Online retail shopping trends

Online retail shopping is one of the fastest growing trends in consumer marketing, it is a trend which is changing the way consumers purchase goods and services and make transactions. With the growth of internet and smart technology such as tablets and smartphones, purchasing online has had a huge influence on consumer’s consumption habits and it has never been easier for consumers at the touch of their hands to access, anywhere, anytime, (Al-Debei, Akroush, & Ashouri, 2015).

Online shopping allows consumers to save time, effort and money when purchasing online without having to physically drive to the stores and hunt for items. Both authors Vanishee and Al-Debei of two different consumer marketing journal articles describe that the main driving force for online shopping is the convenience of unlimited accessibility 24/7, the immense variety of options and the ability to compare products, information, prices and quality among other online retailers. These authors conducted a study about consumer’s attitudes towards online shopping, introducing an integrated model which evaluates the relationship perceived benefits, trust and perceived web quality has on a consumers attitudes towards online shopping, (Al-Debei, Akroush, & Ashouri, 2015). According to their findings consumer’s attitude towards online shopping are highly influenced by trust and perceived benefits.  

Vanishee, 2012, indicated that if marketers know the factors affecting online consumers behaviour they can develop their marketing strategies to meet consumer needs, gain a competitive advantage and convert potential customers into active ones. In order to benefit from an online store marketers must understand their target audience and consider the most important factors of trust, quality, price and perceived benefits which impact buyers purchasing online, ( Vanishee, 2012). 

The global trend of online shopping has implications which affect retailers still operating in a traditional bricks- and-mortar environment. Although there is still a need for bricks –and-mortar stores they are competing with the online retail environment. Bricks-and-mortar stores use forms of social media to advertise and try draw customer into the stores. However, many retailers have still not yet made the step to creating an online store where customers can purchase items without having to go in. The number of online shopping websites are suggestively increasing making it more appealing to consumers to turn to online shopping over real life bricks-and-mortar stores. This also influences businesses to join the trend to gain a higher customer reaching and increase sales. The impact of the growth of internet has greatly affected consumer’s lives and has had a huge impact on retail businesses. Many businesses who have adapted to the online shopping trends improved and benefit greatly from the new trend, however, other retailers who have not followed the new online trend have fallen behind in business operations and in sales.

With many benefits of online shopping also comes many negative aspects. There is an increase of personal privacy and online scams which seem to worry many consumers. With online retail stores and international stores many other problem may occur, some common issues are sizing differences, shipping complications, and false advertisement or poor quality of products. However if retailers understand these issues and ensure they operate at a high standard and quality they will do well and gain trust from consumers.

With the expansion and development of internet and broadband and electronic devices businesses have been encouraged to use different forms of communication to connect with consumers to increase profit. Adjusting to this trend of online communication will help keep these retailers in the market and expand their customer reach by combining an online store as well as the tradition bricks-and-mortar store. Understanding their customers and meeting their needs of convenience, trust and perceived benefits and perceived web quality can increase their sales against competitors.

References 

Al-Debei, M., Akroush, M., & Ashouri, M. (2015). Consumer attitudes towards online shopping. Internet Research, 25(5), 707-733. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/intr-05-2014-0146

Vanishree. (2012). Customer perception towards online shopping. Asia Pacific Journal of Management & Entrepreneurship Research, 1(2), 46-58. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.ecu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1317617150?accountid=10675

Influence of online consumer reviews

Online consumer reviews is a form of electronic word-of-mouth and is an emerging trend in product marketing which is highly influential on a consumers final purchase decision.

According to (Cui, Lui, & Guo, 2012) online product review web sites outrank all other media in influencing customer decisions.  This is because consumer- oriented information about products written by other experienced consumers is noticed to be more trustworthy. Experienced consumers offer critical information in reviews which helps other consumers make informed decisions about purchasing new products. In an infographic ‘the Importance of Online Customer Reviews’ Saleh states many interesting facts about customer reviews. According to Saleh around 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (Saleh, 2016). This shows how powerful consumer reviews can be to other customers who seek for information about a specific product to gain an insight into the quality and feedback of other consumer’s experiences before purchasing. Consumers who search for online reviews accept them as a ‘valuable and credible’ source of information to find out about the product strengths and weaknesses from a customer’s perception, (Robson, Farshid, Bredican, & Humphrey, 2013).  

According to the Authors of a market research journal nearly a quarter of all internet users consult online reviews prior to making their purchase decision of a product or service, (Robson, Farshid, Bredican, & Humphrey, 2013).  This is because online consumer reviews provide recommendations, important information and product experiences from another customer’s perspective, rather than just what is adverstised by the business.

Online reviews can be very overwhelming for consumers, with an influx of information overload it makes it difficult for consumer and marketers to make meaning from the considerable amount of reviews and information presented by consumers. (Robson, Farshid, Bredican, & Humphrey, 2013) described online reviews as unstructured and responses are unsystematic therefore making it difficult for consumers to choose reliable reviews. Information overload is not only overwhelming for consumers but can be very difficult for the businesses to understand what customers like or dislike and if they need to improve their products or services. If negative online consumer reviews are posted they can have a detrimental effect on a business’s image. According the Saleh 86% of people will hesitate to purchase from a business which has negative consumer reviews.  

 It is important for businesses to keep updated with consumer reviews and make it applicable to their online websites as there is a very positive relationship between consumer reviews and product sales. To ensure positive reviews businesses need to critically analyse all consumer feedback, positive and negative, to establish what their customers want in order to meet their needs and eliminate poor product reviews.

Online consumer reviews is a current issue in marketing as consumer experience on products or services is highly influential to those seeking for more information. However many consumers provide incorrect and inconsistent information which is miss leading and can have a huge effect on the business. Consumer reviews are a very powerful form of online communication with consumers sharing product and service experiences with the online community which are visible to the world. To benefit from consumer review and encourage positive feedback marketers need to understand how to influence consumers to share product information according to (Cui, Lui, & Guo, 2012) researchers have recommended encouraging advocates and withholding product information to influence consumers to provide online reviews and share positive information about their products and services.

References

Robson, K., Farshid, M., Bredican, J., & Humphrey, S. (2013). Making sense of online consumer reviews: a methodology. International Journal Of Market Research, 55(4), 521. http://dx.doi.org/10.2501/ijmr-2013-046

Cui, G., Lui, H., & Guo, X. (2012). The Effect of Online Consumer Reviews on New Product Sales. International Journal Of Electronic Commerce, 17(1), 39-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.2753/jec1086-4415170102

Other references

Baek, H., Ahn, J., & Choi, Y. (2012). Helpfulness of Online Consumer Reviews: Readers' Objectives and Review Cues. International Journal Of Electronic Commerce, 17(2), 99-126. http://dx.doi.org/10.2753/jec1086-4415170204

Saleh, K. (2016). The Importance Of Online Customer Reviews [Infographic] | The Invesp Blog. Invespcro.com. Retrieved 2 September 2016, from http://www.invespcro.com/blog/the-importance-of-online-customer-reviews-infographic/

Social Media effects on teens body image

Social media is changing the way people view their bodies and is having a large impact on particularly female’s attitudes on their body image. Body dissatisfaction among females, especial adolescent girls is seen to be linked to the use of social media platforms where marketing of ‘the perfect skinny, bronzed body’ is the key to happiness. Caroline Nokes recorded that the influence to look good has increased the rate of cosmetic surgery by about 20% since 2008 (Roxby, 2014).

Tiggemann & Slater, 2013 demonstrated in their journal article the impact of social media on teens through a questionnaire to young girls measuring the relationship between media consumption and body image concerns. In their findings 97.5% of the girls had access to the internet and the time spent online was significantly related to the body esteem and body surveillance among the teens. Social media is noticed to have mediated the effect of body image and self-esteem with the influence of unrealistic advertisements. These images of women in the media are altered, enhanced and improved to create an unrealistic image of women and is portrayed as the perfect desirable body and ideal beauty for women. This image below is a clear representation of how images of models are edited in the media to present the perfect desirable body.

Image retrieved from: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BYFY-6WIAAIcKuL.jpg

Internalization of thin, sexy and flawless female beauty is a typical stereotype standard communicated and advertised throughout media platforms to society. This desirable standard of beauty has a huge influence on females, particularly young adolescences self-esteem and body image. Throughout social media women are judged on their physical appearance rather than their inner qualities (Perloff, 2014). This sets expectations for women to be physically attractive, thin and flawless as they are always comparing themselves to the models or images they see in the media. Although it is almost impossible for many women and girls to achieve this body image it is still desired by many and is demonstrated as a risk factor for eating disorders, mental health issues and body dissatisfaction, (Tiggemann & Slater, 2013).

Social media platforms in particularly Instagram, facebook and twitter have a huge impact of young people, mainly female’s body image and confidence as it is so easily accessible with the growth of smart technology these social media platforms are a primary form of communication therefore are almost impossible to avoid.

The current issue in marketing is the miss leading social cultural standard of women’s physical appearance being portrayed on social media platforms which has a huge influence on adolescent teens, specifically girls who are body conscience and are heavily influenced and persuaded by the media. Many more studies have been researching into the relationship between social media and the effect it has on consumer’s body image especially in typical women areas such as beauty industries, health and fitness and mass media industries as these areas all hold characteristics of the idolized image of female bodies.  It is becoming a more noticeable issue that the social media is not real life and marketers need to be more careful and consider that their misleading advertising is very powerful to consumers, especially young girls as they are vulnerable to this market and are generally more insecure about their appearance and body image.

References

Perloff, R. (2014). Social Media Effects on Young Women’s Body Image Concerns: Theoretical Perspectives and an Agenda for Research. Sex Roles, 71(11-12), 363-377. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0384-6

Tiggemann, M. & Slater, A. (2013). NetTweens: The Internet and Body Image Concerns in Preteenage Girls. The Journal Of Early Adolescence, 34(5), 606-620. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0272431613501083

Roxby, P. (2014). Does social media impact on body image? - BBC News. BBC News. Retrieved 3 September 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29569473