We all need to know how to shop effectively whether we do shopping online or not. So to improve your current shopping strategy, knowing the following things will help you guide the way:
Value Authenticity
We have mostly heard customers are always right and so they are the kings and queens of keeping it real while shopping, and they expect brands to do the same. Retailers while advertising their products, especially to baby boomers often involve infomercial-esque styling and inflated claims. So one of the greatest traits of effective shopping online is authenticity and transparency. See right through fake, over-the-top marketing – and keep it authentic.
Check Social Media as It’s Number One for Shopping Information
Like brands that use social media more often than brands that don’t. It’s because shopping using social media has advantages so that you can find reviews and recommendations about products. Either those products you’re actively in search of or those you happen to stumble upon. It’s when you can use those reviews to have guidance for your purchase decision. You can also check the ratings/rankings of the brands as well.
Embrace Loyalty Programs
Some brands have made loyalty programs for their customers to keep their customers intact. Always show cost-consciousness and dedication towards the brands you love and participate in loyalty programs. Keep shopping with your love brands because they offer loyalty rewards.
Engage with Brands on Social Networks
Interacting with a brand on social media will make you more likely to become a customer. Being a “fan” of a brand page on Facebook, for example, is on the one hand a possibility to retrieve information about products, offers and events but on the other hand, it also represents the possibility of showing loyalty or enforcing change (Fournier & Avery, 2011; Lebrecque, et al., 2013). Expressing one’s identity, reinforcing individuality, and sharing experiences are only a few examples of what you want to communicate through it as well and you will perceive it as beneficial and enriching to engage on social media
Personalized Marketing
The shoppers have so much power that when engaged in personalized marketing they can raise brand sales at a successful rate. When we think of the Starbucks White Cup Contest and Coca-Cola’s Share a Coke campaign. These are the examples of customized marketing that the majority of us (shoppers) love. That is what we want to feel like brands can see and hear us.
Favour Word of Mouth Recommendations
Always prefer to get direct recommendations from friends and trust the products that your family or friends like. Always believe in those advertisements that advertise through influencer marketing or creative social ads, and remember that social channels will always want their customers to become a part of their feed. Best of all, these social channels will want you to share your love of these channels with your friends. Word of mouth is as good as gold!
Trust Brands that Engage in Social Causes
Purchasing products from brands that support charities or causes, like Tom’s and Warby Parker will be helpful as this shows their loyalty towards people. More important to us is that an eco-conscious company gives our money back to our society and in other words, we are giving our money to charity as well as buying our favourite items.
Make Impulse Purchases
Deep pocketbooks and comfort with all things tech are what we are more willing to make impulsive purchases than any of our older predecessors.
Lastly, Customers have a significant amount of purchasing power, and we intend to use it! With billions and trillions of buying power annually, it’s clear that no company that wants to succeed in the modern day can afford to ignore online customers especially millennials who are the most influential customers out there and are a critical piece of the e-commerce puzzle.