Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
The majority of shoppers from around the world still research and make home improvement purchases in stores–but don’t think that means you can wait to build a robust online presence if you don’t have one.
More than half of consumers make their home improvement purchases in stores and 36 percent prefer to do their product research in stores, according to 2016 data from professional services company PwC, a part of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
But nearly 40 percent of shoppers like to go online to research home improvement products and more than 25 percent prefer to make purchases online, the report shows. And 78 percent of consumers say social media influenced their shopping decisions across categories.
Applied to Retail: Be sure to learn from the innovators if you’re going to retain your customer base longterm.
Retailers who are adapting to meet consumers’ changing preferences are offering online product catalogs and allowing customers to order products or check in-store inventory online. They’re also using social media to keep shoppers informed about special offers, and letting customers share feedback, ask questions, talk about products and review in-store experiences.
Show your customers that how and where they prefer to do their product research and shopping matter to you. If you don’t have money for building an e-commerce presence, then focus your efforts on social media.
Social media influences the shopping decisions of nearly 80 percent of consumers, so you have no reason not to use the free sites. Consider Facebook and other platforms as extensions of your in-store customer service, and then treat them that way.
