One year after the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 has changed our relationship to work, our social relationships, but also our shopping habits. While going to a shop remains a strong desire for some, others are more comfortable shopping from home. However, the in-store experience is difficult to replace when it comes to getting advice or trying on items. How do some brands manage to provide this type of experience to their customers from the comfort of their living room?
Some retailers have already made this transition. French optician Alain Afflelou offers its customers the possibility of "trying on" their glasses through a screen. Cosium, a player in the field of virtual fitting, offers a slightly more advanced version. How does it work? The customer can position the frame on his nose and observe it from all angles. Thanks to artificial intelligence and Visagism technology, the customer's face is analysed and frames are suggested accordingly.
Other brands, particularly ready-to-wear, such as H&M or Asos, offer theanimation of their articles using videos on the product sheet. A good alternative for those who are not inclined to go to the shops.
There is no doubt that this new trend is a real differentiating factor for merchants that will increase in the future. We present you with three options to boost your online shop and bring the shopping experience directly to your customers.
Facebook Shops/Instagram Shops: selling products on Facebook and Instagram
These two social networks represent a considerable number of users, and therefore potential customers. Facebook (nearly 3 billion users), which acquired Instagram in 2012 (more than 1 billion users), has chosen to position itself as a dominant player in online commerce by including a whole range of functionalities and options that now make leisure and shopping on social networks possible. On the one hand, the user can find an entire product catalogue of a specific brand on the other hand, the merchant can organise their "shop" as they wish. If for the moment, purchases are made via a shopping cart on Instagram or Facebookthe user will soon be redirected to the brand or product's merchant site.
Bots
This technique has many advantages, particularly during periods of high traffic on a merchant site. Automation makes it possible to process requests with limited added value while reproducing as closely as possible the experience of in-store advice offered by an advisor. In case of purchase thanks to this advice, it will be possible for the merchant to develop and propose personalised commercial offers for new customers. for new customers. Another advantage is that these bots are active 7 days a week365 days a year, which makes it possible to multiply potential purchases.
Live video for shopping: mixing expertise and experience
More complete than social networks and impersonal bots, you can opt for the live video solution with which a person takes charge of presenting your product. In front of a camera and a customer chat room, he or she gives valuable advice to connected users, makes recommendations and answers questions, all live. According to a Gartner study, 64% of consumers put experience before price and 80% of visitors would buy more if they had advice from a real salesperson.
This option is a boon to customers as it offers a store-like experience while staying at home and limits supply problems by ensuring the availability of the products on display.
Thanks to the Spockee tool, these meetings, which can be individual or collectivestrengthen the link between a brand and its customers. Furthermore, if some of your customers were unable to attend the demonstration, they will be able to watch the replay of these videos.
Major brands such as Lancôme have already embarked on this adventure with great results.
Conclusion
Solutions exist to enable your brand to negotiate this new stage in the transformation of consumption modes, such as live video, which can also be used with platforms such as Youtube, Twitch or Tiktok. It would be worthwhile to take a look at the different methods available to you. For some, items such as ready-to-wear clothing can be sold through bots or social networks. For others, an explanatory video will be necessary to fully understand how it works and the subtleties, especially if it is impossible for customers to test the product in shop and get advice.
