First published in April 2022 by InventivoConsulting, Republished with copyrights

Shopping behaviour has changed in the past few years, and people are now conscientious, thoughtful and even creative in how they shop. With all these trending shopping behaviour shifting rapidly, how do you know which trend to react to as a seller?

Follow me to look at these three new shopping trends that have come to stay.

1. People are way ahead of the holiday rush.

We are always moving to get things cheaper before the holiday rush—for instance, during Christmas. No one goes shopping on Christmas Eve and gets cheap products, and this is because there is high demand, and sellers do take advantage of these opportunities.
So, businesses need to pay attention to this trend because the 2021 holiday shopping season proved the biggest yet, with 14.1% year-over-year revenue growth and a record of $886.7 billion in sales. Also, 40% of holiday shoppers in the U.S. consider shopping much earlier for other major seasons and events. The lesson here is that to attract and keep the attention of these early-bird shoppers, businesses need to launch their marketing strategies much earlier in the year and rethink their product varieties across both physical and online shelves.

2. People like the convenience of omnichannel shopping.

Buyers are now free to shop in-store, online or from an app to ensure their shopping trips are hassle-free and convenient. 53% of holiday shoppers in the U.S. said they check online to ensure a product is in stock before going to the store to buy it. Also, Google map searches for “shopping near me” have grown globally by more than 100% yearly. Businesses can benefit from this trend by embracing an omnichannel or hybrid marketing strategy promoting a seamless buyer experience. Businesses can run local inventory ads to publicise products ready for purchase in their stores.

3. People now do their window shopping online.

Buyers usually have ideas of what they are looking for but are blank on what product or brand they want. So they search online for new ideas. In a recent survey, 38% of shoppers worldwide said they use Google to find out about new products. This online discovery phase gives online businesses a big opportunity to inspire people in their earlier paths to purchase.

For example, someone can visit YouTube on how to cook a particular soup and see the blender used in blending pepper. And, without leaving YouTube, the content creator could be recommending the blender on the live stream or see an ad featuring the blender and buy it on the spot.
Businesses can take advantage of these trends, effortlessly turning video ads into virtual storefronts and leading people from inspiration to purchase.

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