Shopping behavior is changing, and when we researched how it changed, what we discovered was eye-opening. Remember when “Activewear” became the new “Officewear” in 2020? A new online work environment emerged consisting of cozy sweatpants on the bottom and a Zoom call-appropriate shirt on top. Today that dress code and the need for office-related items is evolving fast as more companies mandate their staff back to the office.
As the New York Times reported, Nordstrom saw a 152 percent increase in searches on its website for the term “workwear” in February 2022. Looking toward the Fall season, more employees are expected to return to work, and retailers look forward to a boost in back-to-office shopping items.
What does this mean for your brand? There’s an opportunity to rethink your consumer’s online shopping experience. The main considerations are your online presence and the positioning of your products. In this post, you’ll learn more about your customer’s back-to-office mindset, their changing shopping habits, tips on how to engage with them, and how product catalog optimization can help you reach maximum product exposure and connect you to the right customers.
Your Customer’s Mindset Going Back to The Office
In your customer’s mind, it’s time to look good and feel good at work. After two years of on and off lockdowns, employees returning to the office are searching for back-to-work clothing, and it’s expected that as more businesses bring back staff, the searches for office-related clothing and products will increase.
Google Trends reported that “business casual outfits” and “casual work outfits” searches hit an all-time high in the US back in March of 2022. But new online searches aren’t the only changes related to a workforce returning to the office.
What Changing Consumer Behavior Means for Retailers
There’s another behavior shift related to where and how people shop. The opportunity to shop online while commuting to and from work and buy in-store before work, at lunch, and after work.
How do you engage with your current customers and attract new ones as their spending patterns change?
Here are some tips:
- Integrate with new Online Marketplaces and market your products on shopping channels to be where your audience is
Reach people browsing and searching for products by category, brand, and other factors.
- Promote products in your physical stores to capitalize on in-store shopping trends
Use Google Local inventory ads to attract local buyers and advertise products based on audience location.
- Build better customer experiences on social media
Integrate your products with Social Commerce Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok. The more seamless your customer’s shopping experience, the more chance they’ll come back and buy more.
Attract More Customers, Wherever They Are
The saying “The one thing you can count on is change.” is the reality retailers are accustomed to. This is why having a solution to adapt to your customer’s shifting lifestyle is so important.
A popular method for keeping your inventory responsive to these market changes is Product Catalog Optimization. It’s the technical process of optimizing the product data in your catalog to help online shoppers find your products, make an informed buying decision, and provide a better shopping experience with your brand.
Think of how a supermarket continually merchandises its stock based on consumer demand, seasonal items, and promotions. The same result occurs when retailers use product catalog optimization to attract customers to their products everywhere they’re spending time online.
The New Omnichannel Commerce Strategy
Your catalog optimization doesn’t end with the products sold on your website. Whether you’re a retailer focused on selling in a local area or a global brand selling in multiple countries, your product data needs to be structured properly and updated frequently on every commerce channel. This practice is a core success factor of an omnichannel commerce strategy.
Commerce channels like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google Shopping, Amazon, eBay, and Rakuten need dedicated and optimized product feeds.
Product Catalog Optimization Made Easy
Adapting to your customer’s changing shopping behaviors and adopting new commerce channels is part of a retailer’s job, but a lack of experienced resources and specialized techniques can be a roadblock.
This is where a highly technical product feed management service can help. Solutions like Highstreet.io help you optimize your catalog and product data for every channel your products are listed.
Some benefits include:
- Boosting your eCommerce and local inventory ad sales by quickly and effectively updating your product pricing and inventory on all channels with specialized delta feeds
- Reaching more customers on marketplaces by using our experienced integration team to handle your marketplace integrations
- Increasing conversions on social commerce platforms by showcasing highly detailed product information using a managed service to handle every platform’s requirements
To easily promote and sell your products on multiple global channels, a product feed management and marketplace integration service specializing in a high level of data consultancy can help. This partner skill set is even more valuable to optimize your products and get them on the right marketplaces and shopping channels on time.
Learn more about how to use product catalog optimization to compete in an ever-changing market from real-world case studies.