The Digital Landscape Has Changed Shopping Habits

The digital landscape has changed the way people buy products as well as their decision-making process.

Consumers these days are far savvier than they were before the digital revolution.

Why go all the way to a mall in traffic to buy groceries and fashion items when they can simply browse and order online, with many companies offering same or next day deliveries?

The reason is there’s simply more information available and it’s there all the time. It’s also become an instant gratification world, where consumers expect service and answers, as and when they demand them.

While some products are still only purchased after a customer has had the opportunity to touch and feel it, there are numerous others that can easily be bought online.

With augmented and virtual reality moving quickly into place in the marketing and advertising landscapes, this may change, with more people being able to experience a product more realistically online, by either viewing a product through a headset or being able to place a product directly in their home with technology for ease of choice.

Having a reliable and technologically innovative device on hand is fast becoming vital to navigating everyday life, even the weekly shop.

Vice President of Integrated Mobility for Samsung South Africa Craige Fleisher says, the world has gone mobile and Samsung has created a device that will fulfil all the needs of consumers on the go.

“Smartphones are the personal shoppers of the future – from being able to view potential purchases to storing the information about each product for future decisions. Consumers are on the move and the S9 is the perfect tool for a fully mobile life.”

Even if people aren’t actually completing a sale online, new research shows that 56% of in-store purchases usually begin online – from research and comparisons to peer reviews and deal-seeking, consumers spend a lot more time than ever before to make an informed decision about what to buy and where.

South Africa has the highest mobile penetration in the world and over three-quarters of all web traffic is initiated from mobile devices.