MODULE TWO
Understanding path to purchase
Learn
Aims and Purpose
It is vital that retail marketers have a clear understanding of the journey or path shoppers take before and after making a purchase, in order to create P-O-P activations that align with different types of purchase decisions and best meet the needs of the shopper.
READ MORE
More information can be found in the
POPAI Textbook See Chapter 2, page 22.
MODULE 2 | Introduc4on
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Learn
Module Introduction This module focuses on developing learners’ practical understanding of the path to purchase – before, during and after the final purchase decision is made – in order to help you develop a more detailed understanding of how P-O-P activations can better meet the needs of shoppers, and the different types of purchase decisions they are likely to make, depending on their shopping mission. We will look at stages through which P-O-P advertising has to take the shopper before they can choose to commit to the purchase as well as how P-O-P integrates within the wider purchasing cycle. This will include: Purchase Models Pre-research Purchase Post-purchase Barriers to Purchase Factors Influencing the Purchase Process An Introduction to Impact, Engagement and Conversion
MODULE 2 | Introduc4on
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Learn
Learning Outcomes
After completing this module, you will be able to: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Differentiate the various path to purchase models Identify the three core steps in the path to purchase Recognise differences in purchase decision complexity Understand the factors influencing the purchase process Explain impact, engagement and conversion measures
MODULE 2 | Introduc4on
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Part 1 Purchase Models
MODULE 2 |
Insight
Purchase Models
Shopping does not begin and end in the store. It is an on-going cycle of planning, execution and evaluation. MODULE 2 | Purchase Models
The activity of shopping begins long before the shopper reaches the doors of a store. It is therefore important to think beyond just the physical store when exploring the concept of the path to purchase. The path to purchase is an on-going cycle of planning, execution and evaluation.
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Insight
The Start of the Journey
The term ‘path to purchase’ has many marketing connotations, but within a P-O-P context it can be defined as the stages that shoppers go through before they commit to a purchase. Its reach extends from the moment the shopper first identifies the need, for a particular product or service, to their search for information to shape their potential purchase choices, Identify the Searchdecision for Commitwhat to they say about Review Review before influencing their final purchase and determining theirand need information Purchase Share shopping experience to others.
MODULE 2 | Purchase Models
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Insight
The Start of the Journey
Identify the need
Step 1
MODULE 2 | Purchase Models
Search for information
Step 2
Commit to Purchase
Step 3
Review and Review Share
Step 4
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Insight
Identifying the Need
I really do need to go shopping!
As with traditional methods of the buying process, before the path to purchase can begin, the shopper must first satisfy their own mind about what product or service they need, and why. A recognition of a problem – such as they open the fridge and realise that they need to stock the cupboards at home with food for the week ahead.
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Insight
Identifying the Need I really want that in my house! It can, however, be an external stimulus that creates the need, such as the need to replace a television with a newer model as a result of new product development such as the launch of a new 3D TV, or a new games console. This leads to a search for information. Once the need has been identified, this could lead to a visit to a store visit for grocery items, or in the case of products such as electrical goods, it may involve a deeper level of information searching and comparison – of both features and prices – before visiting a store. MODULE 2 | The Shopper
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Insight
Traditional Purchase Model
Some existing and accepted marketing models for describing the various stages of the purchasing cycle can be applied to P-O-P advertising. The AIDA model – Attention, Interest, Desire and Action was first introduced over 100 years ago (by E. St.Elmo Lewis) and is perhaps one of the best known in marketing.
AFen4on Interest Desire Ac4on
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Insight
AIDA
ATTENTION
INTEREST
DESIRE
ACTION
Attract attention
Arouse interest
Stimulate desire
Call to action
Every successful promotional message must attract Attention, arouse Interest, stimulate Desire, and present a compelling call to Action to secure the final sale. Later evolutions of the theory have edited the AIDA steps.
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Insight
AIDAS
ATTENTION
INTEREST
DESIRE
ACTION
+
SATISFACTION
Satisfaction = loyalty, repeat shoppers and advocacy New phases such as satisfaction (AIDAS) have been added, with marketers highlighting the importance of satisfying the shopper so they become a repeat visitor and give positive referrals to friends and family.
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Insight
ACCA
AWARENESS
COMPREHENSION
Clarity and understanding
CONVICTION
ACTION
Certainty over decisions
In the 1990s, the model was further adapted, with a variation introduced termed ACCA – Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction and Action. Similar to AIDA, this model focuses on ‘Comprehension’ rather than Interest – stressing the importance of clarity and understanding, which is vital for any persuasive message. MODULE 2 | Purchase Models
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Insight
ACCA
This is especially true within modern retail environments when brands and retailers sometimes only have as little as 0.9 seconds to convince shoppers to see their P-O-P advertising. Also, ‘Conviction’ was felt to be much stronger than ‘Desire’. It suggests certainty. Crucially, however, this model needs adapting for P-O-P advertising, as its purpose is to stop the shopper rather than to secure ‘action’. Decisions about the final purchase are often dependent on the product itself and outside of the control of P-O-P.
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Insight
CAB
COGNITIVE
Awareness and Learning
AFFECT
Feeling, interest or desire
BEHAVIOUR
Action
As a result, perhaps the most appropriate model, until recently, for P-O-P was the reduction of the AIDA model to three steps – CAB – Cognition, Affect and Behaviour, which focused on awareness and learning (cognitive), feeling, interest of desire (affect), and action – relating to influencing (behaviour). MODULE 2 | Purchase Models
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Insight
Increasingly Complex Path
The difficulty for marketers, as already explained, is that the path to purchase is no longer confined to the four walls of a store anymore. Within the store environment, P-O-P can provide shoppers with access to research and information, personalise the experience and message, build trust, discover new products, offer help and influence the final purchase decision, but then so too can many other marketing tools, before a shopper has even entered a store – as the following illustration shows.
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Insight
Increasingly Complex Path
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Insight
Shopper Decision Cycle The shopper decision cycle aims to group key actions along the path to purchase, regardless of the marketing tools used within them, to enable shopper marketers to develop a more 360-degree brand experience. There are six stages in the decision cycle – Purpose, Find, Consider, Buy, Use and Share.
Share
Path to Purchase
Use
Buy
MODULE 2 | Purchase Models
Purpose
Find
Consider
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Insight
Shopper Decision Cycle The first of these is ‘Purpose’. As already discussed, this involves the shopper identifying the need.
Purpose
Key question: What is the shopping mission or occasion?
What is the shopping mission or occasion? What do I want to buy, and why? It is then down to the marketer to decide how to best target that shopper mission through the right channels – inside and outside of the store.
MODULE 2 | Purchase Models
Path to Purchase
Shopper Marketing Tactic: How do we target the shopper mission and influence the right channels?
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Insight
Shopper Decision Cycle So, on to the next stage in the cycle, which is defined as ‘Find’. This is straightforward, focusing on when the shopper turns their attention to finding the product, or shortlist of products, that meets their needs. As well as enabling them to physically locate the options for where they will purchase the product from e.g. online, instore – and if so, at which stores. It is the role of shopper marketers to ensure P-O-P navigates shoppers to find the product when they arrive at store. Again, this often extends to before they enter the store e.g. on the journey to store, in the store car park, or at the store entrance.
MODULE 2 | Purchase Models
Key question: Where are these products?
Path to Purchase
Find
Shopper Marketing Tactic: Help shoppers navigate in-store, to and through P-O-P
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Insight
Shopper Decision Cycle The next phase is ‘Consider’. This is where the shopper makes decisions about what they are going to choose to by. Much of these decisions can now be made before leaving the home, with shoppers often conducting significant research online ahead of making a store visit. When the shopper does enter the store, it is the role of P-O-P to ensure displays sell the benefits of products, reaffirm their pre-store decisions or, where possible, work hard to strengthen the product’s position in their consider choice, and encourage them to discard others.
MODULE 2 | Purchase Models
Path to Purchase Key question: What do I choose?
Consider
Shopper Marketing Tactic: How do we sell the benefits of our products and get shoppers to buy our brand?
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Insight
Shopper Decision Cycle Shoppers will then make the decision to ‘Buy’ – with the P-O-P display hopefully having done its job and influence the purchase decision.
Path to Purchase
But the cycle does not end there. The shopper behaviour may have been positively influenced, but they are already thinking about ‘what next?’
Key question: I have made my purchase. What next?
Buy
Shopper Marketing Tactic: Shopper behaviour influenced
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Insight
Shopper Decision Cycle This is where the role of shopper marketing continues to extend beyond the store. With the shopper engaged and open to the brand, they are often keen to learn more. If shopper activations have been well-considered, it is possible that this next phase will have already begun before the shopper left the store, with P-O-P used to communicate after-sales support, such as free tuition back in-store, or online.
Key question: I’m using the product, engaged and open to the brand. What more is there to know?
Use
Path to Purchase
Or possibly P-O-P will have directed them to leave feedback online – receiving a voucher if their give positive comments – or enabled them to download an App to their phone to discover more about the brand and the product when they return home. MODULE 2 | Purchase Models
Shopper Marketing Tactic: Support the shopper with ongoing communication and awareness
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Insight
Shopper Decision Cycle Finally, the shopper decides to ‘Share’ their retail experience with others. They may tell friends, family, work colleagues and peers. Possibly, through social networking sites, as we’ve just discussed. The key objective in this final phase from a retail marketers point of view is to ensure tactics are used to drive repeat purchase and brand loyalty. Again, this could have been communicated at the point-ofpurchase, through money off vouchers, App based e-coupons for their next visit to store, or product related hints and tips, such as recipe cards.
MODULE 2 | Purchase Models
Key question: Will I tell my friends and family about the product and buy again?
Share
Path to Purchase
Shopper Marketing Tactic: Drive repeat purchase and brand loyalty
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Insight
Shopper Decision Cycle Share
Purpose
CONSUMER
Path to Purchase
Use
Find SHOPPER
Buy
Consider
This cycle can be further segmented into ‘shopper’ and ‘consumer’ related phases. The implications and impact of which we discussed earlier in module one.
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Insight
POPAI Path to Purchase Model
PRE-PURCHASE
PURCHASE
POSTPURCHASE
But all of that is still very complex.
The model adopted by POPAI has 3 clear steps.
MODULE 2 | Purchase Models
To simplify this specifically for the P-O-P industry, POPAI created its own three-step model for the path to purchase. While all other models are valid, this model encompass all aspects into three broad stages – Pre-purchase, Purchase and Post-purchase.
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Insight
Savvy Shoppers
Importantly, this new Path to Purchase model acknowledges the increasing importance of pre-purchase activity that can often take place within many, but not all, categories during the purchase process. Typically, pre-purchase is associated with detailed pre-purchase comparison. Previously, shoppers would limit ‘searching’ to saving a bit of money in the Sales on items such as fashion, furniture and electrical goods during well defined seasonal discounting periods.
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Insight
Savvy Shoppers
Alternatively, they would react to discounts given to them by retailers and brands as a reward for shopping with them, such as on-pack coupons. For detailed searches, they would still shop around. But it would involve visiting maybe one or two stores and talking to store staff about which is the best product to buy.
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Insight
Forensic Shoppers
Today, however, things have changed. More and more of us have become forensic shoppers in many of our purchase decisions – conducting detailed comparisons on a daily basis across a range of product categories. Perhaps a result of the global economic recession, but increasingly we are now comparing individual items on our grocery shopping list in more detail than we ever used to when comparing prices for large ticket electrical items in the past.
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Insight
Forensic Shoppers
Shoppers now conduct detailed comparisons on a daily basis across a range of product categories.
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Insight
Forensic Shoppers
It has led, or perhaps been driven by, the explosion of online comparison websites such as Kelkoo, Mysupermarket and Trivago, that allow shoppers to compare the features, benefits and prices of everything from a bottle of ketchup, to holidays, insurance, sofas and electrical goods to find the nearest, the cheapest and the in-stock.
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Part 2 Pre-Purchase
MODULE 2 |
Insight
Shopper Decision Cycle Today, web usage during the pre-research phase is widespread across many shopper demographics, products and services. If we return to look at the shopper decision cycle, we can see that there are three key stages where pre-purchase plays a part in the path to purchase
Share
Path to Purchase
Use
Buy
MODULE 2 | Pre-‐Purchase
Purpose
Find
Consider
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Insight
Pre-Purchase These are ‘Purpose’, ‘Find’ and ‘Consider’. Shoppers will often identify the initial need to purchase through pre-purchase research. In other words, browsing through a website or even visiting a store and then becoming aware of a product they would be interested in owning and deciding that they would like to know more. The Internet will then, typically, play a key role in enabling them to ‘Find’ the exact product they are looking for – either when back at home, or sometimes whilst they are still in-store. For example, they may discover that the product is available in alternative colours not stocked by the retail store they are in, or be able to compare prices with other retailers, whilst also finding out more about the technical specification of the item.
Purpose
Path to Purchase
Find
Consider
The shopper will then use pre-purchase research to inform their list of considered products, brands and places to buy the item from.
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Insight
Touchpoints
ONLINE
IN-STORE
FAMILY & FRIENDS
Within the pre-research phase, there are three distinct touchpoints for communication – Online, In-Store and through friends and family who may also offer their own personal shopping experiences and advice for consideration.
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Insight
Online Research If there’s something you can’t find, you just go online.
The internet helps to keep me more informed.
The web is for convenience.
The web is a great place for ideas and inspiration.
Google is a tried and tested starting point for many, followed by a number of other favourite websites depending on whether the shopper is browsing, researching or buying. Usage continues to grow and it’s an important element of just ‘staying informed’. It’s an important part of daily life and offers access to an incredibly broad depth of information. However, gifters need more inspiration, ideas and guidance.
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Insight
Online Research
It’s a very useful research tool, offering convenience, simplicity and transparency. It’s quick, simple and provides shoppers with information at their fingertips. As a result, many shoppers are now more informed than retail teams that try to serve them when they enter the store – the balance of power is definitely with the shopper.
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Insight
Pre-Purchase 61% of major shopper purchases now start with online research. In fact, it’s hard to imagine shopping without the Internet in our palm or on our desktop.
61%
HOW WILL I PAY?
WHAT DO PEOPLE SAY?
BEST DEAL?
Of major shopper purchases start with ONLINE RESEARCH WHAT CAN I AFFORD?
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Insight
In-home versus in-store Whilst shoppers want to get online with their mobiles, many are still less likely to shop with them. Despite being a useful research tool on the move, the screen size is often a barrier for many when it comes to purchasing, making the laptop or tablet devices an easier search option.
Research in the home is more likely by computer due to screen size, with mobiles used for research on the move and in-store.
MODULE 2 | Pre-‐Purchase
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Insight
Pre-Purchase This pre-research phase plays a vital role for shoppers, enabling them to create a physical or mental shortlist of possibly products before they enter a store. As discussed in Module One, filtering the vast number of products and product variants that are available to buy within any one category is sometimes essential for the modern shopper.
Pre-research phase helps shoppers to shortlist a choice set before they enter a store.
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Insight
Categories Researched It enables them to make detailed comparisons and considered decisions so that shoppers can be sure they are buying the right product, at the right price. Categories often research include:- technical products, those with a specification and, typically, those above a certain price bracket, although this does depend on age and financial status.
Technical products Those with a specification Above a certain price bracket Where price and location are key
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Insight
Pre-Purchase Not all products are worthy of research, or at least not to the same depth. Few shoppers would carry out detailed research when buying a shirt or a DVD as they would a new camera or washing machine.
Not all products need the same level of research.
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Insight
Peer Reviews Reviews, however, do have significant value for shoppers, regardless of what product they are looking to buy. Family and friends opinions count, particularly if they are perceived as experts in that particular product area. Positive reviews can also provide the final vital reassurance for shoppers online. Reviews are searched out and read.
Reviews are important for shoppers, both online and word of mouth.
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Insight
Online Research Interestingly, 18-24 year olds are the least savvy of all when it comes to using comparison websites. They are, however, more likely to Google search or compare from one brand or retail website to another than they are to use price comparison sites. Amazon has a strong role to play and is particularly liked for the Wish List.
In research, Google and Amazon ranked highly for pre-purchase of electrical, music and DVDs – especially ‘Wish List’ feature.
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Insight
Mobile Pre-Purchase
Mobile device searchers take time to research purchase. Often this is because they are actively involved in the process of shopping while they are researching. 66% of mobile phone searchers are looking to make a decision within the day. Unsurprisingly, the figure is highest for those searching for restaurants, travel and cars – shopping activities where people are used to shopping and researching as they go. For example, many car buyers would traditionally have bought a newspaper and circled possible purchases before setting off, ringing dealers as they travel from one to another to confirm if the car listed is still available for them to view and buy. MODULE 2 | Pre-‐Purchase
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Insight
Online research in-store POPAI research has shown is that shoppers are increasingly interested in being able to surf and buy online when they are in-store. As a result of this, a growing number of retailers and brands are introduced WiFi access into their stores. Department store group Marks & Spencer has invested significant sums in web-enabled screens that allow shoppers to click and collect in-store. It has also introduced an ‘online shop’ in-store that allows shoppers to see exclusive ranges in-store, but to then order online. Meanwhile, Virgin Holidays has introduced App-enabled browsing experiences in its stores, bringing the holiday brochure to life by directing shoppers to video footage of the destination, customer reviews and additional resort information.
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Insight
Online research in-store
Despite shoppers wanting to be able to access the web while in-store, they are less keen for the store to move to the web. POPAI research shows shoppers believe that virtual stores do not have the same experience as bricks and mortar stores – they are more functional experiences and sometimes less ‘connected’ to their needs.
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Part 3 Purchase
MODULE 2 |
Insight
Purchase So now, let’s move on to Purchase. This stage is the point of which the shopper chooses the product or service to be bought. Returning once again to the Shopper Decision Cycle, we can see that there are three key stages that are affected by the actual Purchase.
Path to Purchase
Find
These are ‘Find’, ‘Consider’ and ‘Buy’. While ‘Find’ is also a key element of the pre-purchase phase, but within the context of the actual store visit, its role is less about finding which stores to buy the product from, and more about physical navigation and orientation when you arrive.
MODULE 2 | Purchase
Buy
Consider
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Insight
Purchase This can begin before a shopper enters the store, with advertising on the roadside, at the car park and store entrances and even on external poster sites and trolleys.
Path to Purchase
Once inside, attention then turns to using P-O-P advertising to direct the shopper to the product they are interested in buying as quickly and efficiently as possible. Whilst this can be the outcome of a shopper’s evaluation of alternatives, P-O-P can reinforce or alter the way shoppers think about preresearch evaluations and impact upon the shopper’s visit into a retail store by influencing them to make unplanned purchases or switch to another brand.
Buy
Find
Consider
And, most importantly of all is the final purchase.
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Insight
Touchpoints
IN-STORE
ONLINE
SOCIAL NETWORKS
While in-store is clearly the most important touchpoint during the physical purchase process, online still has a role to play. As we’ve already discussed, many shoppers now continue to use the internet to review and compare products in addition to in-store communication when in the retail environment. Amazon, for example, now has it’s own barcode scanning App. What’s more, social networking sites also allow friends and family of shoppers to remotely join in with the purchase process. MODULE 2 | Purchase
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Insight
In-store Purchase
For the remainder of this section, however, we will focus on how the store itself can influence the purchase. In-store is sensory, informative and interactive.
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Insight
In-store provides reassurance In-store offers a tangible experience and while the web may be simple and convenient, the retail environment and P-O-P advertising offers the chance to truly engage and inspire. One of the key benefits of in-store is the ability to pick up and test the product.
Shoppers want to touch, feel and interact with products in-store, and benefit from knowledgeable staff.
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Insight
Shopper Activation Touchpoints Within the full retail environment there are several touchpoints that can influence the purchase journey. These include the journey immediately up to the store and the car park area. As already discussed, these can influence shoppers when they are still in the ‘Pre-purchase’ phase. Touchpoints situated front of store as well as on-fixture and off-fixture can help to navigate shoppers to find they product or products they are looking to buy. While both on- and off-fixture P-O-P are also crucial to communicating with shoppers when they are considering products. Till points also provide a final opportunity to influence purchase choice for some categories, as well as to complete the sales transaction.
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Insight
Shopper Activation Touchpoints Plan Buy
Shopper Journey Choose
Navigate
MODULE 2 | Purchase
Navigate
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Insight
How are we shopping?
When considering the purchase phase of the shopper journey it is important to understand how approaches to shopping are changing. In the previous module, we looked at shopper behaviour. We have also discussed shopper approaches to pre-purchase and their relentless search for information to ensure they are making the best purchase possible. But it is also important to understand how the approach to ‘the purchase’ can be affected instore.
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Insight
How are we shopping?
As you can see from the first two stats on the following page, shoppers are becoming much more selective in their purchases and are often unwilling to substitute for an alternative brand, if out of stock. Perhaps this is increasingly due to the fact that they simply return home and order the product they want online, rather than ‘making do’ with an alternative. Perhaps most worrying for marketers is the final figure though, which shows that 20% of shoppers actually take products out of the basket before buying – effectively reversing their purchase decision. Arguably, if the communication to buy the product had been sufficiently compelling, they would have been unlikely to change their mind, after having already gone so far down the path to purchase.
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Insight
How we are shopping
53% 24% 20% Of shoppers only buy what they came for
MODULE 2 | Purchase
Of shoppers will go without, if out of stock
Of shoppers will take items out of trolley before purchase
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Insight
A New Shopper Journey Loca2ng Looking for a specific product or brand
Help me find it Remind me what I need
Exploring Open minded but category focused
Mix it up for me Reassure me Show me Convince me
Dreaming Unfocused leisure shopping, open to experiences
Challenge me Inspire me Entertain me Teach me Play with me
To ensure the retail experience is sufficiently compelling to secure the sale, leading industry experts are turning their attention to approaching the Purchase part of the shopper journey in new ways. One such approach has categorised shopper behaviour during the Purchase phase into three themes – these are ‘locating’, ‘exploring’ and ‘dreaming’. Swedish furniture retailer IKEA is a good example of this theory in practice within a single retail space. IKEA’s self-service area is a functional experience built for Locators. Its marketplace validates choice through effective P-O-P, such as chair testing demonstrations, to satisfy Explorers. Whilst elsewhere in the store, room sets help Dreamers to imagine alternatives for the home.
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Insight
A New Shopper Journey
‘Self Serve’ area is a functional experience for locators.
‘Marketplace’ validates choice through effective merchandising.
Room sets help browsers to imagine new alternatives.
Shoppers in a ‘locating’ mindstate are looking for a specific product, brand or service and require P-O-P advertising and the in-store environment to help them find it quickly and remind them of what they need when on their shopping journey – making the process as easy and efficient as possible. Those in the ‘exploring’ mindstate are more open-minded but category-focused. In other words, they want P-O-P advertising to reassure them, provide them with ideas and convince them they are making the correct purchase decision. Lastly, is the ‘dreaming’ mindstate, where shoppers are unfocused, open to new experiences and are likely to be leisure shopping. Here there is a need to challenge the shopper, to entertain them, teach them and inspire them in-store. MODULE 2 | Purchase
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Insight
Locating
Here are a series of other examples demonstrating these three themes. The first is Dixons’ Add store concept at London’s Heathrow Airport, with a store layout and colour coded navigational signage and P-O-P displays designed specifically for Locators – making it easy for busy business travellers to find the travel electrical essentials they need before they fly.
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Insight
Exploring
This example of LEGO’s flagship stores is a great example of a store designed to appeal to Explorers, with products merchandised alongside play tables and other interactive displays that allow shoppers, and their children, to create and discover as part of the purchase process.
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Insight
Dreaming
Lastly, is this example of the Asian Paints store in India, an inspirational and educational colour experience that offers a highly personalised colour solution for visiting shoppers, where guests can interact and experience what colour can do for their homes without buying a single pot of paint.
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Part 4 Post-Purchase
MODULE 2 |
Insight
Post-Purchase Share
Use
Path to Purchase
Shoppers are beginning to see reviews and feedback as an important path to purchase. Covering the final two areas of the Shopper Decision Cycle, the shopping experience as well as the wider brand experience now extends far beyond the store visit itself. The impact of the shopping experience on post-purchase thinking has a significant impact on future purchase decision-making. Only 30% of shoppers would give a store a second chance, with the average return time to store after a bad experience almost 14 months (Source: The Verde Group). MODULE 2 | Post-‐Purchase
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Insight
Touchpoints
ONLINE REVIEWS
SOCIAL NETWORKS
WORD OF MOUTH
With the growth in online review sites and social networking, shoppers now have a greater voice than ever before. Despite this, it is still important to remember that physical word of mouth – talking amongst friends and family – still has a key role in the post-purchase phase. According to a recent study (Source: Sociable Labs, Social Impact Consumer Study), 57% of shoppers are more likely to buy after receiving opinions from friends. MODULE 2 | Post-‐Purchase
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Insight
Post-Purchase Once feared by retailers, many are now beginning to embrace social media and online led reviews and feedback. In America, for example, retailer Sears offers incentives to shoppers for sharing their recent customer service experiences through its online presences. Elsewhere, retailers such as Gap are encouraging shoppers to access customer reviews via their QR phone App.
There is a growing expectation to see reviews and feedback within in-store communications.
MODULE 2 | Post-‐Purchase
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Insight
Post-Purchase Reviews can and do change shopper behaviour. More and more shoppers are entering the world of online reviews and post-purchase is gradually becoming more structured, with developments in social media. Verbal word of mouth is still number one, but online through social network is a strong second.
Reviews can and do change shopper behaviour.
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Part 5 Barriers to Purchase
MODULE 2 |
Insight
Barriers to Purchase
Marketers must also turn attention to understanding the reasons why shoppers do not buy. As we’ve now identified, shoppers are just people making a choice from a very large number of options. It means we need to take a new approach to improve the effectiveness of the wider path to purchase, one that starts with the reasons people aren’t buying and is single-mindedly focused on overcoming these barriers to purchase. Many brands encounter similar barriers to purchase.
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Insight
Why do shoppers not buy?
To understand this, marketers must get to the heart of shoppers’ purchasing challenges.
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Case Example Applied
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Crown Paint…Overcoming barriers
A good example of this is the barrier identified by Crown Paints, which led to the development of its Truelight display solution. With hundreds of colours available within most paint ranges, choice is a key barrier to purchase for shoppers. Often they are simply overwhelmed by the choice on offer, and also afraid to make the wrong choice – resulting in money wasted and a need to redecorate, again, to cover the new colour. MODULE 2 | Examples
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Crown Paint…Overcoming barriers To overcome purchase barriers, you must identify precisely what the barrier is, only then can you find the insight needed to overcome it. For Truelight, the really inspiring insight was that what shoppers thought was the perfect colour choice instore, often looked very different in the home. This resulted in a negative experience of the product, leading to unhappy shoppers and poor brand loyalty. The design focused on the need to create a ‘True Light, True Colour System’. The P-O-P display incorporated dimmable ‘daylight’ bulbs to enable the appearance of the paint colour to be viewed differently by adjusting the light intensity using a dimmer switch. For example, the kitchen space normally provides a brighter light, whereas the bedroom is a softer light. When shoppers placed their colour card into the display, the colour changed in response to the light intensity, allowing shoppers to make more informed choices about paint purchasing decisions.
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Insight
Solve Problems
It takes a lot to change shoppers’ habits. Simply telling them how great you are is unlikely to cut through. Instead, it’s important to provide solutions to shoppers’ issues. Think of this example. You are at the airport and realise you have left your bag of toiletries at home, You need to buy a complete set of travel size personal products under 100ml. Having already visited three aisles in search of your trusted brands in your basket, you notice a pre-packaged travel pack with everything you need and chose that instead. In an instant, years of brand loyalty are destroyed with a simple yet inspiring shopper solution to your problem. MODULE 2 | Purchase
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Part 6 Factors Influencing Purchase Process
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Purchase Complexity In the case of the path to purchase, there are some key influences that may impact on the purchase process. The purchase decision process varies greatly with the shopper level of involvement required. This refers to the time and effort invested in researching and evaluating particular purchase decisions. For example, you would expect to take far longer and invest much more time in the purchase of a new car, compared to a tin of tuna.
The purchase process varies greatly depending on the level of involvement required.
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Insight
Purchase Complexity
Low involvement
High involvement
Routine response purchases Limited search for alternatives Buying can become automatic
Complex product features Extensive pre-purchase research Certain level of associated risk
Low involvement products tend to relate to lower priced products and services and often see shoppers more willing to trial a product or service and evaluate its features after purchase. For some low involvement purchases such as bread, milk and coffee, buying can become almost routine response purchases with the search for alternatives extremely limited. High involvement purchases, however, require extensive pre-research such as holidays, new home furniture or a new car. MODULE 2 | Factors Influencing Purchase
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Insight
Level of Purchase Involvement
According to research by Inmar Retail Insights, shoppers typically refer to 18 sources of information before buying a new car.
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Insight
Purchase Consideration
Perhaps more worryingly, the same research also suggests that US shoppers now rely on more sources of information to inform them during pre-purchase when buying an iPod…
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Insight
Making the right choice is important
…than they do when they are making decisions about who to vote in the Presidential elections.
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Time Spent In-store
The amount of time shoppers set aside for the shopping mission will influence how they engage with P-O-P and process information.
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Time Spent In-store
High involvement
Low involvement
Comparative shopping between stores High P-O-P engagement Cross category products comparison
Focus on finding right product Need for quick in-store navigation No comparison if price acceptable
For example, if a person is looking to purchase a new SatNav for their car, they are likely to spend a good deal of time on comparative shopping in a number of stores and online, and will probably engage with P-O-P displays that provide information on features and benefits, as well as crosscategory comparisons. However, if the same shopper suddenly needs a new in-car charger for the SatNav on the way to business meeting, their mission will be focused on locating the right product to match their needs, at an acceptable price point, as quickly as possible, as highlighted in the Locator mindstate, earlier. MODULE 2 | Factors Influencing Purchase
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Store Layout
P-O-P located towards the back of the store is at a disadvantage to displays at the front of store. It is commonly accepted that the layout of the store plays a critical role in the direction shoppers take when they first walk into the store and the path they subsequently take around it. Research findings from POPAI conducted in 2008 show that P-O-P located towards the back of a store is at natural performance disadvantage to that which is positioned at the front of the store, simply because there are fewer shoppers travelling to that area of the store, and so they do not have the opportunity to see it.
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Store Layout
Shoppers are more comfortable walking anti-clockwise and will automatically move in this direction. Other studies have warned retailers against building the entrance on the left side of a store, if you want to encourage longer shopping trips. Shoppers are more comfortable walking anti-clockwise and will automatically go in this direction, according to research (Sorensen, 2008).
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Store Layout
There have been many studies on shopper movement and traffic flow instore to identify hotspots and shopper penetration.
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Part 7 Impact, Engagement and Conversion
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POPAI 4-Step Model Before finishing this module, we are going to take an introductory look at the concept of Impact, Engagement and Conversion as a measure of P-O-P effectiveness. This will be discussed in greater detail in the final module of the course when we look at P-O-P Effectiveness and Measurement but, given its close relationship to other models discussed in this module, it is important that we start to develop a basic understanding of the principles here. Until now, the design of P-O-P display and associated promotional messages has been based on little more than guesswork and without reference to the retail environment and shopper responses. By analysing shopper responses to specific items of P-O-P display, POPAI has been able to create a set of metrics and measures that can be used to design displays based on a detailed understanding of how shoppers react to each in-store advertising campaign component during the crucial Purchase phase of the path to purchase. As a result of extensive research, which saw over 7million shopper transaction analysed, POPAI has now created a four-step journey during the purchase process in-store.
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POPAI 4-Step Model
Once in-store, shoppers follow a 4-step process, or journey, at the point-of-purchase.
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POPAI 4-Step Model
IMPACT
ENGAGEMENT
CONVERSION
LOST CONVERSION
These four-steps – Impact, Engagement, Conversion and Lost Conversion, provide comparable measures to above-the-line advertising but are, importantly, specifically designed to the world of retail marketing.
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Impact The first stage of the process is Impact. This is the measure of the number of shoppers who enter the store and who have an opportunity to pass the display versus the number who actually look at a display.
A measure of shoppers who enter a store and who have an opportunity to pass a display.
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Engagement The second stage of the process is Engagement. Engagement is a measure of who looks at a display and the extent to which the shopper interacts with the product or display prior before making the final purchase decision. For example, read, smell, open, taste or touch.
A measure of shoppers who interact with a display before making a purchase decision.
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Conversion
Conversion is a measure of shoppers who look at a display and then go on to purchase from the display.
The measure of the shoppers who look at the display and go on to purchase the product from it.
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Lost Conversion Lost Conversion is a measure of the extent to which shoppers engage with the product on display – but then do not purchase it. As we saw earlier, with an estimated 20% of shoppers removing products from their basket prior to purchase, this may become one of the most crucial measures of all moving forward as marketers seek to find new ways to improve effectiveness along the path to purchase.
A measure of shoppers who engage with a display – but then do not purchase it.
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Summary
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Learning Outcomes Congratulations. Now you’ve completed this module, you will be able to: 1. Differentiate the various path to purchase models 2. Identify the three core steps in the path to purchase 3. Recognise differences in purchase decision complexity 4. Understand the factors influencing the purchase process 5. Explain impact, engagement and conversion measures
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Key Learnings
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Key Learnings 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Shopping no longer begins and ends in the store The journey has 3 steps – pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase Shoppers are shopping cross-channel and becoming forensic in their pre-research behaviour The growing e-cigarette market will heighten relevance Both pre- and post-purchase are important influencers It’s important to understand why shoppers don’t buy Marketers must instore activations to solve problems The type of purchase affects time instore and level of engagement
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