Research reveals shoppers in Wales want more control, welcome robots, and love a bit of tech to help them shop

How the ‘future of buying’ will help Welsh shoppers take back control of the internet

 – ‘Finding The One’ report reveals people in Wales are fed up with the faff of online shopping and are ready to embrace robots in their everyday lives

– It’s time to meet the D.F.F. (Digital Friend Forever) as we move to an era of personalised purchasing

– ‘You-friendly’ technology will make everyone feel like they have their own personal shopper

 The Welsh love to shop. Online and offline, face to face and remotely. But as revealed in a new trend report from cinch.co.uk – the newly launched online personal shopping service for used cars – today’s buyers in Wales aren’t happy with many aspects of their retail experiences. While digital shopping is supposed to make life easier, a third of people (33%) surveyed said that online purchases take them longer than they should due to lack of guidance or a convoluted process.

With our growing frustrations around digital shopping, it’s no wonder the Welsh are getting ready to embrace Artificial Intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies for a more streamlined and faff-free experience. Research shows the some of the top future shopping trends people in Wales are looking forward to include:

• 3D body scanners holding your measurements and info for next time you shop (21%)
• Personalised products based on your online data (20%)
• Apps that checks value for money, comparing items for cheaper alternatives (57%)
• Virtual reality experiences, to ‘try’ out products in VR before purchasing online (25%)
• An app that manages your wardrobe in the same way as a smart fridge does (14%)

Behavioural futurists Nadia and William Higham – who compiled the ‘Finding The One’ report for cinch – predict that Digital Friends Forever (D.F.F.s) will soon become commonplace. These online personal shoppers will observe people, get to know their families and friends, and shop on their behalf, helping to turn the tables and put shoppers’ needs first, instead of those of retailers. Furthermore, they predict that in a few years chatbots will take over customer service teams completely.

The futurists believe that, aside from helping to make people’s lives easier, these online personal shoppers will also help people shop better and express their individuality through their purchases, by enabling them to find what they really want. According to the study, three quarters (76%) of young people say self-expression is fundamental to personal growth, which is attributed to the growth of social media in this report.

The latest research reveals that this new era of personalised purchasing will grow people’s reliance on digital assistance in their everyday lives. Just over a third (37%) of those surveyed in Wales would trust a robot of sorts to protect them from intruders, over an eighth (13.1%) would let them choose their car, and 9% would even go as a far as trusting them to select a babysitter for their child.

This growing interest from consumers will have a knock-on effect on whether or not people choose to shop with certain retailers. 76% of consumers in the UK, admit that a bespoke experience is a true testament to how much a company values them, and over a third (35%) of shoppers in Wales are totally happy sharing their personal data with retailers and brands, if it means they can speed up their purchase process.

Nadia Higham says: “In addition to a more personalised shopping experience, there is a growing demand for more fun and excitement in retail. The more that retailers personalise the buying experience, the more control they’ll give the shopper, meaning it’s less likely consumers will make the ‘wrong’ decision. We’ll shop smarter, we’ll feel more confident in our decisions, and we’ll have products tailored to our needs.”

This is apt, with the latest research revealing that one in seven (14%) of shoppers in Wales have regretted buying expensive items in the past after discovering a better version or brand afterwards. Some of the top lavish items consumers in Wales have regretted buying include a car (4%), long-haul holiday (10%), piece of furniture (8%) and laptop (7%). Research from cinch[1] from their nationwide poll also found a quarter (26%) of car buyers (just over 2 million of the 7.9 million people per year who buy a used car) don’t feel confident buying a used car, while 31% find the process daunting, and 45% (over 3.5 million people) do not enjoy the process of finding and buying a car at all.

cinch’s unique ‘help me choose’ function works like a personal shopper, matching budget, lifestyle preferences and what people need out of a car with suggestions of different vehicles that are right for the buyer – letting them discover new options confidently, whether they know about cars or not.

The tool uses a carefully selected range of images, sliders and simple questions to quickly establish individual preferences. Using attribution, these responses – which deliver millions of possible combinations of specifications – are then matched against thousands of individual vehicles to generate truly tailored recommendations in seconds. The results are highly customised down to engine size, body, brand, size, fuel type and so on – taking all that hard work away from the user and presenting them with the perfect car for their needs.

As cinch Marketing Director, Joanna Kerr says, “At cinch we understand that just like buying a house, there’s a lot of emotion in choosing a car. This is why we have developed our unique matchmaker algorithm.

“We’re really excited about the future – and what that has in store for consumers. We want to help them make choices they’re happy with and excited about, and ensure they have everything they want in a car. With so many advances in intelligent technology, e-commerce, and consumer-led retail, the future looks really exciting for consumers.”

cinch.co.uk is a new service that helps consumers find, buy and sell a used car.

The cinch Finding The One report summary:

The Power of Personalisation

• In the future, personalisation will become an increasingly important purchase driver, consumers in the UK say they’re more likely to shop on a site that offers personalised recommendations
• Just under a third (62%) of online shoppers in Wales like the idea of being able to personalise a retail website

Self-Reliant Shoppers:

• In the future, shoppers will increasingly seek out opportunities to take control of the purchase process: they’ll demand more choices and options; and enough information to make smarter decisions by themselves

• Online purchasers in Wales have regretted buying at least one major purchase they made online, with 4% regretting buying a car, 10% a long-haul holiday and 8% a laptop
• To avoid such problems, tomorrow’s consumers will demand an opportunity to test a product in real life before they buy it, with more retailers offering a ‘try before you buy ‘service, including AR and VR brand experiences

[1] Research conducted by cinch, surveying 2,192 car buyers in December