Most hunted consumer products retailers need to have
The retail market is designed to provide products that consumers are looking for at a cost-effective price and in a convenient manner through brick-and-mortar stores and digital shopping platforms.
To do this better, retailers have to pay attention to consumer demand shifts on the market. In order to reveal the prevailing demand requirements of consumers, Guzzle, which is South Africa’s leading catalogue retail platform, recently conducted a survey.
Which products do consumers consider essential?
Clothing & footwear
Clothing and footwear remain the most sought-after products in the retail space. 73% of the survey respondents indicated that they are constantly on the lookout for specials on clothing and footwear products.
This demand level is not surprising, considering the fact that every season requires different types of clothes. This demand is also often triggered by fashion trends and more recently lockdown weight changes.
The onus on the retailers is to pay attention to changes in seasons and emerging fashion trends. Retailers can use Guzzle to capture this huge market by booking a webpage takeover of high traffic sections of the website which will offer them a 100% share of the market voice.
Appliances
Appliances are a big part of household and business environments. 69.3% of the feedback responses pointed to appliances as the product in demand. While no specific appliances were pointed out, it’s easy to say appliance demand is often triggered by social-economic conditions such as employment and income levels, climatic conditions, etc.
Building supplies & DIY
South Africa’s building and construction sector have remained steady even in the face of the uncertain business environment negatively impacted by Covid-19. As a matter of fact, more households have done DIY building and maintenance than in the recent past due to changes such as work and study from home which have required adjustments to the living and leisure spaces.
It’s therefore not surprising that 38.6% selected this product category as their preference. Retailers can count on Guzzle newsletters to reach building supplies prospective customers.
Guzzle allows retailers to take over their mailing list with 120,000 dedicated unique subscribers to send out the retail businesses latest deals and products which are also deep-linked to the e-commerce store or mapped to the nearest brick and mortar store.
Cellular & touch tablets
Technology has continued to evolve with new products coming on the market. The demand for cellular and touch tablets has therefore continued to record good consumer interest due to a number of users who continuously upgrade to keep up with trends.
The work and study from home scenario brought about by Covid-19 has also meant an increased demand for mobile devices to facilitate working and studying from home as well as general communication purposes.
The survey recorded 39.4% of consumer responses highlighting the need for these products.
Computers
There is no guessing that computers are at the heart of business and education. With businesses and households readjusting to changes brought about by Covid-19, the need for computers has remained steady.
25.5% of consumers expressed a need for computers. While the brand preference is not clear, what is important for retailers is to provide affordable, user- friendly and durable computers, repair parts and accessories which are constantly needed to keep computers running.
Electronics
Electronics is a broad and comprehensive term that refers to products such as television sets, music stereos, fridges, microwaves, network equipment, batteries, electrical equipment, computer peripherals, audio accessories, etc.
The demand for these products is driven by the fact that modern life depends on them to retain some sort of normality. They are therefore in demand in each and every season.
The survey showed that 43% of consumers are regularly on the lookout for electronic products.
Indoor living
The Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns have forced many people to spend increased amounts of time indoors and within their home environments.
The consumer demand for products that support a home lifestyle has remained steady. These products include indoor and garden furniture, beddings, entertainment systems, kitchen appliances, garden tools, etc. A total of 43.1% consumers selected this product category.
Office
With the recent decrease in Covid-19 infections, the office space has continued to recover with more employees finding their way back to the office.
There are also a good number of people who have opted to continue working from home permanently. This has placed a new
demand for office furniture, stationery, tools, hygiene products and security products all designed to keep the office environment secure, productive and healthy.
It is therefore not surprising that 10% of shoppers selected this product category. In order to keep corporate institutions and workers informed on new products and emerging trends on electronics, computers and other matters beyond the office environment, Guzzle gives retailers the opportunity to publish advertorial/sponsored content on a retailer-focused blog which helps to activate and generate buying interest with the appropriate audience.
From the above, it’s clear to see what consumers are hunting for during this time of the retail calendar.
Retailers can rely on Guzzle to list digital and print formats of their retail catalogues. Guzzle is the ideal platform for retailers and brands to use to keep shoppers informed on products they are hunting for, specials and brand launches.
Guzzle Media
