Shopper Culture

What if the Most Unbelievable Experience Was Reality?

Virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality… Technologies are being multiplied with one common promise: to help us live enhanced experiences.

Virtual experiences can be highly beneficial in many ways. For example, they can help cultivate untapped imaginary territories, provide immersive learning experiences, or simply provide a new dimension of entertainment. These experiences are dependent, however, on fictional devices that are limited by time and space. The technological equipment and materials needed to provide a virtual experience are physical obstacles in the way of total immersion. And the cost of such deployments as well as ensuring these technologies are accessible to a wider audience can further complicate matters. Due to this, some brands and retailers are shifting their strategies by proposing exclusive experiences of real… reality! Below are a few experiences.

Amazon Continues To Reshape The Retail Landscape

Amazon is testing “free 2-day delivery” using its own shipping service in Los Angeles, signaling even further displacement of online retail by shifting more control of the shopping experience and e-commerce channel to Amazon, which already owns 43% share of the market.

What many do not realize is that this is not a new initiative. Amazon started developing this latest enhancement in shipping capabilities two years ago in India with the goal of lowering costs and relieving warehouse backups. Even more importantly, the move not only gives Amazon greater control over more of the touchpoints affecting customer experience, but also provides wider options to merchants using the platform to sell products locally.

In the near future, it will not just be mail carriers who will feel the pressure to deliver; retailers will continue to lose sales to Amazon, which has more power to drive lower costs and convenience for customers. In the meantime, while Amazon makes the move to grow its logistics and operations capability, other carriers like UPS and Fedex have already expanded their own local and regional capabilities by partnering with convenience stores and other locations that hold packages and allow for safe pickup – offering more flexibility to customers who may not want a stack of boxes sitting on their porch.

What all of this means for shoppers is that prices will continue to fall for basic necessities found on Amazon, while specialty stores like The Home Depot will maintain themselves as destinations for those looking for specific items. Meanwhile, retailers like Walmart, which have the size and scale to compete on price, will continue to thrive while smaller stores may be forced to find an e-commerce niche to continue their relationship with customers.

Contributed By: Dennis Wakabayashi, Integer Dallas

Image Source: Amazon Press Kit

Brands Captivate & Inspire During 2018 Olympics

At its core, the Olympics are about pushing the boundaries of human limitations. The primordial elements that cement the Olympics in our hearts and minds center on perseverance, competition, achievement, and even defeat. It’s the rugged path to Olympic victory, often requiring seemingly superhuman skills, that captures viewers’ attention across the globe for two straight weeks. It’s a powerful ethos and brands jump at this opportunity.

A lot of the advertising during the Olympics attempts to harness the triumphant spirit of the event and is ultimately designed to pull at our heart strings. Brands do this to create an emotional bond with their viewers, establishing a deeply rooted link between what people are feeling and the brand itself. 

How to Ally Data and Creativity

Data is truly the new buzzword of our generation and a tool we have to master. Because it shows us new way to bring interest into customer’s life and meet their true expectations. Yet, many only used as a way to justify an idea, as a strong proof of an intuition, rather than to illuminate or guide a creative solution. It seems like we deal with data on the one hand, and creativity on the other hand. But, what if data and creativity were processed and thought at the same time in order to be both pertinent and inventive?

It seems that Spotify took this path when the brand launched its campaign called ‘Playlist.’ Showcasing the different playlists (which are made by the users) available on the platform was a clever way of highlighting the brand’s interest in their consumers. Putting them at the center of the ads, and celebrating their peculiarities—which really just shows how they make the service their own—is a great way to ally data and creativity.

NEW AI Study: Embracing The Machines Part 1

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is a hot topic. Whether people realize it or not, AI is changing the way we consume information, make choices, navigate the world, and shop. AI has already embedded itself in multiple facets of shoppers’ everyday lives and is becoming crucial to brands and retailers as a predictor for both market and shopper behaviors.

Finding a lack of pre-existing consumer or shopper research, The Integer Group undertook an extensive study in the U.S. with over 3,000 consumers to understand how shoppers feel about using AI today and how willing shoppers are to have machines shop for them today and in the future. 

The findings have been distilled into a 4 part series that includes Part 1: AI Today, Part 2: AI Tomorrow, Part 3: AI At Retail, and Part 4: The Economics of AI

Today we release Part 1 of the series, which establishes a benchmark of where shoppers are in their relationships with AI: their perceptions, attitudes, and current adoption of AI in shopping and what it all means for brands and retailers.

Did you know that 23% of shoppers see AI as a Personal Chef? Or that over 70% over shoppers feel curious about AI? Click here to download the study and get all the fact, figures and insights on AI Today.

And make sure you are subscribed to Shopper Culture to receive Parts 2-4 of the Study as well as other publications from Shopper Culture in your inbox soon! Click here to subscribe.

Advertising Week AI Panel Presentation For Download

In this fast paced world, we all wonder how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is impacting shoppers lives and decisions. Today, Integer's Craig Elston joins Microsoft's Purna Virji, GE's Jeff Patton, and @Walmartlabs' Laurent Desegur at Advertising Week in NY in a panel that discusses this very topic drawing on industry learnings as well as an anticipated research study by Integer of over 3,500 respondents.

Eager to learn more?

Click here to download the panel presentation that teases findings from Integer's soon to be released study, Embracing the Machines: AI's Collision with Commerce.

Click here to sign up to receive the study once it's published straight to your inbox.

Augmented Reality Surges Forward for Retailers

Apple and Google have both recently announced the launch of AR platforms that will enable developers to build AR apps, games and services for iOS and Android devices. Retailers are now realizing the potential to transform their brand operations by using this technology to deliver more relevant and engaging customer experiences, such as enabling store surfaces to become an environment for virtual storytelling. Even more, eye-tracking, facial recognition and artificial intelligence are being integrated into AR apps to enable even more personalized experiences.

“[Apple's ARKit] will change how we do business, how we live and how we do retailing.” – MICHAEL VALDSGAARD, LEADER OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, IKEA

The industry is excited and optimistic about this new space. Stylus reports that "in 2017, 40 million people in the US will have engaged with some form of AR at least monthly—up 30.2% compared to 2016. With these latest developments from Apple, Google and Facebook—as well as the continued popularity of Snapchat Lenses (where users interact for 20 seconds or more on average)—we expect the use of AR apps to become embedded in consumer smartphone behavior in the next 12 months." With this rate of adoption and innovation, we are sure to see some changes in the retail landscape.

Contributed by: Scott Hauman, Dallas Office

Image Source: Apple 

Rethink What Traditional Retail Could Be

Recently, the department store Nordstrom announced that it's preparing to roll out an innovative new line of stores without merchandise called Nordstrom Local. The small-format space is centered around personal shoppers and services. Is this a reinvention of retail or a complete rebirth of a brand’s commerce model?

Since the 1950s, traditional retail has been the foundation of consumer spending and still holds 90% of all volume, even as technology and human behaviors shift toward faster and more convenient methods of consuming.

Over the past decade, retailers have tried to adapt and stay ahead of trends to combat the shrinking traditional retail model by delivering alternative solutions, driven by human-centric behavior and the rise in technology, in order to satisfy consumer demand for quicker, more relevant and convenient commerce models.

The Interconnectivity of Our Smart World

“Related to items you’ve viewed...”

“You may also like…”

“Top picks for you…”

These are just a few of the phrases shoppers encounter when browsing the web as online retailers use data and technology to deliver a hyper-personalized shopping experience. Online retailers are also providing convenience through offerings like two-day shipping and one-click ordering. Shoppers are growing accustomed to this level of personalization and convenience.

As a result, brick-and-mortar retailers are working to meet shopper expectations by adding technology to their stores. For example:

• Walmart is testing robotic shopping carts that scan shopping lists and lead shoppers to the corresponding items.
• Lowe’s is using augmented reality to create an in-store navigation app.
• Fashion label Rebecca Minkoff is leveraging RFID and digital touch screens in its high-tech dressing rooms.

These tech-driven in-store innovations show no sign of slowing down as shoppers grow more receptive to technology. They also provide retailers with an opportunity to collect shopper data and use it to enhance the in-store shopping experience. As technology continues to make its way in-store, how will the shopping journey change?

To read more about this and the examples noted above, download our white paper, 10 Years in Shopper Culture, here. 

Image Source: Chain Store Age

From Hippo Meat to Lab-Grown Meat: Communication Matters

Shoppers today are voting with their dollars and increasingly making eco-conscious purchases; demand for low carbon footprint alternatives like meat substitutes is on the rise, and information about sustainability is readily available through a Google search. But, as more and more of these options enter the market, which alternatives will shoppers deem “too alternative?” For the meat industry, this question arose over a century ago and is back in the spotlight today.

In the early 1900s, high immigration rates, exploding urban areas, and lack of suitable ranching land led to a meat shortage in the United States. This scarcity was cause for concern among consumers, and the media dubbed it ‘The Meat Question.’ The Meat Question also reflected larger concerns about resources in America as well as the rise of consumer culture, and a solution was highly sought-after.

At one point during the shortage, two innovators and a Louisiana congressman thought they had found the solution: hippopotamuses. They proposed raising hippos in the swamps of Louisiana, land that was otherwise unused. A campaign using phrases like 'water cow bacon' was even launched to warm the public up to the idea of eating hippo meat. Though hippo never made its way into the American diet (largely due to miscommunication), we are still searching for alternative methods of sourcing meat. Lab-grown meat is one such developing alternative; does it have a better chance of catching on than hippo meat? 

Homebuyers with Big Ticket Desires

With big box stores, like Lowe’s and Home Depot, reaching and in some cases surpassing their sales numbers, it’s easy to see that home improvement projects are on the upswing and driving sales. But it’s no longer about selling the traditional upgrades— new kitchens, appliances and such—it’s also about new big ticket items. What those new items are and who is buying them nowadays might surprise you.  

The highly coveted Millennial shopper is ripe for the taking as they shift into new life stages. Home ownership among this shopper base continues to rise. According to the National Association of Realtors report, 35% of Millennials currently own homes. In addition, 89% are buying existing properties ripe for renovation.

While millennials are known for redefining almost all they touch, it’s time to look at what appeals to this audience as homeowners: Quality, convenience and of course, technology.

What are some of the truly big ticket items on the radar this year? According to HBS Dealer’s April 2017 issue these are a few of the ones to watch:

A Visit to SxSw

Last week, I made the trek to SxSw to take in all it had to offer and there was a lot. This innovative forward-thinking conference helps us rethink our reality and reimagine our future—opening our eyes to not just new tech but also how to rethink traditional advertising to fit into the world of today’s consumers and shoppers.

A few speakers challenged the notion of typical “advertising” by taking into account human needs, habits and desires. In the end, the message was to not focus on advertising, but to focus on a solution and let the solution advertise for you.

Example 1:  Don’t advertise, create products that solve problems

Tokyo based ad agency (Hakuhodo i-studio) has transformed their business model for their clients (really the consumers). Changing the mindset of what ‘advertising’ is, they now ‘ferment’ ideas with a focus on user lifestyles and social issues, to create utility and products first - and advertise second. They call it P2B (Prototype to Business).

For example:

Invoking Brainpower to Fuel the Future

Netflix, AT&T, Target, and Walmart. What do they have in common? These four behemoths, and countless others, regularly embrace and host Hackthons events that encourage outsiders to come together, all in the name of creating, building, and prototyping new ideas. What’s the common bond that links these people together? The art of experimentation. Within the seemingly endless options to explore, hackers at a recent Netflix Hack Day cracked Mattel’s MindFlex technology (which measures brainwave activity and allows you to circuit those impulses to an electrical toy through a series of computer processes). By rewiring the technology, they created a way for users to navigate and control selections on Netflix, through the power of their minds. The team affectionately labeled this technology, MindFlix.

These innovative breakthroughs signal the exciting possibilities of the future. Though the technology is in its infancy, just imagine the possibilities. Could advertisers eventually preemptively send ads, samples, or a personalized engagement based on the what we’re thinking? That reality may not be so far-fetched. What are the potential pitfalls of a technology like this? Are we on the verge of a Big Brother-esque reality? Only time will tell.

Image Source: Netflix: Stranger Things

Is The Superbowl More Effective Than Social Media?

Companies are willing to spend upwards of 5 million dollars on a Super Bowl advertisement because it's one of the biggest ad engagement opportunities of the year. But what happens if you don't have that kind of money? Well, The Honda Dealerships of Southern California have developed a different way to prompt Super Bowl viewers to engage with their brand; they are encouraging consumers to continue doing something they do every year--judge commercials and tweet. 

These Honda dealerships have preemptively put a dollar amount on every possible cliché Super Bowl advertisements could include. For every dollar that adds up, the dealerships (with the help of their agency, Secret Weapon) will match the amount with a donation to the Boys & Girls Club of America.

Secret Weapon has watched commercials from the last three Super Bowls and noted common trends, assigning each a dollar amount. These trends include babies ($1,000), hipsters ($5,000), famous people ($500) and talking animals ($1,000) among others. Throughout the event, Honda of Southern California will be live tweeting each cliché they spot and supplying updates on the total donation. The total dollar amount will be immediately donated to the Boys & Girls Club.

NEW Issue of The Urbanist

The Urbanist highlights some interesting urban trends in shopper marketing this issue including:

- Crazy shopping environments at Nike and Adidas

- How Pirch appliance stores are helping ease shopper research 

- Frictionless shopping with Panasonic technology

- The celebration of Singles Day 

- And a VR Wonderland

Click here to read the full issue