Shopping in the Age of Discovery
In the ever-changing world of Internet commerce, a new and powerful trend is taking over: discovery shopping.
It is the latest evolution in the e-commerce space – a shift from vending machine model of the industry’s earliest days to a content rich, socially driven shopping experience, where entertainment and interaction, not just price, dominates.
What defines discovery shopping?
It is social. Consider Pinterest to which more than 45 million* people now flock each month to curate their boards, “pinning” images of products they like. At the same time, Pinterest customers can browse the collections of others, in search of inspiration. Companies like Pinterest not only help shoppers unearth and share unique products in an increasingly cluttered web universe, but make the experience entertaining and social, too.
It is customer-driven. By empowering shoppers to telegraph what they want, retailers can eliminate the guesswork in merchandising. In the coming year, watch for retailers responding to customer-generated trends, transforming the traditional retailer-shopper relationship into one that is largely crowd-sourced.
It encourages creativity. With shoppers no longer passive, now actively seeking what they want in the e-commerce marketplace, purveyors of unique and creative wares will find a new customer base. Already, sites like The Grommet, Made.com and Quitokeeto.com are springing up as early adopter communities that look beyond traditional retailers. From 2014, we can expect to see more sites offer shoppers the opportunity to purchase products that are pre-production, new to market, or limited in quantity.
Discovery shopping marks a shift, not just in the way shoppers use e-commerce, but in the way commerce evolves to meet the changing consumer. It is a fast-moving trend, even by Internet standards. Retailers, both traditional and virtual, will need to adapt to survive.
My book: Marketplace 3.0
*Source: comScore July 2013
(Image: Pinterest)
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