Amazon<\/strong>\u00a0is also working with NASA on prototypes<\/a> to develop its own system of delivery drones to drop off parcels directly at their customer\u2019s doorsteps. However, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations and safety concerns make drone-powered deliveries a thing of a faraway future.<\/p>\nThe arrival of autonomous vehicles seem like a more viable opportunity for businesses to use automation for same-day delivery and to give customers instant gratification. Recently,\u00a0Anheuser-Busch<\/strong>\u00a0and San Francisco\u2019s\u00a0Otto<\/strong>, the self-driving trucking startup acquired by Uber, made the world\u2019s first fully autonomous truck delivery, delivering 50,000 cans of Budweiser from Fort Collins, Colo. to Colorado Springs.<\/p>\nConsumer behaviour is evolving and it has become apparent that they are willing to pay for such convenience. A survey from the Boston Consulting Group found that\u00a050%\u00a0of US shoppers use same-day delivery for last-minute gifts.<\/p>\n
And if you need convincing of its importance, consider this:\u00a040%\u00a0of consumers said they would abandon an online shopping cart if they couldn\u2019t get gifts or flowers delivered on the same day.<\/p>\n
2. Click and Collect vs In-store Purchase\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\nSticking with the theme of delivery, click and collect is affecting the retail industry significantly. Take UK\u2019s\u00a0John Lewis<\/strong>. During the Christmas season in 2016, the retail giant experienced more click and collect orders than home delivery orders for the first time in its history. Online sales grew by 19% and click and collect accounted for\u00a056%\u00a0of all online orders.\u00a0 In fact this service was so popular with UK shoppers that many retailers\u00a0ran out of slots.<\/p>\nWhile not all businesses can take advantage of a tight network of store locations, there are plenty of innovations in this area. An example is\u00a0CollectPlus, which cooperated with over 6,000 local store partners in the UK. Consumers can order online and collect their parcels quickly and easily from a location near them.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong>3. Intelligent Digital Advice vs Lengthy, confusing research<\/h2>\nConsumers want to make informed decisions, but they do not want to invest a huge chunk of time in research.<\/p>\n
Several retailers use digital advisors or intelligent product finders to decrease indecision, increase decision confidence and reduce abandonment rates. These smart solutions engage customers in an interactive conversation and help them to quickly find products that are just right for them.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0beauty industry\u00a0is a great example of how leading brands such as\u00a0L\u2019Or\u00e9al<\/strong>,\u00a0Vichy<\/strong>\u00a0or the\u00a0Body Shop<\/strong>\u00a0are leveraging Digital advice solutions to improve customer experience and sales. From skin diagnostic tools to interactive product discovery, providing consumers with personal digital advice is effective at guiding them towards the right product in less time.<\/p>\nHere\u00a0you can quickly build an intelligent digital advisor for your advice-seeking customers<\/p>\n
4. Visualise now vs Wait and see<\/h2>\n
Consumers want results and they want them now. By helping them to visualise items before they purchase them, you satisfy their need for instant gratification.<\/p>\n
For example, several paint brands are offering \u2018paint your room\u2019 tools, which allow customers to upload an image of a room and apply different paint colours. The result? They get to witness the transformation immediately. Apart from the feeling of immediacy, it increases a shopper\u2019s decision confidence and reduces abandonment rates.<\/p>\n
5. Self-Checkout vs Waiting in Line<\/h2>\n
Who has time to wait in line? Nobody, apparently!<\/p>\n
In 2013 there were\u00a0191,000\u00a0self-checkout machines worldwide \u2013 that number is estimated to reach 325,000 by 2019. The appeal to customers is clearly convenience. No longer do they have to wait in line. An\u00a0NCR white paper\u00a0on the topic found:<\/p>\n
\n- 90% of people said they used self-checkout<\/li>\n
- 42% of customers like the convenience of self-checkout<\/li>\n
- 7% said they always use self-checkout regardless of store lines and number of items.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
It seems like a resounding thumbs up for self-service!<\/p>\n
But wait a minute \u2013 what if the very act of \u201ccheckout\u201d was made redundant?\u00a0Enter: Amazon Go<\/strong>.<\/p>\nAmazon Go\u00a0is a new checkout-less store. Amazon have invested in an advanced shopping technology called \u201cJust Walk Out Technology\u201d that allows users to do just that. All they need is an Amazon account, a smart phone and the Amazon Go app. It\u2019s the same sort of technology you\u2019d find in self-driving cars like sensor fusions and computer vision. It detects when products are being removed and placed back on shelves, and tracks them in an online shopping cart.<\/p>\n
Once the user is done picking items they can simply exit the store. The user\u2019s Amazon account is charged and they\u2019ll receive an online receipt.<\/p>\n
If you think this sounds a little too futuristic for the general consumer, prepare to think again. A survey by Schorr found that\u00a084%\u00a0of those surveyed said they would enjoy an Amazon Go shopping experience more than traditional grocery shopping.<\/p>\n
Three quarters said they would be extremely or very likely to shop at such a store and \u2013 here\u2019s the real zinger \u2013 a quarter said they would\u00a0pay more for products\u00a0<\/em>if they didn\u2019t have to waste time standing in line at a checkout.<\/p>\n6. Self-Support vs Being put on hold<\/h2>\n
A recent\u00a0survey\u00a0found that most US consumers spend 10-20 minutes on hold each week \u2013 or 13 hours a year! Despite waiting patiently for support, nearly half are not being rewarded as they believe the customer service representative who answers the call is not helpful.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t going to cut the mustard for customers in search of instant gratification.<\/p>\n
Brand loyalty is in decline and most consumers won\u2019t think twice about switching to a different provider if they aren\u2019t getting what they need from their current one.<\/p>\n
The solution? Digitize the customer service experience and allow customers to solve issues on their own.\u00a076% of customers prefer self-service\u00a0to interacting with a service agent via the phone.<\/p>\n
Implementing Self-Support Strategies with Digital Advice:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Provide a Guided Self-Service and Troubleshooting Experience<\/li>\n
- Assist agents and reduce the time they need to solve complex customer issues<\/li>\n
- Show customers a quick, interactive, low-effort path to suitable content<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Download the free\u00a0Consumer Expectations Report\u00a0and read what consumers expect today.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
Thanks to today\u2019s hyper-connected society and the consumer\u2019s growing desire for convenience and immediacy in a multichannel world, they no longer want to wait to make things happen. Customer expectations are rising and want things \u2018now\u2019 like never before. If businesses can meet this growing demand for instant gratification they\u2019ll be able to increase sales, reduce abandonment rates, and improve customer experiences.<\/p>\n
What do you think? Is instant gratification a growing factor to consider?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Products, services, customer support; consumers want it now. They don\u2019t want to spend hours researching the right products, wait several days for delivery, and they definitely don\u2019t want to be put on hold. As technology moves faster and internet speed continues to increase, our patience grows thinner. \u00a0We can share our pictures and opinions in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,14],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-rdne-stock-project-7363072.jpg",1920,1280,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-rdne-stock-project-7363072-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-rdne-stock-project-7363072-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-rdne-stock-project-7363072-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-rdne-stock-project-7363072-1024x683.jpg",1024,683,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-rdne-stock-project-7363072-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-rdne-stock-project-7363072.jpg",1920,1280,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Bill Widmer","author_link":"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/author\/bill\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Products, services, customer support; consumers want it now. They don\u2019t want to spend hours researching the right products, wait several days for delivery, and they definitely don\u2019t want to be put on hold. As technology moves faster and internet speed continues to increase, our patience grows thinner. \u00a0We can share our pictures and opinions in…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":451,"href":"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373\/revisions\/451"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}