Follow us

Menu
PARTNER WITH USFREE NEWSLETTER
VISIT TheIndustry.beauty

Bridging the customer expectation gap

CENTRA
21 August 2024

To keep pace with customers, brands must narrow the significant gap between what consumers desire from their favourite fashion and lifestyle brands and the ability of these companies to consistently and profitably meet those demands. Max Brennan, UK Country Manager at e-commerce platform, Centra, finds the answer in new research.

Max Brennan, UK country manager, Centra

Max Brennan, UK country manager, Centra

Consumers today demand seamless, integrated experiences and services they can control. As a result, brands face a perfect storm of heightened consumer expectations, constrained spending due to lingering inflation, and uncertainties from political, regulatory, and climate crises. These dynamics increase operational costs andreduce profitability, impacting sales, market share, and customer loyalty.

Consumer expectations

Understanding consumer expectations is the first step to building strategies for meeting them. Trend analytics platform Exploding Topics identifies nine consumer behaviour trends for 2024-2025: Multiple payment options, expectation for delivery of all purchases, demand for ethical and sustainable products, home health care, influencer-driven purchasing, more subscriptions, increased spending on pets, growth of the mindfulness market and the home as a central hub.

Across all these areas, consumers expect consistent service across all digital channels, an online experience that reflects the brand's personality, and transparency in sustainability efforts. Despite the cost of living crisis, consumers remain connected to brands, seeking affordability, durability, relevance, and authenticity. They are less forgiving of poor digital experiences and are quick to switch brands if their expectations are not met.

Centra’s own research among 1000 UK consumers provides an insight into current trends. A standout finding is that there has been a significant reduction in fashion and lifestyle spending, with 64% of respondents buying fewer items. Millennials are the most affected, with 67% cutting back. Despite reduced spending, 53% of consumers remain engaged with their favourite brands through social media and content. When financial situations improve, they prioritise purchasing coats, jeans, formal footwear, gym wear, watches, jewellery, and formal wear. And their key purchasing considerations include affordability (59%), durability and quality (40%), relevance to life and values (24%), sustainability (19%), and authenticity (17%).

These expectations are sustained for cross-border purchasing which continues to grow. Nearly half of the respondents engage with international brands, with 68% expecting a seamless buying journey equivalent to local purchases. They appreciate international brands for exclusivity, perceived quality, and style. In addition, the importance of providing localised services, such as language options, local payment methods, and region-specific marketing campaigns, is growing.

Solution for brands

Building and managing a multi-channel technical infrastructure to serve these needs and behaviours is complex, with current software models often favouring owners rather than users. but current ecosystems and tools are insufficiently agile and user-friendly.

The ideal solution is a unified commerce platform that centralises data about customers and products, enabling real-time stock updates, streamlined integrations, and simplified data analysis. Forbes highlights the benefits of unified commerce, including enhanced customer experiences, reduced integration time, and improved data performance.

A unified platform provided by a partner should support all sales channels, ensuring consistent branding and service while avoiding fragmented systems. Core capabilities should include Product Information Management (PIM) and features that support scaling into new markets with localised services. Additionally, integrating advanced AI and machine learning algorithms can provide predictive analytics for inventory management and personalised customer experiences.

Centra’s new report, What UK Shoppers Want from Fashion Brands in 2024 shows that to thrive, brands must identify market dynamics that drive change, whether due to new competition, economic challenges or system limitations. Embracing unified commerce platforms and partner models will enable brands to meet consumer expectations, enhance sustainability, and achieve long-term success. Partners that have a focused approach on fashion and lifestyle brands, coupled with advanced business logic and flexible design, can offer a robust solution for these modern retail challenges. Emphasising ongoing innovation and customer feedback will further help brands stay ahead in a competitive market.


Free NewsletterVISIT TheIndustry.beauty
cross