Member Article

Retailers must understand psychology behind consumer engagement

As the retail sector begins to experience the first stages of ‘app fatigue’, organisations must rethink the effectiveness of traditional in-store apps, in order for customers to build an emotive connection with a brand. This is according to Ross Tuffee, CEO of DOGFI.SH Mobile, who states that retailers need to understand the triggers that bring about a deeper engagement amongst target audiences and focus their apps accordingly.

Recent data from IMRG Capgemini revealed that online retail sales maintained a strong start to the year with double-digit growth year-on-year in February. Sales made on smartphones were also impressive with a 57 per cent growth. However, it was revealed that sales actually experienced a slow-down when compared to February 2016’s 96 per cent.

To reverse this downward curve, Tuffee suggests that retailers should look to leverage habit forming principles to understand why consumers engage with apps in the first place and

in doing so reduce the threat of app fatigue and help connect with them on an emotional level, to increase value from the relationship:

“The proliferation of mobile devices means more and more retailers are leading with a ‘mobile-first’ strategy, designed to deliver richer shopping experiences for their customers and ultimately drive growth. Mobile apps are a really effective way to drive sales, engagement and customer loyalty in the retail space, but they’ve got to earn their place on users’ smartphones. Unfortunately, many retailers’ apps aren’t ‘sticky’ enough and don’t do enough to enhance users’ shopping experiences. The result is that engagement often fails to meet the expected demand and from this we start to see app fatigue as users shed their apps.

“In the event of a downturn, many see the solution as needing to redesign an app to make it faster, slicker and what they assume to be ‘user-friendly’ to capture consumer interest. In doing so they fail the biggest test, which is needing to understand why an app is so engaging in the first place.

“Habit-forming technology has been widely used by the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat to increase engagement and develop platforms that are built on impulse; it’s imperative retailers follow suit. This will include identifying the hooks including the ‘Triggers’, ‘Action’ ‘Rewards’ and ‘Investment’, which keep users coming back again and again. In doing so, this will allow the retailer to build an emotive relationship with a customer. In practice this is more than simply satisfying demand for a product. It is tapping into the customer’s fundamental motivations and fulfilling their deep, often unspoken emotional needs.

“In apparel retail for example, a key emotional motivator might be a desire to belong, while enjoying the independence and freedom of shopping for clothes. Addressing this the retailer they might use relatable models within their imagery and provide personalised alerts on new items to enhance the shopping experience and build a connection.”

Tuffee concluded: “While the drop in figures within sales on mobile is unlikely to cause panic within the industry, to dismiss it altogether would be a huge mistake. Industry data highlights that 303 of the top 500 retailers have an app in place for customers, demonstrating the level of competition the industry is facing. This will only intensify and because of this those companies will need to develop new and more engaging ways to reach their target audience. If you can understand the psychology as to why consumers engage in a product this will provide you with a huge opportunity to not only design a product that can support sales growth, but also allow help you build a relationship with a customer based on more than just satisfying a need.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Super User .