Frequent changes in consumer behaviour are being expected, but are surprised by their size. Rising expectations, mobile obsession, contradictory representations are just a few to deal with daily. In 2017 consumer habits are more crucial than ever. They are using an increasing number of devices to access the Web, to search, to make purchases.
Nowadays consumers fully understand the power they have. In return sophisticated technological solutions should be applied to applications to engage with today's end-users, fulfil their needs, improving the efforts based on consumers’ habits and behaviours. Against this background, predictions for applications for shoppers that will be trendy in 2017 are highlighted in the article. Understanding these trends will allow to stay ahead of the curve.
Trend 1. Consumers want AI to power conversational interfaces
Research and elaboration of AI solutions are booming globally. Artificial intelligence is no longer science fiction. Machines are getting more intelligent, so organisations around the world start to realise how they can leverage AI to improve consumer engagement and customer experience.
Nowadays AI technology has many applications. It is behind the recommendations that streamed media services make based on consumer's habits and believe it is here to stay.
AI personal assistant Applications:
Mona
Mona is the first application for doing shopping. It is powered with an AI personal assistant that provides users recommendations on new products, focuses on popular trends in a convenient mobile shopping app.
Features of Mona Application:
- Personal shopping assistant investigates style, brands of choice, ideal price tier.
- To find the perfect product for any occasion assistant can shop new arrivals, top discounted goods, daily best offers, shop premium, luxury brands, bringing you twenty of the best promotions regularly.
- By using the app more, often it is getting smarter due to got recommendations based on shopping behaviour and feedback.
- There is an option to give feedback about your loved styles.
- Being sent on a mission and knowing your size, style, brands and price tier, assistant will find something specific.
- Free shipping is provided.
- Apple Pay and all major debit/credit cards are accepted.
Operator
Operator an application, offering a new way to shop; it provides online shoppers with personalised purchasing advice that they would get in a bricks-and-mortar store.
Features of Operator Application:
- It is used algorithms combination in order human assistants will help to connect shoppers with retailers.
- Application connects to a network of people (‘operators’). They act like concierges, and execute related to the shopping request.
- Tickets to the concerts, gift ideas can be ordered, advice about interior design can be got.
Trend 2. Internet of Things Dominance
IoT is rather abstract and may be difficult for consumers to relate to. They are gradually discovering how IoT can meet their needs by increasingly mobile apps usage. Smartphones are the most common and key example of Internet of Things or IoT, and consumers continue to take the lead in IoT adoption in 2017.
Trendy Shopping Applications
Flipp
Flipp unites real and digital world by offering the cutting-edge flyers in digital library to help with shopping lists creation within the app. Just tap on a product or coupon you are interested, and it will be circled automatically, and added to your grocery list. This app gives an experience of modern doing shopping.
Features of Flipp Application:
- Fast browsing through your favourite local flyers such as Winn-Dixie, Dollar General, BI-LO, Co-op, etc.
- Coupons matching with flyers of your favourite brands to save more.
- Preplanning and deals discovering for every item in your grocery list.
- Searching through many items, retailers, and brands you love.
- Easy shopping trip by clipping goods to deal quickly.
- Learning more about incredible savings in order to save up to 50% off.
- Getting reminders about new offers, your favourite and nearby updates of retailers to be in touch with.
Canopy
Canopy is an application for shopping that helps to find out fabulous items and goods available for making a purchase on Amazon.com. This boutique directory was made to the largest and trustworthy catalogue in the Internet.
Features of Canopy Application:
- Community joining to get recommendations about items from others, having similar taste.
- Shopping by brands or categories, finding gifts based on the personality type.
- Discovering trend items within the community.
- The possibility of the favourite brands or categories following.
- Creating own collections, saving the items to the profile.
Trend 3. Consumers want immersive experience
Augmented reality has not hit the mainstream yet, but the next logical step is to enhance the user experience by leveraging AR technology in applications for shoppers. It is really innovative way helping to bridge a gap, gain consumer exceptional experience, make online shopping the preferred way for purchasing.
Augmented reality clarifies what is real and what is computer-generated. It links the real and virtual worlds, using digital technology to enhance person’s external surroundings. AR provides extra data in order the environment can be viewed in a different manner. In this way, augmented reality or AR should be understood as an externally focused digital interface.
Augmented Reality Applications:
iStaging
iStaging is an application helping to view and position furniture in the real environment with perspective to be replaced. The latest technological solutions as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR),3D provide you all the tools for easily designing your interiors by using your device.
Features of iStaging Application:
- The app contains a library of the furniture.
- The description of furniture is also provided.
- Users are able to look at a piece of furniture, using AR technology or 3D, order it.
How it works:
1. To position the object of choice, it can be added in the space while recording with your device.
2. To place the object where you want, options ‘Rotate’ and ‘Move’ are used.
3. To look at the object from all directions, when the perfect place for a piece of furniture is found, just move it around.
4. To look at your environment in virtual reality, just put your phone into a VR mode.
WayfairView
WayfairView is an augmented reality (AR) application that allows purchasers to full-scale visualise décor, furniture in their houses before getting the shopping done.
Features of WayfairView Application:
- It is permitted to visualise décor and furniture by virtually placing real items in any room, by making our vast catalogue digital through 3D scanning.
- Purchasers will be able to watch how it fits and looks in the real world environment.
- Items can be moved and rotated for visualisation the various layout planning.
Trend 4. Consumers want to be deeper personalised
People are getting more dependent on applications to satisfy their needs and pick the low-hanging fruit. Location-based services are considered to be the key players in 2017. As WiFi usage is unlimited to certain areas and will grow steadily, consumers want to attain relevant information based on the location, and to be more personalised.
Location-based Applications:
ShopAssist
ShopAssist is an application for doing shopping, designed for the budget conscious shopper. It allows to build shopping lists, to manage them, to check items from a list. The application also provides some statistical reporting functionality in order to keep track of their shopping expenses.
Features of ShopAssist Application:
- Shopping calculator and adjustable budget setting functionality.
- Automatic sales tax addition.
- Edit function to allow correction of incorrectly entered information.
- Product type tracking.
- Custom item names for better tracking, possibility to add named items directly from the shopping list.
- Work out the price of items sold per weight and discounts.
- Shopping history database.
- Add your favourite stores.
- Choose your currency.
- Digital shopping receipts.
How it works:
1. To put an item in the basket, simply add it to your current shopping session, punch in the price and the current total and remaining budget will be show.
2. After items were added, optionally select the type of the item for tracking where you spend money.
3. To support adding sales tax to any item, flick the sales tax switch, and ShopAssist will automatically add the correct tax amount.
4. Once you get to checkout you will know exactly how much you need to pay.
AroundMe
AroundMe is an application, allowing people to find a local place (shop or supermarket) based on location-awareness.
Features of AroundMe Application:
- Displaying numerous categories listed in alphabetical order.
- Nearby places list is shown depending on information from the current location area.
- Offering the enhanced geographical awareness, social connectivity.
- Filtering the location depending on provided online information.
- Providing with exaction marker on a map to show location of nearby places (shops, supermarkets, etc.).
- Customers tracking when they reach the location, offering better services.
Trend 5. Consumers want private search and secure shopping
Security attacks and threats have unavoidably struck the industry of mobile applications giving tremendous evolvement. It is expected a strong evolvement of the inbuilt security features, focusing on including the strong data encryption.The mobile apps security is key of consumer’s attraction for 2017.
Security-oriented Applications:
Snapdeal
Snapdeal is an easy, quick and secure mobile app for doing shopping with an immersive interface, swiftly navigation, possibility to start shopping anywhere and anytime. Snapdeal is the biggest mobile marketplace. It includes over 65 million items such as electronics, phones, gadgets, fashion, jewellery to spark interest.
Features of Snapdeal Application:
- The hottest items, top brands shopping.
- Instant mobile notifications about offers, discounts, daily promotions, exclusive deals are sent.
- Viewing multiple product images, getting the detailed items specifications, comparing items reviews, prices and ratings.
- Personalised and Secure: 100% payment protection guarantee.
- Fast and Free Shipping.
- Status of shipping can be tracked and billing options can be edited online.
- Items that you love can be saved in your shortlist and can be shopped later.
- Recommended products can be shared through WhatsApp, Facebook or email.
Buyvia
BuyVia is an application for secure doing shopping online that helps find great deals, using real experts who shop every day. It provides everything you ever need to know before purchasing your favourite products, including favourable deals, reviews, ratings.
Features of BuyVia Application:
- Proposing favourable deals, customised to the shopping preferences.
- Tracking discounts,price reductions at personalised shopping list.
- Whether you’re searching for clothes, home and garden items, electronics, baby products, shoes, or jewellery, it is sent the personalised deals, coupon codes that help to save money.
- Sending push notifications when watched product falls in price.
- Deals can be shared via email or text.
- A product’s barcode can be scanned to find the best price.
Drawing a line
The mobile landscape will be evolving in 2017 putting more power into the consumer's hands and changing their mindset and habits. Consumer’s habits do not change cardinally, they polish up and respond according to the environment. The biggest changes in consumer habits are:
- The desire to communicate with brands, even to contribute to the conversation through AI-powered assistants.
- Consumers’ expectations to be deeper personalised activate an increasing number of location-based applications.
- Consumers requires a wide assortment of new applications due to growing numbers of IoT to fulfil their needs.
- With an increase in targeted attacks on the users, applying smartphones, consumers want to assure the mobile applications are secure and safe.