New Study Shows How Digital Interactions Lead To In-Store Success

There're a couple of key takeaways from the report by Deloitte that any retailer or landlord can benefit from.

Deloitte Consulting has released its annual report entitled "The New Digital Divide: The future of digital influence in retail," in which it explores the differences between what brick-and-mortar retailers are providing to consumers in terms of digital experiences, and what today’s consumers are actually on the lookout for. As Retail Dive explains, there're a couple of key takeaways from this report that any retailer or landlord can benefit from. 



The report is chock full of useful nuggets, but these three key pieces of information need to be ingrained in the minds of industry professionals. 

● Consumer behavior on digital devices has a substantial influence on the amount they actually spend in the confines of a brick-and-mortar store to the tune of a whopping 56 cents of every dollar they spend. That’s an enormous increase from two years ago when that number checked in at 14 cents, and it’s expected to translate to an eye-popping $2.1 trillion dollars by the end of this year. 
● The influence of digital is more apparent in some retail categories when compared to others, with electronics leading the way with 69% of purchases influenced by digital interactions. Several sectors have seen a substantial increase in digital influence on a year-over-year basis, with grocery, food, and beverage leading the way with a substantial 49% increase. 
● Despite the increase in digital influence, consumers remain independent-minded, and they are increasingly turned off by traditional advertising methods. Nearly two-thirds of consumers prefer a self-directed shopping experience, and a staggering 70% say that traditional advertising fails to spur their decision making or desires. 

Those are some fascinating takeaways, and Deloitte has further advice for retailers in the digital age. 

"Their limited interaction with customers — about six to eight transactions per year — limits their understanding of the 'moments that matter' in a personalized experience, such as purchase intent and preference. Instead, retailers should more aggressively embrace integration and the native capabilities of the major digital platforms where their customers have already chosen to interact and transact," principal and study co-author Jeff Simpson said in the report. 

Additionally, the move to be more conscious of digital should be made with an eye towards the pool of consumers as a whole, and not just a desired demographic. 

"The important thing to remember is that most of the today's buying power still remains with non-millennials. A better idea is to consider all the types of customers, determine how they use digital differently in the purchasing journey and create a broad range of customized experiences for each," senior manager Lokesh Ohri said in a statement.