With the cost-of-living crisis making each purchase more considered, six in ten (63%) UK shoppers want brands and retailers to do more to improve product information to support their buying journeys, the latest data from Akeneo, the global leader in product experience management (PXM) and product information management (PIM), reveals.

With consumer confidence falling to the lowest levels on record since 1974, according to GfK’s Consumer Confidence Barometer, the fallout of the cost-of-living crisis and the downward pressure on household incomes saw retail sales growth slow last month, with BRC-KPMG data suggesting sales of non-food sales fell -2% in the three months to August and total sales volumes also trending down.  Consumer caution is also driving up price sensitivity among shoppers, with Retail Insight’s data sowing 69% are more budget conscious because of the cost-of-living squeeze.

“With shoppers becoming increasingly cautious with discretionary spend, every purchase is now a considered purchase, which means brands and retailers are having to fight harder for each and every conversion.”

James Barlow, Regional Sales Director UK&I at Akeneo. 

“While pricing and promotions might seem an obvious area to address, often these are blunt tools which end up in a race to the bottom. This course of action does little to build loyalty, while putting greater pressure on retailers’ margins at a time when they are face inflationary rises across their manufacturing, supply chains and labour,” Barlow continued.  “Despite price sensitivity, consumers consideration sets still span a wider set of triggers – from product information to brand values and sustainability.  This means retailers need to consider how they speak to those conversion-prompting elements both within product discovery and at the point of purchase, lest they risk lost conversions and abandoned baskets.”

Original research of over 1,800 shoppers in its latest 2022 B2C Survey: Product Experience Satisfaction Around the World’ Report, showed that 62% of shoppers would abandon a purchase due to poor product information about an item being available, while two thirds (66%) would switch to a competitor if they deemed the product information to be poor.

Akeneo’s data also suggests this goes further than lost sales alone; 65% of shoppers would stop buying from a brand all together if product information was poor, because they would lose trust with the brand, demonstrating the impact on long-term loyalty if product experiences aren’t delivered.  More than six in ten (63%) of shoppers now want retailers and brands to do more to improve product information to support their buying journeys.

For further information on the new ways shoppers now want to discover brands and the role of PIM and PXM in increasing conversions, CLV and loyalty, download the 2022 Global B2C Survey Report: here.