A new report highlights the importance of engaging shopping experiences.
According to Bazaarvoice’s latest research, Australian shoppers are now looking for brands and retailers to take their e-commerce experiences to the next level with rewards programs, gamification, and AR and VR, and – eventually – opportunities in the metaverse.
Experiences are priceless
Even with rising inflation, Bazaarvoice says 99% of the Australians surveyed said there is at least a certain case where they would buy something based on experience over price.
Product ratings and reviews are highly valued
41% of the Australian respondents identify user ratings and reviews as the most valuable source of insights when making a general purchase. 24% say ratings and reviews are their second most valued source of insights.
Encouraging customers to leave a product review
The most compelling element for Australian shoppers to leave a written or image review is being entered into a sweepstake where they have a chance to win something (54%).
This is followed by an email nudge from the brand or retailer they bought from reminding them to review (37%), and by the opportunity to have their reviews included on a brand website or in a campaign (33%).
Brands need to step up their gamification
68% of Australian respondents said they would enjoy gaming elements while shopping online, while 37% said in-store, and 36% said in-app.
72% said they would spend longer in an app or on a website if they received points that converted into a discount in return, while 76% said they would submit UGC to gain a reward.
Almost everyone is buying on social media today
97% of Australian respondents said they have purchased through social media platforms.
Take shopping into the future
Live shopping (47%) is the emerging shopping experience Australians are most excited about.
This is followed by virtual reality (VR) (42%), augmented reality (AR) (27%), and the metaverse (29%). 52% of Australian shoppers want to see more AR/VR integrated into in-store experiences.
The potential of live shopping
30% of the Australians surveyed have already interacted with live shopping.
34% said they had not interacted yet with this type of shopping experience but would be interested.
Move to the metaverse
“There’s no Australian shopper – in fact, not a single shopper worldwide in [our] global survey – who has not heard about the metaverse,” says Bazaarvoice.
However, in line with global peers, 51% of Australian respondents said they don’t understand the concept. 31% think it will be regularly used by most people in three to five years, 7% think it will happen within the year, and 12% don’t think it will ever be widely used.
Concerns about the metaverse
The biggest barriers for Australian respondents to adopt shopping within a metaverse experience are their self-reported low understanding of the metaverse (37%), the lack of trust in the metaverse with personal data (35%) and a perceived inability to try things out before purchasing (35%).
NFTs are not going away
57% of the Australians surveyed said they know what an NFT is, 25% said they “kind of do”, and 14% said they don’t.
41% said they’re going to buy an NFT in the next 12 months, while 27% said they are planning to in the coming years.