By Sangeetha G: Integrating different platforms — offline, online, social media and smart phones —has become imperative for retailers as the urban consumer is making increasing use of them to make his choices, a study by payment processing company First Data Corporation says. The study done among credit/debit card holding educated urban middle-class Indians in the 18-45 years age group found that consumers, more time-conscious and value-conscious than ever, were using these platforms while making a purchase. “A merchant cannot remain isolated in one platform anymore. Consumers prefer retailers who are available across these platforms,” Nitish Asthana, director-commercial at First Data Corp- ICICI Merchant Services said. According to him, customers are using social media, seeking better information about products, prices and services and credible reviews from their peers. The study finds that 81 per cent of respondents frequently or sometimes use social media to seek advice before making a purchase. Saahil Goel, CEO and co-founder of Bigfoot Retail Solutions, finds that in categories like fashion, accessories and other lifestyle products and services, social media work well. “In product categories, which are visually appealing, social media work well. Many of our clients have seen higher conversions in referrals made through social media compared to Google. Social media drive consumer behaviour as the consumer is interacting with his peer group,” he said. Alberto Torresi finds that social media help the brand directly connect with the customer. “It has made customers more aware and receptive to international fashion and this has helped a brand like ours. More than conversions, it promotes the brand and enables receiving feedback from customers”, said Ishaan Sachdeva, director of Alberto Torresi. In case of smart phones, the study found that almost 65 per cent of users had used their phone’s web browser to visit a retailer’s website to make a purchase. Around 78 per cent of smartphone users frequently or sometimes use their mobile phone in a store to compare prices in another shop and 79 per cent of them have at least one retailer application on their phone. sangeethag@mydigitalfc.com, Source: mydigitalfc.com, Reference-Image: flickr.com
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