November 22, 2022
It doesn’t take a deep data dive to know that the increased rate of inflation has had a significant impact on consumer behavior. But, because it’s what they do, the experts at 1WorldSync did one any way. Below we explore all the ways inflation is affecting shopping trends and what to expect through the end of the year and into 2023.
1WorldSync’s 2022 Consumer Product Content Benchmark report was released this month and the bottom line is this: consumers are spending more time with product content than ever before and limiting their spending in response to inflation rates.
The report found that 74% of US & Canadian shoppers say inflation has significantly (41%) or moderately (33%) impacted their shopping behavior for products and goods.
Among those shoppers impacted by inflation, 63% are pulling back spending to adjust for rising costs. Clothes and electronics are leading the categories of non-essential goods getting axed by shoppers.
As inflation rises, consumers are increasing time spent researching products before purchasing. 38% of shoppers are spending more time researching and viewing product content.
“As consumers modify their budgets, a vast majority will visit multiple retailers, sites and product detail pages for an individual purchase,” said Steve Sivitter, CEO of 1WorldSync. “And many say they are relying on product content even more than years prior to make up their minds.”
When shopping, consumers are looking closely at price, reviews, features, product comparisons and multimedia content. 67% of consumers have increased product research to ensure value for money. Other driving factors are product need, values alignment and to learn about previous purchasers’ experiences, among others.
Consumers say inflation is affecting their behavior in many other ways, including a reduction in holiday spending. This makes the holiday shopping season even more paramount for product content perfection. Not only are consumers researching purchases more thoroughly, but 38% have put off a major expense due to inflation and 36% said they’ll scale back gift spending this holiday season.
In addition, 68% of shoppers admitted to spending the same amount or more time researching product content when purchasing for others as they do when shopping for themselves. Brands and retailers must be diligent in ensuring all product content is accessible, high-quality and consistent across channels this holiday season and beyond.
1WorldSync’s 2022 Consumer Product Content Benchmark report dives deep into this data and more. Download it here to learn more: https://go.1worldsync.com/Benchmark-Data-Report-2022.html