2023 Australian Ecommerce Forecast & Trends
The eCommerce industry changes every year, as new technologies and innovations rise to prominence. That means shifting our mindsets to adopt new behaviours and trends seen across consumers. In digital marketing, this is a crucial focus point for all brands; if you want to stay afloat, you have to know what’s going on in the online world around you. What’s driving influence with potential customers? Where are they dwelling the most?
Staying ahead of this curve is essential to ensure you deliver the right products and services through the most cost-effective, ROI-driven platforms. If you do your research properly, you’ll be able to meet the needs of consumers as they adapt and change – and that’s the sign of surefire success.
The year 2021 is even more exceptional, due to widespread COVID-19 lockdowns and closures still making an impact. For eCommerce websites, bringing out the big guns online is more important than ever before. We’re expecting a few big changes this year, so here’s what you need to know to stay ahead of the game.
Consumers will demand more when it comes to personalisation
Creating a personalised experience for your customers is no longer merely a benefit for your eCommerce operations; it is flat out essential. Research has shown that one-third of all customers abandon businesses if they feel they aren’t getting a personalised experience. That’s a hit no business can afford to take.
So what is personalisation? It goes a lot deeper than calling consumers by name in email campaigns. That’s no longer enough – you now need to go one step beyond this, creating a customer journey that’s unique, relatable and specialised for each individual.
The extra mile needs to go into researching your customers' demographics, behaviours, browsing and purchase history, all so that specific products can be offered to them through proper targeting.
If consumers get a single sniff that they’ll have to work hard to find solutions to their problems, they’ll immediately walk away from your brand and opt for a competitor.
Faster delivery services will be required
COVID-19 accelerated the number of consumers moving to purchase online, and they now have big demands when it comes to the delivery of their products. Research has shown that those in Generation X, Z and Y demographics all place same-day delivery as highly important. The problem is that Australia's delivery network are put under enormous strain by COVID-19 as it is, and many small businesses don't have distribution centres that can ship products out within that timeframe.
In 2021, we will see even more ore businesses adapt to this trend, adopting a pick-and-pack model in-house, alongside dedicated delivery services to meet customer demands online.
Shoppertainment
Nifty word, right?
We have already seen the significant impact social media influencers can have on brand performance and sales. These influencers can be celebrities – which brands have always used to promote their products – or it can be those with huge, targeted audiences on certain platforms. The latter has been beneficial in selling clothes and fashion items through channels, like Instagram.
Shoppertainment is an extension of this, using influencers to live stream their shopping experiences and product unboxing. This has already started to take off on YouTube and has become extremely popular in China. You don’t have to employ movie stars as the face either; it can be social media influencers or even politicians spruiking their local area’s products.
For example, Sophie Monk has become the face of pre-packaged meal company HelloFresh, with entertaining advertisements and extended videos on social media proving to be extremely popular. This led her to sign on as the face of alcohol delivery service, Jimmy Brings.
The rise of click-and-collect
Click-and-collect services, where consumers do their shopping online but pick up their products in-store, is not new in Australia. It’s even used widely by major retailers like Woolworths and Coles. Demand for click-and-collect will only increase, though, and more retailers are likely to come on board in 2021. During COVID-19, for example, we saw hardware giant Bunnings come to the table with Park-and-Collect.
During the pandemic, many people tried click-and-collect services for the first time, and it was mostly well-received. For 2021, we can expect this option levelling up to those including specialise drive-through services, eliminating the in-store presence of customers.
Consumers want to invest in sustainability
A major social trend is moving towards a more sustainable future, and consumers want the brands they shop with to lead the way. Nine out of 10 Australians are concerned about sustainability, and they want to know their money is going towards brands that are willing to try and make a difference. That means 85 per cent of shoppers want retailers and brands to be transparent about their operations and products, and to show that they are willing to help the environment.
This is an extension of previous trends where consumers wanted to know precisely where their food came from. This included disclosing the process involved in creating it, and every step afterwards – from the origin to the dining room table.
Artificial intelligence and augmented reality
The future is here, and the online shopping experience needs to tap into the latest advances in AI and AR. It’s anticipated that there will be 3.5 billion mobile AR users by 2022, so this is the year to update your website with virtual fitting rooms and other features before the wave hits. It’s time to improve the digital shopping experience through ‘life-like’ features.
Chatbots are an easy way to deploy AI on your website, and they also enable you to enjoy a virtual shop assistant that’s available around the clock for your brand. Beyond this, make sure you do your research about any other eCommerce AI and AR innovations rolling out in the coming months, as we can expect 2021 to be a preparation period for 2022.