A new global consumer has been created due to Covid-19 pandemic. With the great resignation upon us and too much time at home, consumers have shifted their priorities and shopping habits. Now more than ever, consumers are being selective with their money and brand loyalty—making thoughtful purchases versus impulsive ones.
Consumers have immersed themselves into digital and e-commerce buying as opposed to in-person shopping from brick-and-mortar locations. This has resulted in businesses rethinking their production, inventory, operations, and overall marketing costs while trying to maintain a quality consumer experience. In our research, we’ve found that 52% of organizations say that customer experience continues to be their top priority.
In this article, we will discuss what the new consumer is like and how high-quality data can help organizations uphold a positive experience for new and returning customers.
Shopping more consciously
In the last two years, consumers have become more socially conscious purchasers, actively supporting small businesses or even shopping locally. Additionally, the social action protests during the pandemic have promoted consumers to start researching companies and their leaders to make sure that their values align with the consumer’s personal values.
With consumers being more aware of who they are buying from, this could serve as the perfect opportunity for businesses to capitalize on connecting with their customers by giving them that personalized customer experience they want. An example of this would be a marketing campaign to tell their brand’s story. This will allow them to share their corporate responsibility projects and what they are doing in the local community in detail.
Rise of the digital shopper
At the height of the pandemic, e-commerce began on its course to rapid growth. With store and restaurant closures, consumers and business leaders alike had to figure out how to connect and stay in touch while remaining socially distant and abiding by all of the guidelines set in place locally and nationally. How do you buy your necessities when there are town-wide store closures? The answer: Shop online.
Although a switch to a digital environment may seem daunting, many organizations found this to be the perfect time to focus on expanding their customer base, reaching customers in new ways, and ultimately, enhancing their e-commerce strategy to be sure they weren’t missing opportunities.
Now, retailers are focused on providing a seamless and consistent experience both online and offline. Our research shows us that 85% of leaders say that leveraging data and data insights has been essential to successful digital transformation. Expanding your online presence means more data, which in turn, means more information to make better and faster decisions to win in the market.
Staffing shortage roadblocks
As organizations are face-to-face with new social norms and digital innovation, they also need to consider how they can operate efficiently and effectively to meet consumer expectations—which has been challenging to say the least.
In the early chapter of the pandemic, we experienced record-breaking layoffs and furloughs putting businesses and employees into a tailspin. Stores and restaurants were either forced to close or work with extreme staffing shortages. These complications are still felt today but from a new lens: The Great Resignation. Now, employees have chosen to quit leaving business owners still desperate for resources and looking for ways to automate operations while maintaining a positive experience. The question begs: How can one operate efficiently and effectively when there’s limited staff?
Luckily, in a digital-first world, there is a ton of consumer data to tell the organizations who their customers are, what they care about, and how to reach them. With limited staffing and a lot of information, it’s important to work smarter not harder. Our latest research finds that 81% of leaders agree that they automate more of their data management program to free up time to focus on strategic activities.
Establishing an operation that is backed by data can minimize the staffing shortage challenge while maintaining a positive brand experience. Lastly, if it’s one thing that we learned over the last two years, is that we are in this together. Today, it’s common to see transparent communication between businesses and their consumers on slow deliveries, call wait times, and so on.
How data quality can help
With consumer buying behavior changing rapidly, businesses must keep current with new purchasing trends. Data quality practices can help you accurately and confidently identify customers at each stage of their buyer journey. By equipping your business with high-quality consumer data, you can also build highly targeted buyer segments, customize offers, and serve meaningful personalized interactions. And, as consumers evolve so does the data, which is where data validation solutions come into play.
According to our latest global data management research report, 89% of companies say contact data has become more important than ever to reach their customers during the pandemic and now. The quality of contact data has become more important than ever before. Learn how Experian’s data quality tools can help your company maintain high-quality data and better keep in touch with the new consumer.
