Part 1: The Consumer Electronics Industry

This month our industry correspondents in charge of eKomi StarInsights are focusing on, Spain’s Retail Industry. Today’s StarInsights is the first in a series of several reports exploring various sectors within the retail industry.

eKomi Explains

After nearly a decade, Spain’s economy is finally back to its pre-crisis levels. The global financial crisis left Spain struggling economically to find its way back to the front of the eurozone pack. However, after nine years of recession, Spain is back to where it was in 2008 and is eager to catch up to the rest of the EU. The nation has many reasons to celebrate in 2017, but Spain is nowhere close to being in the clear yet. Looking to the future, there are many more obstacles for Spain to overcome.

On the last eKomi StarInsights featuring Spain, we explored the Insurance Industry and discussed briefly the political crisis unfolding in the nation. Since then, the situation has gotten much worse. Spain is currently entering its worst constitutional crisis since “The Civil War” in the 1930s. The independence movement taking place in Catalonia is becoming a threat to Spain’s economy and has garnered shock and attention from around the world. Since the independence vote, nearly 2,000 companies have moved their headquarters out of Barcelona and other cities in Catalonia (see article). These companies fled the region due to their concerns as to whether Catalonia would be left outside of the EU. This lack of business confidence has resulted in the loss of 15,000 jobs in Catalonia last month alone. Experts fear that this political crisis will result in another recession for the nation.

As the holidays approach in Spain, many analysts are curious as to how the nation’s political and economic storms will play out. Will Spain’s retail consumers reflect the same optimism that their economy has? Or will Spain’s political crisis erode consumer confidence for the holidays leading to another recession?

This edition of StarInsights will concentrate on Spain’s Retail Industry while focusing on the Consumer Electronics sector.

‘Tis The Season

Retailers are rejoicing the return of the holiday shopping season. This time of the year accounts for roughly 20% of the retail industry’s annual sales, and experts are already anticipating for this shopping season to yet again break records. During November and December, present-hunters across the world search for the best deals and bargains in preparation for the holidays. Regardless if these shoppers are storming shopping centers and malls or if they are purchasing from the comfort of their homes online, the holiday season brings in big bucks for retailers everywhere.

Ironically, “holidays” revolving around the seasonal shopping season have become increasingly popular over the years. The United State celebrates, “Black Friday”, the day following Thanksgiving. This shopping holiday alone generated $3.34bn in sales last year. However, due to current trends, Black Friday is becoming increasingly less popular. 2014 was the year that the shopping holiday peaked in sales, and has since decreased every year in total sales.

In China, online shoppers just broke several records for the world’s busiest shopping day, “Singles Day.” Ecommerce giant, Alibaba, earned more than $25.3bn this year and broke the record (again) for, “the most ever spent in one day anywhere on Earth.”

The second biggest online shopping day of the year is, “Cyber Monday.” This holiday was created by marketing companies to persuade consumers to shop online the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. Created in 2005, this day of the year earned $3.45bn in online sales. This is the biggest shopping day of the year in the United States and has picked up momentum in other regions of the world as well.

With the addition of Amazon’s yearly online sale in the middle of the summer, “Prime Day”, it is safe to say that consumers are changing the way they shop. This online shopping trend is becoming more popular, and with retail giants taking notice, you should not expect ecommerce to slow down anytime soon.

Keeping up with the customers

Your customers are on the go. Experts in retail anticipate the “mobile moment”, a time when visits on mobile devices overtake desktop visits, will occur by the end of this year. As mobile technology continues to grow, so will consumers’ expectations towards being able to shop at their own convenience regardless of when or where. If you do not react to this new consumer behavior, one of your competitors will.

Last year, 54% of Spaniards made a purchase online. Roughly 50% of these online shoppers also have experience with mobile commerce. A report by Ecommerce News found that one in two Spanish shoppers who have made a purchase online have also made a purchase online through their mobile devices. This is an increase of about 15% from the previous year. More specifically, if you look at the consumer electronics sector, there was a 21% growth rate from last year among Spanish consumers who made a purchase through their mobile devices.

Know your customers from every angle

Customer insight starts with customer intelligence (C.I.). Now, more than ever, customers expect retailers to know who they are and what they’re interested in. From knowing what content your consumers will respond to, what channels they use, and how to most effectively target them, customer expectations should not be taken lightly. Remember, your competition is just one click away.

Ecommerce sales in Spain for 2016 totaled €23.91bn (see Figure 3). This number is forecasted to grow to €27.97bn by the end of this year. If retailers expect to earn any of this, they must first understand their audience and their expectations. Understanding future global shopping behavior is a great start. Experts say that the trends, behaviors, and technology developing in China are hints of what is soon to come for the rest of the world. China is all about shopping online. A study by PwC found that almost one in five of Chinese consumers shops online daily. Globally, that figure is just 7.1%. Experts are expecting this trend to grow rapidly throughout the world as 2020 approaches.

eKomi has been leading the way within the retail industry to provide innovative and ground-breaking technology to meet the rising customer expectations for digital access and transparency. eKomi recognizes that the more a retailer understand its audience, the better you connect with them. eKomi has the solution you need to not only gather customer data but to also help stitch it together for you. Our products help sort your C.I. into one place so you can identify your most valuable segments across every channel. This will help you better engage your customers daily with greater insight.

To find out more, schedule an appointment with us here.

Introducing, eKomi’s Starinsights, a blog series dedicated to data journalism and the importance of reviews and ratings.

eKomi’s industry correspondents provide a clear and focused overview of the companies with the highest quantity and quality of user-validated ratings and reviews within a given industry.

This edition of StarInsights will cover Spain’s Consumer Electronics Industry

Discussion

Worten is Spain’s Consumer Electronics Industry leader for this edition of eKomi’s StarInsights. With 2,870 reviews collected within the last year, Worten is above and beyond the rest of its competition in regards to reviews. However, our industry consultants found during their research that Worten, a partner of Bazaarvoice, had the lowest rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars.

Following Worten is MiniDomestic with 1,620 reviews collected. The company also earned a respectable average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. Following next is Vayava, doctorSIM, and Cetronic to close out the top five companies.

It is important to note that doctorSIM is a partner of both eKomi and Trustpilot. With a total of 1,115 reviews, doctorSIM has 767 reviews published from eKomi and 348 reviews published from Trustpilot.

Topping our list of the highest rated consumer electronics companies in Spain is, Solotronic. The eKomi partner earned a star rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars. Following Solotronic on our list are, Cetronic, MiniDomestic, and TiendaTR as the highest rated companies. (See Figure 5)

There are several companies not featured in this edition of StarInsights because they are currently not collecting reviews and ratings. Among these companies are Beep, Electrocosto, and PcComponentes.

We hope this report will continue to foster the importance of reviews and ratings within the consumer electronics industry and help promote the use of innovation to contribute to the economic and social development in Spain.

Strategic Road Map to 2020

1. The Power of Online Reviews

It is no secret that online reviews and ratings have tremendous influence in 2017. These online reviews are picking up momentum in regards to not only their popularity but also in regards to the number of online consumers who read and trust these reviews. According to a recent study, 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends or family. This figure is astonishing considering that online reviews are posted by complete strangers.

The benefits of displaying and publishing online reviews are endless. A study by Northwestern University’s research team has found several advantages that reviews can have on your business. Some examples of these benefits include, displayed reviews increasing overall conversion by 270% if the product or service has at least five reviews. Data from a gift retailer found that when reviews were displayed for a lower-priced product, the conversion rate increased by 190%. For a higher-priced product, the conversion rate increased by 380%.

Roughly two-thirds of all internet users look at customer reviews prior to purchasing as well. Many retailers have already begun to take action on this growing trend. By partnering with feedback companies such as eKomi, allowing a third party connect your brand with your consumers to give them more ways to freely interact on the Internet providing vast convenience to your business. The collection, management, and publishing of seller and product ratings will enable your business to take consumer intelligence more seriously and provide a better customer experience. eKomi will not only help build your online reputation but also help give your business insight as to what you should do with your consumer intelligence.

2. Mastering Mobile

Retailers are left with very options regarding the “mobile moment” that is soon expected to happen and what this will mean for their business. This is among the fastest growing trends for the retail industry, and the numbers do not lie. According to new research by Adobe Digital Insights, smartphones accounted for 41% of online retail visits and 21% of sales during the holiday season of 2016.

“The overall size of the retail market might not be impacted [by the growing popularity of Internet shopping], but it will continue to have a huge impact on the business of individual retailers.” – David Oliver, head of retail consulting at PwC

This trend suggests that retailers need to prioritize the importance of mobile transparency for their customers this holiday season. Strategically, this effort to embrace cross-channel experiences for your customers will pay off big time. Having a seamless customer experience will give you the edge amongst the rest of your competitors, and create a joyful holiday shopping season both your business and your customers.

eKomi offers several collection methods to ensure flexibility and convenience for your organization to collect reviews and ratings. Our cross-channel user experience ensures the collection from the highest percentage of your clients, whether on or offline as possible. From our SMS review collection methods to our new fully-customizable POS solution, all of our Solutions are ready to collect customer reviews and ratings from wherever you are, even when offline.

3. Use Insights to Increase Foresight

Customer intelligence has given us insight into what our consumers want and need. With the competition now just one-click-away, your business cannot afford to make any mistakes. In 2017, data has given us the ability to perfect our strategies. We motivate our companies to predict customer behavior rather than play a guessing game.

An example of customer insight from studied conducted in Spain is the growing trend of consumers researching online prior to purchasing. Before purchasing, 83% of Spanish internet users researched the product or service prior to buying. This should be enough motivation for more retailers to provide seamless and friction-free experiences for their consumers.

eKomi provides businesses with customer insight that is easy to understand. We understand that most of your team probably does not have any advanced training on advanced statistical training, so we created a seamless customer experience to make your job as easy as possible. Our data can help you avoid risks and spot opportunities to create an ideal customer experience.

Book a demo here for further information about eKomi Solutions.

Coming up in this series

Part 2: The Apparel Industry

Part 3: The Footwear Industry