The path to purchase journey

The path to purchase journey

he ‘path to purchase’ is a traditional shopping concept that has evolved significantly over the past decade due to the internet, digital innovation and the subsequent rise of online shopping. Although the digital revolution hasn’t altered the fact that consumers still experience the same stages of awareness, consideration, conversion and evaluation, the journey itself has changed. Instead of a path to purchase that is traditionally linear, it has become more of a cycle or even a web. Consumers move through and back and 

online transaction at each of four stages:

Awareness When they first became aware of or had a desire for the product 

Consideration When they were researching the product online or offline 

Conversion When they were deciding where and when to buy the product

Targeting different segments.

Muji’s target market is not based solely on demographics, but on market size and respective consumer behaviors. “We target customers who are trend-conscious and are leading total consumer spending in each region.

Online community is a point of differentiation.

The MUJI.net community is considered to be an area of differentiation for Muji. The brand has developed a loyal member base through this community, with which they regularly communicate regarding trends and products.

Muji is a true omni-channel retailer.

Muji actively pursues synergies between its offline and online channels, and they have formal key performance indicators (KPIs) in place that ensure these synergies are maximized. According to Takeuchi-san, “The number of customers that visit our shops is a KPI for our ecommerce division. 

Multiple Choice

In addition to online to offline, Takeuchisan discusses how their customers also go from shopping offline to online:

• Muji is a true omni-channel retailer

• japan business leads in ecommerce

Multiple Choice

The only difference Muji sees is that Millennials:

• Targeting different segments

• Communicating content instead of specific products

Multiple Choice

When they first became aware of or had a desire for the product:

• Awareness

• Evaluation

Multiple Choice

When they were researching the product online or offline:

• Consideration

• Conversion

Multiple Choice

When they were deciding where and when to buy the product:

• Conversion

• Evaluation

Multiple Choice

After they made the purchase :

• Evaluation

• Awareness

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Muji uses its loyalty program to encourage customers to provide feedback and promote the company’s products online :

• Communicating content instead of specific products

• Targeting different segments

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Factors driving final product decisions:

• Overall, price or promotions (identified by 27 percent of respondents) were the factors most likely to influence consumers’ decision regarding which product or brand to buy online.

• As in the awareness stage, Millennials

  are more likely than both Generation X

  and Baby Boomer consumers to use

  offline channels during the consideration

  stage.

Multiple Choice

“Consumers are firmly in charge today and they are looking at personalization of services. Today’s consumer is more similar to the 1920’s consumer with a personal relationship with shopkeepers. Therefore, big data is important – retailers should understand what individual consumers buy and what they do. They should cater to consumers as individuals.”

• Paul Martin, UK Head of Retail, KPMG in the UK

• Stephan Fetsch, Head of Retail, KPMG in Germany