Do marketers, especially e-marketers, focus on the most pivotal moment in the shopping journey? Sure, it’s important to target consumers during search and on social media. But one marketer thinks that those are not the best channels and that the most vital step in every customer’s journey and experience with a brand is the purchase.
In this session, Chris McCarthy of Kantar addressed the question: "In today's environment of constant, dynamic change, how can brands enhance how they innovate and engage with audiences?" The speaker examined the "age of disruption," noting consumer obstacles such as COVID supply chain shortages and inflation leading to a shift to higher-involvement decisions by consumers, which has resulted in some risks but also opportunities for brands. The speaker pointed to tension hunting, the process of enhancing innovation and success by focusing on the mitigation of problems, as a way to address disruption and consumer inertia, head-on.
Member Only AccessA new survey finds that hardware features remain important when choosing a smartphone. However, around the world, financial and environmental considerations are climbing up buyers’ agendas. A study across 17 markets by GWI for media platform Teads was reported in ExchangeWire. It has particular resonance as more people are upgrading to 5G-enabled phones. For example, the consumer survey found that sustainability is not a primary consideration for most buyers, but an increasing number want the products they purchase to have less impact on the planet and to last longer once made. Other key findings:
In a study in the current issue of the Journal of Advertising Research, marketing experts examined the role of consumer insights in the advertising creative process. Four academic researchers, Australia-based John Parker, Scott Koslow, Lawrence Ang and UK-based Alexander Tevi, conducted this study. The aim was to gain a better understanding of how creative professionals use consumer insights in the creative process, especially to develop an emotional appeal. This exploratory study used consumer insights about a fictitious pickup truck brand to assess if and how such insights could help “creative professionals make their celebrated magic.” Their conclusions:
Consumers increasingly make purchase decisions based on online product reviews and rankings. Meanwhile, advertising is often designed to inform about a product or service’s benefits. Within both of these scenarios, consumers learn how to dovetail new understandings into what they already know about a brand, product or service. In this study, researchers looked to quantify the impact prior information (e.g. information obtained from past purchases or use) on consumer search and purchase decisions.
We are revisiting the complex changes on our economy with new data on women's employment, CEO confidence and consumers' spending plans.
Women's Labor Force Participation Hits 33-Year Low. In January, another 275,000 women dropped out of the labor force. This accounts for nearly 80% of all workers over age 20 who left the workforce last month, according to a National Women's Law Center analysis of the latest jobs report. This brings the total number of women who have left the labor force since February 2020 to more than 2.3 million, and it puts women's labor force participation rate at 57%, the lowest since 1988. Many of these women, says Emily Martin, VP for education and workplace justice at NWLC, have been forced to leave the workplace due to ongoing closures of schools and daycare centers. These women, she explains, are not included in the calculated unemployment rate, which is already disproportionately high for women of color. "To be counted as unemployed, you have to be looking for work," she tells CNBC's "Make It." "Those who have left the labor force are no longer working or looking for work, so in some ways the unemployment rate is artificially lowered by the fact that it doesn't capture these millions of women." Of the women who were working last month, 17% of those over age of 16 were involuntarily working part-time because they couldn't find full-time work. For women of color, this number was even higher, with 27.9% of Latinas, 24.4% Black of women and 18.5% of Asian women forced to work part-time. Read the Full ArticleSource: Connley, C. (2021, February 8). Women's Labor Force Participation Rate Hit A 33-Year Low In January, According To New Analysis. CNBC.
Source: Allen, M. (2021, February 19). CEO Confidence Spikes. Axios AM: Axios.
Source: Egkolfopoulou, M. And Fanzeres, J. (2021, February 11). Americans' Saved-Up Stimulus Checks Could Bring Economic Boost. Economics, Bloomberg Wealth: Bloomberg.
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Shopper marketing change is rampant! The good news: disruption is creating opportunities – not just challenges – and the industry is responding with new approaches to increase market share and revenue. Learn how leading brands and other experts are engaging consumers and building growth in this 2019 ARF SHOPPERxSCIENCE event summary.
As malls struggle to keep customers coming, a satisfying shopping experience as an effective marketing medium has become a top priority. Researchers have created a scale to measure that experience, and they offer guidance for malls based on their model’s findings.
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Marketers and store managers invest significantly in endcaps— end-of-aisle displays intended to reach as many shoppers as possible. A seven-year Australian cross-country study analyzed where shoppers spend the most time in a store and which endcap space has the greatest potential reach. What do you think they found more valuable: front or back of the store?
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