A study by Red Egg Marketing reveals that as much as 82% of shoppers will pay more to support small businesses. Revealing shoppers’ motivation to support local businesses in the wake of COVID-19.
A whopping 82.76 % of shoppers say they would rather support a local business than a large corporation. With eight out of 10 of them willing to spend more money at their local business.
Red Egg Marketing Local Business Survey
This is in a bid to boost the success of businesses in their community even if it means paying more. Of which 77.19% do so to intentionally to support their local businesses.
Others (54.39%) say they shop locally as they find the goods and services of better quality. While 30.85% point towards having those products and services easily accessible locally while 14.88% go for the price. But almost one in five or 19.66% say they shop locally out of sheer habit.
The survey also reveals most shoppers consider a business ‘local’ if it operates within the city’s limits. More particularly 60.80% define local within the city limits while 16.88% say operating across the state. Only 22.32 define local when it only applies to those that reside within a particular neighborhood.
Shopping Habits of Shoppers who Shop Locally
Brand power remains a major factor when it comes to buyers’ decision making. In terms of brand recognition, seven out of ten (71.26%) Americans do research brands before making purchases. They admit to researching brands via websites (67.51%) and social media (39.02%). This is more than checking product prices (38.78%).
Seeking information on products is also important among shoppers. The research ingredients or how they are sourced (32.97%) and reading blog posts (19.54%) about items they consume. A small percentage don’t do any actual research (15.25).
Another purchasing decision is based on the business’ charity and community work (12.4%).
A key takeaway here is there is a strong sense of community among today’s consumers. Not only do they weigh the quality of service but also look at your involvement in the community as well.
Need to Reach out More to Customers
The fact that 67% of potential customers base their decisions making online and willingness to pay more is worth noting. This highlights the need for businesses to work on their digital outreach to convert prospects to customers. Reaching out to customers alone will not cut it.
Businesses also need to be responsive to customer reviews and continue to have conversations. According to a study, small businesses do reply more than their larger counterparts. Small businesses reply by an average of 25% compared to large businesses (12%) and global businesses (9%). By reviewing customer comments, a business can improve its marketing, online presence and branding efforts.
It is equally important that businesses focus on strengthening connections with customers. As a business understanding the habits and preferences of customers will help you deliver better solutions to your customers. Moreover, by delivering on these needs you are showing them your business is meeting their expectations.
Businesses Need to be Creative
In these challenging times, business continuity will depend on how businesses react to the pandemic.
Innovation and technology adoption is essential for businesses to remain resilient. it is important for businesses to be open to new ideas and offer competitive, quality products. Those that have mitigated the challenges have tweaked their business plan and infrastructures. They have implemented remote working to help continue productivity as well as expanded product and service to meet new demands.
Others have looked to e-commerce and home delivery to expedite, continue operations and create a safe environment. By being open to new ideas businesses can adapt, remain resilient and set their businesses up for success.
They will also need to communicate to their customers that it is safe doing business with them. By helping address customers’ concerns over safety, they are providing assurances that it is okay to return.
Image: Depositphotos.com
This article, "82% of Shoppers Will Pay More Now to Support Small Businesses" was first published on Small Business Trends
August 4, 2020 at 06:31AM
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Samson Haileyesus, Khareem Sudlow
