Serie : How to help the augmented consumer through the purchase process

Welcome to our 3-episode series that will take you to the heart of the smartphone era and the evolution of consumer behaviors. Throughout these episodes, we will explore how technological advancements have transformed our daily lives and the implications for the future of e-commerce.

In January 2007, Apple launched its first iPhone. The path to a new era was clear: the era of smartphones, which, in just a few years, revolutionised all aspects of our personal and professional lives.

New mobile apps emerged every day, in all aspects of daily life (shopping, transport, media, physical activity, timetable management etc.) Today, smartphones have today become real life assistants.

In this white paper, we will first address how our smartphones have turned us into augmented consumers by making it possible to search and discover products and services in a matter of seconds, no matter where we are.

The omnipresence of these devices in our lives will only become more strongly pronounced with the emergence of voice assistants, such as “OK Google” or “Hey Siri”. Because today, machines are able to understand the language of humans.

The behaviour of users is developing in response to the innovations of the GAFAM companies. High standards of customer experience continue to rise and digital consumption is gradually taking precedence over physical consumption.

So we ask the question: how can e-commerce organisations face these new challenges?

Then, secondly, you will discover why the search box is the answer for these connected consumers.

Indeed, today it is the critical function to success of online stores, encouraging each visitor to have an instant and personalised experience. The stakes are twofold! It’s about boosting the overall conversion of the site as well as customer loyalty.

More and more consumers in many situations are turning to the search box. Moreover, one consumer out of two admits to using it as part of their purchase journey.*2.

Finally, we will see to what extent search engines have become deeply embedded in our lives. The action of seeking information, news stories or a product will stay at the heart of everyday life for people, regardless of the tool used. We hear a lot about voice and visual search. These are becoming more accessible and are undoubtedly taking us to a turning point in the use of product catalogues. They are definitely ones to watch!

*1 GAFAM : Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft

*2 Source : Sensefuel - Report on research practices – February 2018