Today’s Consumers Open Their Wallet for Convenience
According to a 2020 consumer survey by National Retail Federation (“NRF”), the primary factor for choosing a retail store is convenience. Consumers want retail stores that can save their time and effort in their busy lifestyles. The consumer trend is similar in South Korea, seeking convenience. The reign of ‘satisfaction-to-price ratio’, once dominated the consumer trend, has ended, and now ‘conve-nium’ is making strides. Conveniem combines two words: convenience and premium; and it stands for a product or service that saves purchaser’s time and effort. Let’s find out what beauty supply retail stores can improve based on this 2020 consumer trend.
First, today’s consumers are busy
Consumers are increasingly facing even busier lifestyles. Compared to that of five years ago, most full-time workers, housewives, and students have less free time, and the number of single-person households and households without children are increasing. As consumers get time-poor, services providing convenience, like grocery deliveries to save time, food delivery services like Uber Eats or Doordash, and voice purchasing, are becoming a focal point. As consumers have lots to do with little time they have, the goal is to provide highest satisfaction through as little as possible time and effort.
Second, if convenient, consumers will go for it
The time has passed when consumers were willing to shop at multiple shops to save money. Nowadays, consumers think time is money; they value, and pay, for the convenience.
For the past decade, retail innovations have brought improved experiences to consumers, but still many consumers seek more ways to save time and effort. It is advised that retail stores provide a variety of choices for consumers to reduce their hassle.
The NRF survey concluded that the ease of check-out, followed by the ease of refund process, finding promotional and sales items easily, locating stock items quickly, getting alternatives easily, and the ease of price comparison, were among the most sought-after convenience features.
Third, brands featuring convenience have competitive edges
Consumers are prone to make purchases on brands that provide convenient experience. When a retail shop cannot rely solely on pricing and quality, this can play an important role. As the technology advances quickly and the market competition intensifies, you need to focus on strategies based on the survival of uniqueness, not the fittest, and time-saving services and products should be your focus.