 mobile applications. The audience of the AliExpress App has grown more than 2.5 times since its launch, covering a significant part of small towns that have received instant access to inexpensive accessories and clothing.
Russian consumers often use smartphones while shopping in shopping malls, showing more activity compared to global consumers. According to Ekaterina Stepanyuk, Director of Development at GfK Rus, technology is important not only for convenience and the realization of functional shopping goals, but also to stay in touch with family and friends, maintaining emotional contact with them.
To be continued.
Text: Elena Varnina
Photo: shutterstock.com
