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Paradoxical Behavior Makes Consumers Unpredictable: RPT

According to a Monday report by a global management and strategy consulting firm, paradoxical tensions are creating unpredictable behavior among consumers. This is confusing many sellers.

According to a report by the Kearney Consumer Institute (KCI) is based on survey results from 14,000 US consumers, Europeans, and Asia Pacifics.

Brands now have more data about consumers’ demographics and behavior, as well as their opinions, than ever before. But we still often categorize consumer behavior as ‘unpredictable.’ In order to understand this, we found three consumer tensions. These key tensions are:

  • Options vs. Overload. The report explained that consumers seem to expect a product that suits each type of skin, diet, or fitness need, yet in many major categories, most consumers believe there’s already plenty to choose from — if not too much.
  • Curation and Control. The report found that two out of three consumers like to make all of their own decisions. However, it is logical for consumers to want and need a certain level of curation in order to understand all of their options.
  • Facts vs. feelings Report finds consumers are more likely to trust themselves than brands and institutions and want to “do research on their own” but they only have limited energy, time and motivation.

Research suggests that brands and retailers are not striking the right balance when it comes to facts versus emotions, curation and control, or too many options. Thomas explained that retailers and brands will be better able to navigate the mind of future consumers when they balance tensions, apply emotional intelligence, and use great merchandising.

Decision Fatigue

The report cites Choice as a prime example for paradoxical behavior. The report stated that only one out of four consumers feel overwhelmed by all the decisions they have to make every day. However, qualitative research shows a different story. It’s not uncommon for people to express that they feel overwhelmed by choices.

Thomas told E-Commerce Times, “Decision Fatigue is very real.” Thomas told the E-Commerce Times that brands believe consumers want more specialized products, but in reality consumers are overwhelmed with a huge number of options.

She asked, “How can brands or retailers respond to this inconsistency?” She asked. “The best thing to do is to get a better understanding of the lifestyles of consumers and then to respond accordingly.” This is a combination between understanding and merchandising. “Trader Joe’s is a good example of this, offering fewer options while matching these to the consumer’s needs.”

“The paradoxical choice leads to an analysis paralysis in consumers,” Matthew A. Gilbert, a lecturer in marketing at Coastal Carolina University, Conway, S.C.

He told E-Commerce Times that when there are too many options, the consumer is often unable make a decision. “The solution to this is to limit the number of choices, and not include every product combination.”

Innovation without Clutter

The report suggested that sellers should sometimes forgo adding more options, and instead look for ways to innovate. This will allow them to offer more choice without cluttering up the market.

The innovation process includes introducing new products on the market. It is important for sellers to provide product options in sets and not all at once. Anthony MiyazakiProfessor of Marketing at Florida International University, Miami

He told E-Commerce Times: “Forcing your buyers to make a choice from hundreds of thousands of choices is a recipe that will fail.” “The buyer must feel like they have options and be confident about the choices they make. However, the number of options should be limited to prevent information overload.

“When I look at this problem with clients, I ask, ‘How can we group these products better? How can we group them better to make it easier on people? Liz Kressel is the CEO of Lizard StrategyNew York City’s e-commerce agency and live shopping agency,.

“If you just lay out your individual products — particularly if you have over 10 SKUs — people will start to get overwhelmed,” she told the E-Commerce Times. “That’s the reason curation is so important. The consumer can easily become overwhelmed. This is why you shouldn’t put 30 options on the navigation bar.”

The Consumer is Being Taken for a Ride

You can also find out more about the following: Kearney The report stated that consumers of the future wanted to feel as if they were being taken along with the ride. The report recommended that consumer research be reoriented around qualitative research on the ground, utilizing grassroots marketing and creating feedback loops with customers to understand their lifestyles, joys, and challenges. It added that it was important to embrace a “test-and-learn” mentality, and improve consumer-backed design.

Liz Miller is a principal analyst and vice president at Constellation ResearchCupertino is home to a technology consulting and research firm.

You can get qualitative feedback from panels or digital listening posts. UserTestingShe told E-Commerce Times, “Be ready to hear what people are saying and then be transparent about the reasons you will or won’t be doing anything.” Share your voices and celebrate both the good and bad. “But — and this is a big but — if you cannot commit to being transparent on the ride you want to bring customers along on, if your instinct is only to show the good or censor any part of the experience, customers will feel more betrayed and decision fatigue won’t be your only problem,” she added.

Mark N. Vena President and principal analyst, SmartTech Research In Las Vegas, it was noted that sellers could enhance consumer engagement in their products through interactive experiences. For example, crowdsourcing features, designs or flavors of the product, which would make consumers feel more invested in the product.

The E-Commerce Times reported that he said “engaging story-telling, transparent development processes and exclusive behind-the-scenes contents can strengthen emotional attachments.”

“Offering personalized choices or co-creation options allows consumers to shape the products to their preference, fostering a deeper attachment.” Loyalty programmes that reward feedback, testing and advocacy can help cultivate a community of brand advocates.

Exploiting AI

Rob Enderle President and principal analyst, The Enderle GroupA firm that provides advisory services in Bend, Oregon, recommends engaging consumers to help them make informed decisions about product choices.

He told E-Commerce Times, “Advisory councils are formed with existing customers to give them a voice in the outcome.” The seller then points out to the customer the features they had directly influenced, giving the impression that the product was made for them.

He added, “This was almost impossible to achieve at scale prior to AI. But now that we have AI it opens up an abundance of possibilities.”

Miyazaki stated that the Kearney study showed that a majority of consumers felt that there were too many choices for many product categories. “This presents great opportunities for sellers to work on guiding the purchase decision process — in essence, focusing efforts on buyer development rather than product development.”

“Sellers should use artificial intelligence during the product presentation,” he said. “Because there are no two identical consumers, the selling process must be tailored to each individual consumer.

“By providing choice sets that are matched to consumer preferences, such as evaluating features details, analyzing options, or even connecting emotionally, the seller can assist consumers in their decisions while simultaneously nudging them towards purchases that will benefit a company’s bottom-line.”