It's Just not Convenient...

I don't think it will surprise anyone to learn that today's consumers increasingly prioritize convenience in return for laying out their moolah. Should you need official proof, that's the conclusion of the latest issue of the Consumer View report by the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Consumers also want retailers to continue to offer innovative ways to save them time and effort. Again, not unexpected in this age of one-click shopping. 

One little bit of data from the NRF survey that surprised me was that 97 percent of respondents said they had backed out of a purchase because it was "inconvenient" for them. I'm not sure what constitutes inconvenience here, but there's clearly a whole lot of pain points retailers need to work through to keep their customers happy and the dollars (pounds, euros, yen, yuan etc etc) flowing freely. 

But are these real impediments or is it because consumers (and I count myself among them) have become, well, spoilt? 

Mark Mathews, NRF vice president for Research Development and Industry Analysis, explains this a little with his assessment that, "time is a precious commodity for today's consumers. "Shoppers are busier with commuting to work, dealing with family obligations or catching up on schoolwork, among other things. Naturally, convenience factors are playing a larger role in their shopping experience."

Other evidence is that we have become more demanding. According to the report, 83 percent of consumers say convenience while shopping is more important to them now compared with five years ago. 

I'm not sure if this is a pleasing development in our evolution, but once you go forward it's hard to come back and anything less than totally convenient is just not going to cut it. 

And while you can lay the blame on millennials or Gen Zs or whoever happens to be in the firing line today as we hark back to the "good old days," the thing that retailers - jewelers included - must know is that while consumers overwhelmingly opt for quality and price in purchasing decisions, convenience offers a competitive advantage.

That doesn't mean they can scrimp on quality or price, but making things as convenient as possible will keep the checkouts a'ringing and the credit cards a'swiping. 

But what exactly does that mean? It depends if your focus is online or offline (or both, if you have an omni-channel approach).

According to the NRF, 38 percent said that for online shopping, convenience matters most during the beginning of the shopping experience when consumers are researching products and trying to determine which option is best for them. This compares to 40 percent of in-store shoppers who said checkout is when convenience is most important. 

Beginning or end, buyers are voting with their feet (and, more importantly with their wallets) with 93 percent of consumers say they are more likely to choose to shop at a specific retailer based on convenience.

Of course, the problem is that there is no clear-cut definition of convenience. What is convenient for me may not be convenient for someone else. And that is just one of the very many challenges facing retailers in this increasingly demanding world. 

Have a fabulous weekend!