. While brands need to continually adapt to changing shoppers' preferences, they also need to constantly innovate within their product lines to stay in a constant state of acquisition.
Brands trained shoppers like this
First, let us recognize that innovation is a core tenet of capitalism. Even before the economist Joseph Schumpeter coined the term "creative destruction" in the 1940s, the dynamism has always been there: Every company needs to innovate to survive as new technologies replace established methods and products. But the pace at which we are forced to innovate in today's hyperconnected world is much faster than it was in the mid-20th century. Today, it is not the brands competing with each other that is the real challenge; It keeps up with consumers' expectations.
Shoppers have been trained to constantly expect something new. From the cars they drive to the fast fashion on their backs to the phones in their pockets, every purchase cycle for just about everything brings the promise of a better choice. Brands have spent billions of dollars developing and advertising new products with advanced technology and more premium product features. And this concept, this impulse of modernity, has completely permeated the psyche of the consumer. My company's 2021 Shopper Influence Research study found that 76% of shoppers want to be as informed as possible when making a buying decision. This number wouldn't be as high as if people were satisfied with repurchasing the last item they picked up. Brands should always offer something new.
Expansion of access reinforces this trend
Even if there hasn't been leading innovation in a product category since the shopper last browsed, the items available to that shopper may have changed. E-commerce has opened up the basket of goods available to become a truckload of options. As I wrote before, "Because shelf content is always in flux, the shopper is trained to look at the metaphorical shelf every time and think, 'What's new? Everyone from grocery stores to apparel retailers offers one or more different options to shoppers. “Novelty” is not only related to product features but can come from distribution, experience, etc.
Social media has accelerated the frenzy
Finding something new has always been a part of the shopper's psyche, but social media has pushed it up to speed. The constant interconnection that social media provides to shoppers today is effectively a fire hose through which they can passively consume information about what their networks are doing, and that includes purchases and new experiences. It's an accessible version of word of mouth, and it's powerful. Shoppers can see when their networks comment on buying decisions made by people outside their circles, and even see their friends sharing customer service complaints on brand pages. Shoppers don't even need to do active research to get to know the market.
The social media influencer industry is adding more fuel to the fire. Since these influencers constantly need to produce content to feed the device and stay relevant to their followers, they need a constant flow of products, features, and experiences to talk about. This means they are looking for innovations to showcase, putting pressure on brands to save and feed shoppers risk in the process.
guiding innovation
So, given how innovation is fueling shopper mingling and raising shopper expectations, how do brands sustain that? Keep the following in mind when planning your innovation strategy:
• Meet your shoppers' needs. Innovation must result in products that meet the shopper's needs in his life. You can create something new and shiny to try and create that need, but strong revenue drivers have a clear value proposition that aligns with the shopper's experience.
• Get inspiration from existing clients. Your existing customers are your best product testers. Talk to them about what they bought from you and find out what works and what needs to be done. You might just mint some missionaries in the process.
• Consider unexpected disruption. Constant innovation breeds creative destruction, and we never know where the next big upheaval will come from. Having a clever innovation process in place and being encouraged to break the rules is important to endure the unpredictable.
Innovation is difficult but vital. Keep your innovative devices running to stay relevant with your shoppers and market.
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