In 2014, retail will continue to reshape itself via three key trends. What are they?
Recent research by independent market research firm eMarketer has uncovered three major trends set to drive evolution in the Australian retail landscape.
The trends, Discovery, Seasonality and Compression, present new opportunities for retailers and will manifest though one major channel – digital.
“More than 80 percent of shoppers who visit an e-commerce site do not know what they want to buy. Which means that in a $15 trillion global retail industry, there is a lot of opportunity.”
Commenting on the trends, Facebook Australia & New Zealand head of e-commerce, retail, automotive & QSR Stephen Scheeler said recognising and leveraging these trends could help retailers attract a greater pool of consumers in the changing market.
“In an otherwise flat ad market, Australian retailers are clearly turning to digital channels to reach their customers. One of the key underlying drivers of this shift is the growth in mobile in Australia.
“In just a few short years, mobile phone penetration has exploded, making Australia one of the most mobile-penetrated countries in the world. People are spending more time on their phones and less time consuming 'traditional' media or sitting in front of desktop computers - just look around you at people on the street, on the bus, at sporting events, sitting down to eat lunch…their eyes are constantly glued to their mobile phones. So retailers are looking for ways to reach their audience in this new mobile-dominated world.”
Trend 1: Using News Feeds For Discovery
In the early days of the internet, consumers surfed the web in attempt to find products we’d seen in magazines or on TV. Web search then helped to organise our curiosity for new products. Today, consumers continue to navigate in an era of web discovery. Whether it’s Facebook, Flickr or YouTube, the evolution of the web has created 'feeds'.
The core technology of a feed helps people discover things that matter in simple, organised fluid environments. 'News Feed' is essential to consumer discovery and businesses leverage it as a digital shopping aisle to showcase products and drive customers to purchase. Retailers will begin investing more in the art of digital discovery.
2: The Evolution of Seasonality
Traditionally, the holidays were tent poles for retailers’ marketing campaigns. While holidays are important retail moments, digital technology gives businesses more flexibility on how and when to approach customers. During the recent hot weather that affected much of the Australia many retailers’ quickly engaged people to deliver timely digital content.
Whether humorous, insightful or empathetic, this kind of timeliness is core to retailers—customers need a reason to shop and timeliness is a key motivator. Digital technology will allow savvy retailers the opportunity for a ‘holiday’ every day or week of the year.
Trend 3: Compression Forces Marketers to be More Thoughtful
Imagine you have the same amount of items to sell but your storefront is now smaller. What was once a display wall of fifteen purses is now a page that fits only seven bags above the fold. And on mobile? Just one. With the evolution towards smaller, mobile devices, compression forces marketers to be more thoughtful in terms of how to target customers. In the age of compression, the key to successful merchandising means selling exactly the right product to the right person at the right time. Targeting will become the future creative canvas for retail marketers.
eMarketer is an independent market research company that provides insights and trends related to digital marketing, media and commerce.
Find out who has mastered the omnichannel landscape to date in the Ragtrader February special Omnichannel Issue - out now. Ragtrader crunches all the numbers on the likes of Asos, The Iconic, Ozsale and discover the secrets behind the social media success of iconic brands such as sass & bide.