30 percent respondent customers rely on social media for online buying decisions, according to a Cisco survey.
A Cisco survey said 83 percent of consumers rely on product reviews from other shoppers (53 percent) or friends on social media (30 percent) in purchasing decisions, while only 23 percent rely on recommendations made from retailer employees via online chat.
When a retailer is resolving a customer service issue reported via social media, 94 percent would expect a personal response, with most (68 percent) expecting an personal email and 46 percent expect a phone call, Cisco said in the report.
The Cisco Customer Experience Report surveyed 1,511 consumers across 10 countries to examine the perceptions of consumers on their desired retail shopping experience.
34 percent of consumers use multiple channels when shopping.
The survey – called Cisco Customer Experience Report — shows 23 percent of consumers recently made in-store purchases based on research they did online, and 11 percent of shoppers purchased online after seeing it in a retail store.
52 percent prefer self-check-out stations in order to avoid waiting in line to make a purchase.
When researching products in the store, 43 percent prefer using their own mobile phone, while 57 percent of consumers prefer using in-store touch screens.
61 percent of consumers would be willing to shop in a completely automated store with vending machines with products and kiosk stations offering virtual customer service. And 42 percent of consumers would prefer to shop in these kinds of environments.
49 percent of consumers would allow an automated engine to make purchases for replacement products automatically. This could include restocking milk in the refrigerator.
52 percent would likely purchase a device to help them stay on budget for clothing and other retail purchases.
65 percent of consumers are comfortable receiving retail advice based on their location through their mobile device.
Though many shoppers want automation when purchasing, consumers are evenly divided, with 58 percent of consumers preferring help from an in-store associate.
And when shopping online, slightly more consumers prefer to instant-message with a sales associate (30 percent), or call one on the phone (28 percent) than send an email (27 percent).
54 percent of consumers use mobile phones when shopping in a store, yet only 27 percent of consumers said they use retail mobile applications.
27 percent of customers use retail applications. They use apps for checking prices (56 percent), finding sales/discounts/coupons (53 percent), scanning barcodes (48 percent), reviewing consumer product reviews (45 percent).
Consumers want to track sales and promotions (62 percent), coupons (46 percent), price changes (47 percent), and product availability (45 percent).
49 percent of consumers are comfortable with retailers collecting personal information when shopping online in exchange for more personalized recommendations and customer service.
58 percent of consumers are willing to share their personal measurements and sizes with their retailer in exchange for more personalized recommendations on future purchases.
54 percent of consumers globally said they are OK with retailers storing their purchase history in exchange for more personalized service.
Only 43 percent of consumers feel their data is protected by clothing retailers overall (both in store and online). Only 32 percent of consumers trust retailers to store their credit card information in exchange for faster checkout. However, 60 percent of consumers trust certain retailer websites to keep information about them secure.
