The Future of Shopping: Hybrid Shopping
The rise of online shopping has become a far-reaching trend. That means consumers are now shopping online more than ever before.
But they don\’t seem to be able to break the habit of shopping directly at the store very soon. Customers these days don\’t follow any particular criteria for shopping. Instead, the habit of shopping online and in-store simultaneously is developing. They are turning to \’hybrid shopping\’ to discover new products, make a purchase decision, shop and connect with different brands.
What is hybrid shopping?
Hybrid shopping refers to a mixed situation of shopping online and in-store at the same time.
Customers can get personal preferences and convenient experience through this hybrid shopping. This practice is quickly becoming a long-term habit of customers.
Think about your own shopping habits. When you find a great shirt on Instagram, you might want to try it on in a store. If it doesn\’t fit, you don\’t have to go to the trouble of returning it later.
Again, maybe the shirt that you liked, is not liked anymore. Or you like a new shirt and want to buy several colors of the same design online. Such benefits are available while shopping online.
That is, while buying the new shirt, you have to keep several things in mind to reach a decision. When you\’re shopping yourself, you want the best experience possible. You will have your needs, so that your choice prevails in every case. That is, these factors apply to your customers as well.
But finding the right and preferred brand is not an easy task. Market brands need to reach out to their customers with the help of technology. At the same time, customers need to improve their online and in-store shopping experience.
Helping customers find products through various channels
In the past, customers went to the store to find new products. But nowadays they want to know about the brand first and buy online later. In this case you can connect the buyers through different platforms. This can include websites, social media, email and text messaging.
But if you want to give your customers a wonderful and memorable experience on behalf of the brand, you can tell your customers about the most attractive part of the store online. Or the store can be designed in such a way that customers think of the store as a digital platform.
Even online pages or gift guides can be created for customers. Through this they will know about the product or brand.
Keep in mind that customers can\’t give up their online shopping habits even when they shop in stores. So add online shopping facility to your store to make their shopping experience lively.
You can collect email addresses from customers by offering product information or product features. You can later use those email addresses to send your organization campaigns.
Emphasis on customer experience
A brand can be built by focusing on the individual needs and experiences of certain clients. Those who will work in the brand store, will talk to the customers. And they will get to know from the customers what are their favorite places about a particular product.
In e-commerce based commerce, brands can create relationships with their customers and act on demand. Even when shopping online, customers want to shop connected to the organization.
According to a survey, consumers want human contact even when shopping online. 30% of the surveyed consumers want to contact the brand about the size, material and durability of the product when choosing a product while shopping.
For these reasons brands are now adopting customer-centric strategies. They value the individual needs of customers and want to give them a human experience.
In this case any brand can discuss with customers on a personal level about their preferences and needs. And to do this, the store staff of the brand can interact with the customers on the virtual platform.
If you want to provide good service to customers, you can answer their various questions about the product. And can communicate with them through text, email or social media according to personal needs.
