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The online retail ecosystem is fast evolving, and increasingly, shoppers no longer simply go to the nearest store. Rather, they grab the nearest digital device. And with the world at our fingertips, why only shop domestically? In fact, digital analytics firm eMarketer projects that online retail sales will more than double between 2015 and 2019 and account for more than 12% of global sales by 2019. Retail therapy is giving way to e-tail therapy.
To gain a better understanding of how consumers are navigating the connected commerce landscape, the Nielsen Global Connected Commerce Survey polled respondents in 26 countries. We looked at how consumers are using the Internet to make shopping decisions both in stores and online, and we examined what they’re buying, where they’re purchasing and how they’re paying for goods and services.
While connected commerce is still largely a domestic affair, with consumers primarily ordering from retailers in their own country, cross-border ecommerce is a growing phenomenon. Shoppers are increasingly looking outside their country’s borders, as more than half of online respondents in the study who made an online purchase in the past six months say they bought from an overseas retailer (57%).
Nearly three-quarters of Indian respondents* who purchased online in the past six months say they bought items from an overseas retailer (74%). But this isn’t just a developing-market trend. Roughly two-thirds of respondents in the Western European countries in the survey say they purchased from an overseas retailer, including 79% in Italy—the highest percentage in the online study—and 73% in Germany....
In looking to solve this problem and figure out exactly what it is that is convincing consumers to buy online, BigCommerce commissioned a study into the modern consumer journey. We learned how, when, why and where U.S. consumers buy today –– and more so, what is stopping them from doing so.
This information is incredibly important for retailers looking to sustain and grow their revenue. In today’s omni-channel world, brands must be strategic about merchandising on their various channels and need to fully understand why or why not their customers are clicking the buy button –– no matter where it appears.
Check out the infographic below for key insights or read the full State of Omni-Channel Retail Report....
Executives at a number of US retailers may be surprised to see Bloomberg’s headline on Friday: “Retail Sales Rise Most in a Year, Marking U.S. Consumer Comeback.”
This despite a number of America’s top retail chains reporting dire earnings reports and lowering their outlooks this week. Macy’s shares fell to a four-year low this week, with one analyst saying its woes could doom a third of US shopping malls. Kohl’s reported an 87% drop in net income for its most recent quarter. Nordstrom is cost-cutting following its drop. Gap Inc. may close more Old Navy and Banana Republic stores as its portfolio struggles. JCPenney shares sunk 10% on Friday morning after its disappointing quarterly report.
Kohl’s quantified its distress with the report of a sales drop of 3.7 percent and a profits plunge of more than half; sales at stores open at least a year were down by 3.9 percent. This followed an earlier report by Macy’s that first-quarter sales had fallen off by a huge 7.4 percent, while profit plunged by 40 percent; same-store sales were down by 5.6 percent, Macy’s fifth consecutive quarterly decline. Earlier, Gap said its comparable-store sales for the quarter would be down by 5 percent....
While similarities exist across all age groups, some key differences emerge immediately. First the similarities: Most U.S. adults intend to spend the same amount or more while shopping online during this season as compared to a year ago. 85% of U.S. Adults 18 and older plan to do so, ranging from 86% of 18-54 year olds to 83% of those 55 and older. Additionally, most consumers across all age groups plan to spend at least as much as they did last year on the top retail categories of Clothing and Electronics. Roughly three-quarters of U.S. adults plan to spend at least as much this season as they did last year on Clothing and Shoes and roughly two-thirds of U.S. adults plan to spend the same or more on Electronics. However, Clothing and Electronics spending plans do vary by age group with younger shoppers more likely than older consumers to spend the same or more on Electronics (75% of A18-34 vs. 57% of A65+) and Clothing (82% of A18-34 vs. 71% of A65+ on Children’s Clothing, 78% of A18-34 vs. 63% of A65+ on Shoes).
Beyond spending plans, younger consumers are more prone to being influenced by digital and mobile media than older shoppers are in their Clothing purchases. Overall, 1 in 4 U.S. adults report that they are influenced by Email Ads and 1 in 5 by Internet Ads in their Clothing purchases. More U.S. adults are influenced by Email (26%) than Broadcast TV (21%) and more by Internet Ads (19%) than Cable TV (13%) in their Clothing purchases. Digital influence is more pronounced among 18-34 year olds shopping for Clothing: 1 in 3 are Influenced by Email Ads, 1 in 4 by Internet Ads and 1 in 5 by Social Media. This younger demo is also twice as likely as the general adult population to be influenced by Mobile Video, Blogs or Web Radio. 35-54 year olds parallel the general adult population in digital media influence on Clothing purchases and 55-64 year olds are a bit less influenced by these media. Fewer clothing shoppers 65 and older are influenced by any media but twice as many of them are influenced by Internet Ads (10%) than Cable TV (5%)....
Robert Moore from RJMetrics took this a step further, identifying that 11 percent (110,000) of the top 1M websites on the internet by Alexa traffic ranking are eCommerce sites and calculating the distribution of these websites in total numbers as well as by share of retail sales, and came up with some very interesting results shown in the table below.
From this research, we know that the top 1% (Amazon, eBay, Walmart among them) of the top visited eCommerce sites on the Internet are capturing 34% of total sales. This is unsurprising for such big companies, with huge brands, and huge marketing dollars backing them. We call this the “fat head” (vs. long tail) of eCommerce stores and it is a very elite group. In the mid tier, eCommerce stores that break into the top 500,000 in Alexa rankings make up 51% of the total businesses and 63% of total revenue, still a very healthy showing....
While recovering from the holiday rush, retailers can look back at this season’s trends to discover new ways to fuel customer engagement and drive loyalty in the next year. Using real-time analytics, SAP uncovered a wealth of insights about consumers’ attitudes and desires that retailers can use all year long.
We have found that simply listening to what people are already saying provides powerful insights into their attitudes and behaviors. And consumers had plenty to say this holiday season: Shoppers shared their opinions and chronicled their actions with more than 28 million mentions online, an 8% increase over last year, according to SAP analytics.
Holiday shoppers tweeted more than 28 million mentions about their gift purchases- up 8% YoY via @SAP_Retail
Using social media analytics, we combed through the social chatter this holiday season to discover what consumers said – and what they actually did. We found some interesting trends, revealing consumers’ changing tactics and suggesting retailers must respond with different strategies of their own....
As shopping shifts to the web and mobile, retailers need to be increasingly mindful of the different e-commerce channels and how their services and sites stack up against those of competitors, and the industry at large.
A few key performance indicators, or KPIs, allow retailers to benchmark themselves in specific areas of online commerce. Identifying the right areas for improvement can help businesses adjust and capture a larger share of the e-commerce and retail market.
Showrooming may be somewhat alive over the holiday shopping seasons but more people are likely to research online before heading to the store.
While fewer than a third (30%) of consumers are expected to showroom over the holidays, almost half (45%) plan to go online to check out a product before purchasing it in a physical store, according to a new study.
After using and reviewing lots of online store builders in the past few years, I’ve selected the top 10 ecommerce platforms that I think are the best fit for any needs. So before starting your online shop take a look at this comparison chart....
Adobe has released its 2014 Digital Index Online Shopping Forecast for this year’s holiday season, with a visual summary in video form and highlights in the graphs below.
Adobe data predicts online prices will hit rock bottom on Thanksgiving Day, lower than any other day during the holiday season.
Record sales of $1.35 billion are expected on Thanksgiving Day, a 27 percent increase over last year. Sales on Cyber Monday are forecasted to be $2.6 billion, an increase of 15 percent.
Black Friday is predicted to be the fastest growing online sales day of the year at $2.48 billion, an increase of 28 percent.
And what will consumers be buying? Social media buzz for Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6+, Sony’s PlayStation 4, Fitbits and Disney’s ‘Frozen’ dolls are driving early interest.
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When it comes to digital smarts, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Kohl’s and JC Penney rank at the Genius Level, according to the latest report from think tank L2. But while the industry as a whole is getting sharper, now spending 52% of digital ad budgets on mobile and maximizing customer engagement on Instagram, stores are still no match for the Amazon onslaught.
“Only five years ago, Macy’s apparel and accessories sales were five times that of Amazon, providing a wide lead in a logistically challenging product category that features a high exchange rate,” the new ranking says. “By next year, Wall Street analysts estimate that Amazon will overtake Macy’s as the largest U.S. retailer of apparel and accessories, with sales of $28 billion in the category.”
But Amazon isn’t the only problem. Department stores are also challenged by the fast-fashion wizardry of brands like H&M, Zara and Uniqlo, as well as companies like Coach and Michael Kors cutting back on department-store distribution. “With key partnerships that help differentiate the customer shopping experience under threat, the historical outperformance of department stores versus the S&P 500 has evaporated over the last 18 months,” it says....
There's more evidence to support the growing importance of mobile devices along the path to purchase.
According to Nielsen's fourth-quarter 2015 Mobile Wallet Report, 37 percent of respondents said their purchases start with mobile shopping more than one-quarter to half of the time.
The report compares mobile use from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the same period the year before. It found that shoppers are using mobile devices, particularly smartphones, to assist with in-store sales more frequently than for online shopping.
Roughly 72 percent are researching an item or checking prices on a smartphone before buying. Store locators are popular with 60 percent of smartphone users, and 55 percent are using mobile coupons.
Reviews are popular with slightly more than half of all mobile device users and 44 percent of smartphone users use digital lists while shopping....
The cost of e-commerce is weighing heavily on brick-and-mortar retailers, who have successfully increased digital sales but thinned their margins in the process, according to a new study from retail strategy firm HRC Advisory released Tuesday.
That shift has led operating earnings as a percentage of sales to decline by up to 25%, in part due to the major investments retailers are making in e-commerce and omnichannel plus the higher cost of e-commerce fulfillment, the study found. Returns of online orders are particularly expensive and returned merchandise is difficult to resell at full value, HRC added.
Although brick-and-mortar retailers have successfully increased their digital efforts, momentum is slowing. Online sales growth for 11 public department store chains fell from 39.3% in 2012 to 18.6% in 2015, HRC said, while the online sales growth rate for 22 specialty stores declined from 17.5% in 2012 to 9% last year....
Technology now touches nearly every retail transaction, creating a vastly different shopping experience for retailers and consumers alike, according to a research report published by MasterCard.
The study found that 8 out of 10 global shoppers' purchase decisions are now informed by a digital device, with consumers saying they are smarter shoppers and getting more value than before. However, though in-store sales still account for more than 90% of all retail spending, the result is a more focused in-store shopper buying from a narrower list of unique stores than in years past. 64.180.55.243 This article is copyright 2015 TheWiseMarketer.com.
"Getting smart about smart shoppers is paramount to a retailer's success, yet shoppers consistently report they're frustrated that retailers don't get it," explained Mathieu Loury, senior vice president of Merchant Solutions for MasterCard Advisors, the professional services arm of MasterCard. "The good news is that the solutions exist to both analyse and answer these expectations-meeting your omnishoppers every step of their empowered journey, and creating an ecosystem that propels them forward."...
The value of eCommerce in the US is expected to climb 15.5% this year to US$304.1 billion. What does this tell us about the changing shopping habits of Americans?...
There was a time when group buying virtually snatched the popularity away from all other e-commerce models. But that day is long gone. Today, group buying is anything but sought after.
The falling popularity of group buying as an e-commerce model both saddens and surprises me and I never stop wondering what actually went wrong.
In this article, I attempt to piece together all the findings that my research in this area has led to. I do hope once the dots are all connected, the reason behind group buying and its fall from popularity won’t remain a mystery to us....
With 2015 lurking around the corner, it’s time to ensure your ecommerce site is ready to tackle the challenges the New Year will bring to e-retailers.
This is going to be a significant year for online retailers as the concept of ecommerce recently turned 20 (if you consider the age of internet payment processing systems). Bigcommerce predicts global B2C ecommerce market will hit record growth in 2015, with revenue of around $2 trillion. According to a study conducted by Emarketer.com, Asia-Pacific is likely to become the top region for ecommerce sales in 2015, followed by North America and Western Europe.
The holiday shopping season is already here and that means it’s also discount season. However, whether you’re offering discounts on holiday specials or putting together your 2015 pricing plan, there are some helpful stats you should know about offering sales and markdowns. Let’s dissect 10 relevant statistics related to offering discounts...
comScore's experts predict desktop ecommerce to reach at least $53 billion while mobile is expected to bring in nearly $8 billion. Overall that indicates a 16% increase in spending over the 2013 holidays. Since Q4 of 2010, ecommerce growth has increased at least 10% Quarter over Quarter.
"The 2014 online holiday shopping season is shaping up to be a bright one with more than $61 billion in spending expected, representing a year-over-year growth rate of 16 percent across desktop, smartphones and tablets," said Gian Fulgoni, Executive Chairman Emeritus of comScore....
Companies like Google, Amazon, eBay, and Uber are operating and expanding services that allow shoppers to order something online and have it that same day, without ever leaving home.
If they manage it, despite the expense and complexities involved in delivering over the "last mile," these companies will grow e-commerce's customer base (as well as its share of retail dollars), and siphon off one of offline retail's last real competitive advantages....
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Cross-border e-commerce is growing quickly and evolving just as fast. This Nielsen report is a must read for marketers looking at overseas markets.