A lot has happened over the past few years, and no, we’re not talking about the change in monarchs in England, or the cost of a Netflix subscription, we’re talking about the way people shop.
As the dust settles post covid, and Australians emerge only to find themselves in the midst of a cost of living crisis, the way people shop has changed dramatically.
Customers expect an omni-channel experience
Regardless of demographic, customers can be expected to shop online on their mobiles, desktops, on social and in-store, putting pressure on businesses to create a unified brand experience no matter how or where their customers shop.
Cashrewards Acting Head of Brand, Georgie Gonczi, says it’s critical for brands to create a seamless shopping experience across multiple channels. “Customers are browsing online via their mobile on the way to work, then getting home opening their laptop and using their tablet to compare prices and look for reviews. They expect all of these platforms to be linked, they’re expecting a seamless online shopping eco-system.”
Rising cost of living a factor in decision making
But that’s not the only change in the air, customers are also conscious of the cost-of-living and are constantly on the look-out for the best deals, with more and more shoppers relying on cashback and promotional offers to get the best deal.
“With so much information at their fingertips, the savvy customer can, in a few taps, find out which of their favourite brands have the best offer.”
According to data from the 2022 Cashrewards’ Cost of Living Survey, 83% of our members compare cashback rates between stores on Cashrewards to help them decide where to buy an item from.*
And this trend isn’t confined to online. Consumer research from Adobe also found that 54% of shoppers use their phones to compare costs while in-store, with 88% saying they’re looking for special offers and promotions rather than reviews (78%).*
In fact, according to a study by Forrester, as many as 95% of customers use three or more channels in just one interaction with a brand.* Which means, even if you have the world’s best website, that only represents one third of your customers interaction with you. It’s like you’ve cleaned the front room of your house when, suddenly, your guests want a tour of the entire house!
This might sound like a problem, but it’s also an opportunity. Now, you can wow them at multiple points along their journey.
At Cashrewards we’re always looking for ways to help our partner brands meet new customer expectations, and presently, all signs are pointing to the importance of an omnichannel approach that offers a seamless experience for customers no matter where or how they’re shopping.
Gonczi adds, “By creating campaigns that highlight brands and provide customers with the deals they’re looking for, we hope to make their quest to ease the pressures of the rising cost of living, as easy as possible, and as seamless as possible.”
This shift in customer behaviour and the belt-tightening that comes with a rising cost of living might seem like a hurdle, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned is that hurdles are there to jump over.
Plenty of opportunities to meet these new expectations
From 2021-2022, we saw our active members increase by 50%, and according to our Cost-of-Living Survey results, 60% of our members planned to increase their spending with Cashrewards due to the cost of living.*
So, with more and more Australians turning to Cashrewards to find the best deals, and using an omnichannel approach to find them, we’ve found that, while change is constant, with some flexibility, a bit of know-how and the right partners, you can bound over those hurdles and maintain a strong connection with your audience.
Get in touch today to talk about how we can work together on some exciting customer-led approaches for your brand.
References:
Data from Cashrewards Cost of Living Survey research & results July 2022
Adobe 2023 digital trends in retail - Adobe 2023 Digital Trends Report
Forrester 2017 - Customer Experience Report