“Walking” is turning into “sailing”. Where is it? On the Internet! If once it was us who walked in front of the shop windows, now it is the shop windows that pass in front of us. There are almost 51 million people connected to the Internet in Italy and they spend an average of over six hours a day, as indicated in the 2022 We Are Social report. The way they look for, choose, buy goods and services and relate to companies has changed. We speak more and more often of "e-Shoppers", referring not only to the digital channels from which it is possible to buy, but above all to a new consumer habit.
The numbers
In the first quarter of 2022, according to research by Netcomm, 33.3 million Italians bought goods and services online, making an average of 1.3 purchases each month. About 90% of transactions were made by repeat buyers (at least three purchases per quarter), with a repurchase rate of 54.9%. These are mainly physical products (clothing, agri-food, beauty) but also digital goods and services (tickets for travel and events, contents, insurance), in a ratio of 4 to 1. What was born as an emergency solution during the pandemic is becoming a conscious purchasing habit for many. Regardless of the type of good sought, in Italy the customer journey (lit. consumer journey) is increasingly "phygital", i.e. a hybrid between physical and digital. For example, the "click and collect" practice is quite widespread, which involves paying online and collecting the purchase in a physical store.
The "profiling"
Virtual contexts are rapidly integrating with "real" ones, significantly increasing the opportunities for interaction and meeting between company and consumer. This evolution makes end customers more easily identifiable and knowable. In marketing we speak specifically of "profiling", referring to the collection of information and preferences which allow for the elaboration of a tailor-made offer. Like when in the morning, entering the trusted bar, you order "the usual". In the same way, users can access a large amount of details about the brand and the value of its offer, which inevitably influence the decision to buy or not. The reasons that drive online sales vary from sector to sector, for example for purchases in fashion the price, clear description of the product and service offered count, for beauty, alongside economic convenience, factors such as sustainability and environmental impact appear. A discriminating factor that unites all types of purchase is the relationship of trust and attachment to the company.
Digital relationships
It will be increasingly important, also and above all for small and medium-sized enterprises, to take care of their online presence by trying to humanize digital relationships. The migration of the population from its habitat made up only of "physical things" towards a context "made up of bits" has begun and does not seem to want to stop. In this new dimension with blurred boundaries, where the actions performed in the real environment are immediately reflected in the virtual environment and vice versa, the creation of fluid and engaging experiences is a goal to be achieved!
Frances Muscas
