In a market environment of endless choices, even the best of products will find that standing out isn’t always enough. The product’s pull factor is critical, but so is a brand’s ability to anticipate and overcome the roadblocks that shoppers will face in the final stages of a purchase decision. Our CEO Rebecca Brooks writes more about our recent study findings from the Shopper Influence Research program, and their implications for brands, in her latest article for Forbes, “The Barriers Today’s Shoppers Face.”

The reality she lays out is that “it isn’t enough for brands to focus their marketing and pricing strategies on product attributes alone.” Forecasting the pain points of customers is becoming increasingly important, as indicated by our recent survey conducted among 6,000 U.S.-based consumers who were recent purchasers across six product categories.

The barriers to purchase are real and there are some prevailing themes deterring customers today. Rebecca rounds up some of the open-end feedback from our study and addresses each comment individually in the article, giving some best practices for brands to combat these common consumer concerns.

• “I wasn’t sure it was a good deal”
• “The deal, sale, or special offer I wanted was not available at the time”
• “I was hesitant about purchasing from a brand that was new to me”
• “The item I wanted was not available within the time frame that I wanted it”
• “I was concerned about how long the product would last”

She concludes with: “There’s a real need to do the consumer research and understand what pain points shoppers have in their category so those can be addressed. That way, the brand can make a shopper’s journey from inspiration to purchasing their product as smooth and detour-free as possible.”

Staying ahead of the consumer’s thought process should be a key concern for brands and is also an untapped area of opportunity for most. Are you ready to find out what your audiences are thinking before they buy?

Let’s talk!