The word trust was brought up at least six times during a conversation with Laura Heller, Forbes Contributor and David Weiss, Partner of McMillan Doolittle, during the 2019 Home Improvement eRetailer Summit held in Chicago as they discussed global retail trends.
David Weiss and Laura Heller, eRetailer Summit 2019
Trust is defined as a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. In the context of their conversation, it is now relevant to bring up our current state of challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic. The conversation focused on insights that we currently see in “action” which have been accelerated by the pandemic.
One such thought about trust in retail is that we are now relying more than ever on digital assets just to get through the day; and, we are forced to trust that our doubts of using digital sources will not be realized. Forced is the operative word here because it took a pandemic to help accelerate the adoption of digital assets. During the conversation, Laura Heller even went further to state that “optimized digital assets are trusted more than copy/text.” We see that playing out more now than ever.
The conversation was focused on how delivery-side solutions like Instacart are becoming the norm. Interesting, that we have fast forwarded less than six months since this discussion was held at the eRetailer Summit and the adoption of digital assets has accelerated because that is the best choice for consumers to get what they need; and, remain safe from a public health standpoint.
A recent post from Kris Holt, a Forbes Contributor, states that Instacart has a 450% increase from December 2019 to April 2020; and, one-third of shoppers are buying their groceries online. Due to the corona virus outbreak, Instacart made $10 million in net profit in April alone when in the previous years it posted net losses.
While online retail, specifically groceries has seen an enormous uptick in growth, I would suspect that the experience has increased the trust among consumers that it can be easy, convenient and safe from a privacy standpoint. Retail delivery solutions had to unexpectedly step-up and supply an immediate high-demand from consumers sheltered in place. Whether it was standard shipping, one-day delivery, curbside pick-up or just pick-up in store, retailers are currently being challenged everyday like never before. For retailers this is a time period to build trust from consumers that they can count on you during the worst of times.
While no one could have expected our current situation with COVID-19, Laura Heller’s forecast was right on point! When asked last year at the Home Improvement eRetailer Summit to sum up what she believed retailers should focus on when winning over consumers, she chose the word TRUST.
Celebrating 5 years, March 7-9, 2021 Aloft Chicago Downtown River North, Chicago, IL
Insights and predictions are shared from retail thought leaders at the Home Improvement eRetailer Summit celebrating its 5th year March 7-9, 2021 at the Aloft Chicago Downtown River North, Chicago IL. It is an invitation only face-to-face event that focuses on home improvement ecommerce through networking, education, and one-to-one meetings. To request your invitation, please contact us.
Sonya Ruff Jarvis, is the Managing Member of Jarvis Consultants and the Founder of the eRetailer Summit and JC Event Group. An expert in her field, Sonya has been published in numerous retail industry b-to-b publications. Sonya shares her experiences in her book series Mindful Minutes: A Marketer’s Journey Through Business. In addition, Sonya collaborated in publishing an anthology, Mentoring Moments: 14 Remarkable Women Share Their Breakthroughs to Success. To purchase Sonya’s books go to AMAZON.
Sonya has a M.B.A. in Marketing. She is married and has a daughter and they live in Trumbull, Connecticut.
Follow Sonya on twitter at @jarvisconsult or @eretailersummit