Inventory for the Customer Decision-Making Process

People don’t follow a straight line in their customer decision-making process. But what makes them pick one product over another?

Research conducted last year on behalf of US-based marketing solution provider YP (publishers of the Yellow Pages) demonstrated how customers take their time shopping around online from home, work, and mobile and in stores. Follow-up research carries some implications for b2c businesses that have multiple locations with eCommerce and inventory managed across several locations and sales channels.

The Customer Decision-Making Process Zigzag

YP describes the customer decision-making process very involved, with customers hopping off the “zigzag” path when they find the right information.

Consumers consulted an average of 2.9 information sources during their shopping process. These included websites, Facebook pages, online reviews and more. But deciding factors came down to primary information (pricing, availability) and secondary information (testimonials, deals). The process ended in different ways among the more than 5,000 consumers the researchers tracked over a month.

• Primary information (like availability) sufficed for 52% of the consumers. Availability creates a solid argument for accurate inventory management. Companies that sell across multiple channels will lose business if their inventory management gives them the wrong information about their inventory. Businesses must be confident that the product is available where they say it is.
• The YP research showed that 22% of consumers searched both at home and away from home. This reinforces the importance of up-to-date, accurate information on a website, beyond ensuring prices and availability online reflect what is actually available for sale. It also means websites should provide ample secondary information: sales, deals, referrals and reviews, operating hours and company history.
• Consistent and accurate information across all your sales channels is important. The research shows that 37% of consumers will not shop at a local business if the information is inconsistent from your website to your store to your eCommerce platform.

Read more about how Cin7 can help you provide accurate and up-to-date information about product availability across your all your sales channels.