The future of shopping is transforming before our eyes, shaped by different contexts and environments that shoppers experience in their daily lives — think social media, entertainment platforms, and personal technology. Retailers that leverage these environments to create an experience-driven shopping strategy and foster meaningful consumer relationships will succeed in this technology-fueled world.
While they have always cared about convenience, shoppers today are even more concerned with the flexibility, access, and speed — and personalization — of their shopping experience, whether they are scrolling through social media apps, gaming, or going for a walk. Consider this: 81 percent of shoppers expect experiences to be curated just for them by 2030, according to Synchrony’s Future of Shopping study.
Blending the Best of Digital and Physical
The starting point for retailers is understanding shoppers — their changing attitudes, values, and expectations. This will enable retailers to develop a strategic and selective approach to creating next-generation, future experiences.
New generations are bringing their digital savvy and expectations to all aspects of their lives — from work to recreation activities to shopping. To accommodate this, retailers must develop an integrated presence across touchpoints, blending the best of digital and physical channel experiences. Creating a “phygital” experience where technology is both an enabler and enhancer is critical to provide consumers the right offer at the right time in the right location.
Shopping Trends Driving the Future of Shopping
The 1,000 consumers surveyed in Synchrony’s Future of Shopping study stated that they want connected, curated, and convenient shopping experiences. So, what does this look like in practice?
Retailers can deliver more meaningful shopping experiences by offering personalized recommendations or interactive displays, for example, that build emotional connections with customers. When customers feel like they have a meaningful connection with a brand, they are more likely to loyal customers who return to shop at the retailer and recommend the brand.
Personalization rings true for choice and flexibility in payments as well. When it comes to financing options, a one-size-fits-all approach is not always best. Instead, shoppers want more convenience, choice, and flexibility in their financing, such as buy now, pay later (BNPL) along with credit financing options. They want to feel like a retailer is working with them to find a financing solution that is customized to their needs.
Our research also found that shoppers will increasingly expect products, services, and shopping experiences to be made “just for me.” Curation is a way for retailers to stand out. By carefully selecting high-quality, unique products, retailers can offer something that customers can’t find elsewhere. Partnering with designers or influencers, for example, can also add a level of exclusivity that can be appealing. Many customers want to feel like they are part of a select group and will more likely feel a sense of belonging and loyalty to the brand.
Today’s “phygital” shoppers also expect convenience and ease when shopping on the go. New generations expect shopping to be fast and fun — less of a process. We are starting to see this “contextual commerce” trend start with mobile-commerce and even voice technology apps to push the act of payment to the back of the customer’s mind. Sixty four percent of the shoppers surveyed believe that in the future shopping will not be an isolated activity, rather brands will reach them through separate but linked activities like social media activity data while you’re out for a walk linked to geo-location recommendations.
Overall, shopping will continue to be part of connected ecosystems, which combine social media, shopping through immersive web experiences, brick and mortar, and more. The right mix of tools, financing options, channels, and strategies can help retailers strengthen their position now and in the future.
Florin Arghirescu is Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer at Synchrony, a premier consumer financial services company. In this role, he leads Synchrony’s product management for the company’s broad product portfolio and is also responsible for developing the company’s strategic vision to innovate, including defining, delivering, and creating roadmaps for all Synchrony products. In addition, he oversees Synchrony’s Incubation Team and the Experience Team across all Synchrony products with the goal of ensuring an easy customer experience.
