What technological devices have been developed to provide insight into consumers?

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Full length articleInvestigating the effects of smart technology on customer dynamics and customer experience
Cited by (0)
Technology enhances what market research can already do
DIY market research platforms
Simulated environments
Consumer neuroscience
Artificial intelligence
Improving marketing research, one technological advancement at a time
Which technology can be used to help identify customers?
What technologies can improve customer experience?
How can technology be used to attract customers?
How did technological advances impact consumers?

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Full length articleInvestigating the effects of smart technology on customer dynamics and customer experience

Under a Creative Commons license

Open access

Highlights

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Commitment to learn has an effect on customer participation and dynamics.

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Customer dynamics have an effect on customer experience in a retail environment.

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Impacts of customer behavioural intention on customer participation and customer dynamics.

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Smart technologies affect the traditional customer decision making process in a retail context.

Abstract

Increased use of smart technologies by customers is leading to recognition of their influence on the shopping experiences of customers by practitioners. However, the academic literature fails to acknowledge the influence of smart technology usage, combined with behavioural intention of the customer, on the dynamics and experience of customers. This research utilises explanatory research at the preliminary stage to examine this phenomenon in a retail setting. A conceptual framework was created, based on the scholarly knowledge available in extant literature, and was tested using a survey of a convenience sample of 330 consumers shopping in a high-end retail store in London, United Kingdom. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) via AMOS was employed to test the proposed model. This study contributes to technology adoption based consumer behaviour literature, by explaining the ability of learning commitment to drive the participation of an individual, but its inability to influence their behavioural intention. Findings of this research also reflect on the role of customer dynamics and customer experience in embracing innovative application of smart technologies in a retail setting. The results and implications included in our study also contribute to the understanding of the determinants that affect customer dynamics and customer experience when making use of smart technologies.

Keywords

Customer experience

Customer dynamics

Behavioural intentions

Smart technologies

Technology adoption

Cited by (0)

At its core, market research is a discipline designed to help us keep up with change. But at times, even market research itself must transform to keep up with the market.

The need for faster and more robust insights has been growing due to continued pressure on budgets and timelines; and has only been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic. These factors have been critical in driving the transformation of market research – with technology at its core. The average market research toolkit has now expanded to include everything from automated, do-it-yourself market research platforms to artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning and neuroscience.

These technologies have become an essential part of the global consumer insights machine, enabling brands to keep up with accelerating change in consumer behaviour.

Technology enhances what market research can already do

Technology has made it possible to accelerate traditional market research processes, making them more efficient and streamlining costs through innovative approaches that can be used as either an alternative or supplement to traditional methods. It is also helping brands find new ways to answer one of the fundamental questions that market research seeks to answer: what do consumers really think?

Here are some examples of the different technologies fuelling a transformation in market research practices.

Automation

Automation has benefitted insights-seekers by drastically shortening the time between putting a survey in-field and retrieving valuable consumer feedback. With automated market research, deliverables that once took weeks can now be completed in as little as a few hours. Automation has also streamlined the market research process by making survey research more repeatable. For example, brands can get feedback on innovation concepts or test their creative faster by inputting a few simple parameters into a templated online survey, rather than recreating the survey each time.

DIY market research platforms

Demand for DIY market research is exploding; in fact, last year ESOMAR predicted that the sector would grow to $1.3billion by the close of 2021. DIY market research platforms like Kantar Marketplace are democratising insights, making it possible to get consumer feedback much more quickly and cost-effectively than in the past.

DIY platforms also facilitate greater agility, allowing market research teams to bring smaller projects in-house and execute as soon as needs emerge.

Simulated environments

One other area where technology has enhanced market research is using simulated environments. Take packaging tests, for example. By displaying your packaging on simulated store shelving, you get a better sense of how consumers would experience your product – at a much lower cost than using a mock shelf. You can still get an understanding of which packaging will stand out on shelf despite the nature of the simulated environment you’re exposing your sample audience to.

Consumer neuroscience

One of these growing in popularity approaches is the application of neuroscience to online market research, which enhances our understanding of consumers’ emotional responses. Within the neuroscience field, one of the key insights tools is facial coding. When applied to ad testing, facial coding technology allows marketers to observe how people react to their creative by analysing their facial expressions and eye movements – decoding these expressions to predict overall sentiment with a high degree of accuracy. The transformative power of this approach is that it overcomes implicit biases that are often found in self-reported measures of emotional response.

Artificial intelligence

Another technological innovation is the ability to process vast quantities of unstructured data at scale. Because we now have so much data about consumer behaviour (often created by consumers themselves in the form of social media posts, online reviews and other digital content), market researchers can analyse larger and more complex datasets with much faster turnaround times.

Market research tools powered by AI can make fast work of this data, with the potential to deliver new insight into what consumers are thinking – and to identify trends that were previously difficult to pinpoint. When applied to a traditional market research task like ad testing, AI and machine learning can quickly compare creative to a database of ads, identifying whether the ad will perform based on what has performed well in the past. For example, Kantar’s Link AI can predict creative effectiveness in just 15 minutes, allowing you to analyse higher volumes of ads more cost-effectively. This offers new opportunities in terms of competitive research and meta-analysis.

Improving marketing research, one technological advancement at a time

As consumer behaviour evolves ever more rapidly, insights play a vital role in increasing business agility. Technology is democratising market research while still providing high-quality intelligence, allowing brands to move confidently – and with speed.

Which technology can be used to help identify customers?

Customer analytics technologies are used to segment buyers into groupings based on behaviour, determine general trends, and tailor marketing campaigns to those specific segments.

What technologies can improve customer experience?

5 Technologies to Improve the Customer Experience.

The Cloud. The cloud, and the tools backed by this technology, is common at business organizations today—and for good reason. ... .

Chatbots. ... .

Virtual & Augmented Reality. ... .

Voice Capabilities. ... .

Smartphones..

How can technology be used to attract customers?

Here are 3 easy ways that you can use technology to attract new customers..

1) Loyalty Programs. You see loyalty programs everywhere these days, and it's really no surprise. ... .

2) Email Marketing Campaigns. Email marketing can be an incredibly effective tool to generate business. ... .

3) Social Media Marketing..

How did technological advances impact consumers?

Using smartphones, they can research products, ask sales questions, and purchase products no matter where they are and what they are doing. For example, the time spent commuting to work on a train or bus has been massively changed because of technology and connected devices.