Analysing customer behaviour and trends in the purchase journey

Today, shopping is no longer simply a matter of exchanging money for a product — it is a complex journey. The advance of technology and shifting social trends have brought about significant changes in the way consumers approach and make purchasing decisions. In the article below, join Kompa in exploring the new trends shaping the consumer purchase journey and what they mean for customer behavior analysis.

How does the purchase journey actually unfold?

Shopping is not merely the exchange of money for a product; it is a complex journey that runs from the moment a need arises to the moment the transaction is completed. Although it usually happens automatically and attracts little attention, this process involves many influencing factors and changes over time.

Step 1: A shopping need arises

The shopping process typically begins when consumers recognize a specific need or desire. That need can stem from many different sources — it may be an essential need such as daily food, or a personal wish such as buying a special gift for a loved one. At times, a shopping need may also reflect the influence of the social environment, such as the spread of a trend or the sway of popular brands on social media. Whatever its origin, the shopping process generally starts with recognizing and clearly defining the shopping need.

Step 2: Researching the product

After recognizing a purchasing need, consumers typically conduct research to better understand the product or service they are interested in. This process involves gathering information about product features, pros and cons, reviews from other users, as well as learning about the brand and pricing. Depending on the level of interest and the complexity of the product, this process can last anywhere from a few minutes to several weeks. Careful research helps consumers make smart purchasing decisions and ensures their satisfaction afterward.

Step 3: Choosing a purchasing channel

Once they clearly understand the product and have complete information, consumers go on to decide where they will buy it. This decision depends on many factors such as location, price, service, and the convenience of the purchasing channel. The options typically include traditional stores, online shopping websites, mobile apps, or e-commerce platforms. Choosing the right purchasing channel helps consumers save time and effort throughout the buying process and ensures they have the best possible experience.

Step 4: Completing the purchase transaction

Finally, after selecting a product and a shopping channel, consumers complete the transaction to purchase the product. This process includes activities such as inspecting the product, consulting sales staff, and finally making payment. The purchase transaction concludes when the product is received and put to use. This is the final critical step in the shopping journey, and a successful transaction is typically the result of understanding customer needs and delivering the best possible service.

Overall, the shopping journey reflects the complexity and multidimensional nature of the purchase decision process. Analyzing customer behavior at each stage of this process is the key to optimizing marketing strategies and creating the best possible shopping experience for customers.

>> Read more: What is customer behavior? The top 12 benefits of researching customer behavior

New trends shaping the consumer purchase journey

The rapid advance of technology and information devices has had a far-reaching impact on shopping, making the process far more complex. This has given rise to a number of new trends shaping the consumer purchase process, the most notable of which include:

Growing demand for sustainability

According to IBM's customer behavior analysis research, 77% of consumers say it is very important that brands and labels make their products more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Another study by Harvard Business School also confirms that environmentally friendly products achieve sales growth rates 5.6 times higher than conventional products.

Consumers are paying increasing attention to where products come from and how they are made, and they prefer products that have a positive impact on the environment and society. It is therefore no surprise that producing and promoting products that are friendly to both users and the environment will continue to be a notable trend in the years ahead, over roughly the next three to four years.

The trend of supporting socially responsible businesses

The trend of supporting socially responsible businesses is also becoming more widespread. Consumers increasingly care about supporting businesses that make genuine commitments and take active steps to address social and environmental issues. This is pushing businesses to develop sustainable business strategies and build stronger ties with their communities.

Beyond environmental concerns, consumers also take a particular interest in global issues such as gender equality, the LGBT+ community, and many others.

Businesses that can roll out advocacy projects and programs with a deft touch will find it easier to meet customer expectations. They can also retain existing customers and turn prospects into loyal ones.

Influencers and their impact on purchasing decisions

When making purchasing decisions and choosing which brands to trust, Millennial and Gen Z consumers are often strongly influenced by influencers.

Famous figures, especially those with large fan and follower bases, often wield considerable influence when they promote brands. In 2022, Influencer Marketing campaigns in Vietnam generated total revenue of up to 64 million USD.

Although this form of marketing has proven highly effective, not every influencer is able to build lasting credibility with their fans.

As a result, consumers are gradually shifting toward engaging with Micro-influencers — that is, influencers with fewer than 50 thousand followers on each platform — more than with Macro-influencers. Micro-influencers typically have stronger engagement and are seen as more attuned to consumers' specific needs, which makes them an increasingly popular choice in marketing strategies.

Channel Fragmentation

One of the newly identified trends is "Channel Fragmentation" — the phenomenon in which consumers use many different media to access information, meaning that a single advertising message must be distributed across multiple channels to achieve maximum impact. With the support of technology, customers can now satisfy their shopping needs anywhere and at any time, increasing their power and flexibility throughout the purchase process. About 10 years ago, consumers would typically head to a few specific stores and buy the products they needed within a set period of time. Today, however, shopping has become "I buy what I want, when I want, and where I want."

For example, in the past, when selling a product such as milk, brands could focus on a handful of channels: recommendations from doctors, participation in mother-and-baby forums, or specialty stores dedicated to milk products. Today, however, things have become far more complex, as a mother may decide to buy milk from an individual seller or through hand-carried import channels. This makes the consumer's shopping journey far more varied and complex.

As consumer shopping behavior shifts, businesses and marketers need to invest in understanding that behavior more deeply in order to influence it effectively. Doing so helps avoid wasted investment in the wrong channels while capturing new opportunities. At the same time, choosing how to reach consumers and capture their attention has become more complex because shopping channels are increasingly fragmented.

Retailers are growing more powerful

Retailers wield increasing power, as the examples of Amazon and Walmart make clear. Both are major retail players that significantly dominate the market. When a business wants to sell its products through their distribution channels, it typically faces demanding requirements and standards, as well as pricing pressure from these retailers. This makes the partnership process more complex and demands initiative and flexibility from the business.

Too many product types serving a single need

In an era of rapid scientific and technological progress, connectivity and information sharing have made goods more accessible than ever. With the ability to shop online through platforms such as Amazon or Alibaba, consumers can buy from anywhere in the world with nothing more than an internet-connected device.

However, the growing diversity of product types is making purchasing decisions harder. Not only Vietnamese businesses but also multinational corporations are facing this challenge and must change dramatically to ensure their investments are sound and effective.

In Vietnam, the shopping market is still shaped primarily by the traditional environment. Marketing activities at the point of sale are often not implemented effectively or correctly, and new marketing methods have yet to be adopted. Understanding the purchase journey and consumer needs has become a critical factor that every business needs to focus on. This helps them identify customer touchpoints and deliver optimal solutions from initial outreach through to driving purchase behavior. Each business can use different tools such as Facebook, Google, or partner with market research firms to collect data. For small businesses, observing and tracking customers on a daily basis can be a simple yet effective way to better understand them and influence their shopping behavior.

Conclusion

In a rapidly changing business environment, understanding and responding appropriately to emerging trends in customer behavior analysis is critical to a company's success. By adopting flexible, creative strategies such as Social Listening, businesses can turn these changes to their advantage — creating the best possible shopping experience for customers while strengthening their competitive position in the market. To learn more about Kompa's Social Listening service, visit the Kompa website here. Kompa looks forward to partnering with your business and supporting you in researching customer behavior effectively.