After the Covid-19 crisis, retailers had to rethink their entire process to survive and to keep in touch with their clients. Indeed, buying habits have drastically changed with the pandemic, and new shopping trends have emerged.
Those new trends focus more on the human aspect to establish a true relationship between the brand and the customer despite the social distancing.
Online Private Shopping
Online private shopping is a video service that allows personal shoppers from big companies to communicate with their customers on the phone or via computers. This method gives the customers access to a whole new experience than the one they are accustomed to in a shop. It was extremely useful during quarantine.
Gucci for example was one of the first big brands to create a fake shop by using staging techniques, just like in the cinema industry, to attract new clients remotely. This new service is especially popular among Asian customers.
Customised video consultations are a good way to improve sales. They allow customers all around the world to have a shopping experience from the security of their home, and should not be overlooked regarding the current pandemic.
LiveStream Shopping
LiveStream shopping consists of asking an influencer to present a product via a live video while interacting with the community and the customers. This trend is very popular in China and has become one of their favorite customers’ experiences. They appreciate the interactive aspect mixed with a human approach.
In march 2020, 560 million Chinese people were using LiveStream shopping, which represents 62% of Chinese Internet users. Amazon Live and Facebook are currently working on similar technologies.
Sellers interactions with online customers
Up until now, E-commerce, while presenting its own advantages, still lacked any kind of human contact. Customers had to go to a regular shop if they wanted pieces of advice from a seller. Nowadays, brands are starting to implement a human factor in their online shops.
Sellers can now be equipped with interactive tools such as LiSA or Hero that allow them to chat with their customers online to advise them. No more chatbots, only real humans! This method helps to improve the efficiency of online shopping.
Conversational commerce
A bit similar to the private online shopping, conversational commerce allows establishing a link between the seller and the customer via instant messaging apps like WhatsApp. The goal is to put the customers under the feeling that they are chatting with a friend. Once again, the genuine, human aspect is the driving force of this method.
Conversational commerce truly boomed during quarantine, as online shopping became the only way to shop. Sellers had long conversations with buyers via instant messaging apps, which shows how important human contact is when it comes to e-business and improving conversion rates.
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