The Future Shopper – eCommerce 2018 and Beyond

The Salmon Future Shopper 2018 report is out, with some interesting insights for anyone selling online using a shopping cart or through online marketplaces, such as eBay, Amazon, Etsy or Wish (or both, using multichannel software). With 43% of UK consumer spend being online last month (49% for the US), those wanting to take advantage of the boom will certainly want to take advantage of these facts first. 

What shoppers want?

We’d all like a lottery win, but when that dream fails to materialise, the cost of online products becomes important, very important. When asked what the most important factor is when it comes to online shopping, price topped the polls:

#1 Price (64%)

#2 Free delivery (54%)

#3 Brand (39%)

Talking of free delivery, 22% expect their purchases to be with them in 12 hours and 43% within 24 hours. Only 13% of online shoppers surveyed were ok with a three-day delivery service. The Amazon-effect has led to an expectation of fast (and free) delivery, and if your delivery options don’t match, it might be time to rethink.

Where do shoppers start?

For some online shoppers, their journey ends at the same place it started, and for others, it ends somewhere wholly unexpected (but nearly always cheaper). Wherever the mission ends, you can be sure that 51% of online shoppers will start with Amazon, where 55% will subsequently stay.

Surprisingly, for some, only 16% start their search on Google. The rest are starting on:

– eBay (11%)

– Retailer websites (7%)

– Brand websites (6%)

– Social media (3%)

And even when online shoppers aren’t shopping on Amazon, 80% will still head there to do a price comparison and review check; even when shopping in a store.

When online shoppers stray from Amazon

Not everyone stays at Amazon and here’s why:

– 46% of shoppers said that they could find products cheaper elsewhere

– 25% of shoppers felt there were more convenient delivery options elsewhere

– 25% of shoppers had their heads turned by more attractive loyalty schemes

– 24% preferred to get physical by shopping in-store

Favourite products

There are some products that shoppers love buying online and others that they save the in-store experience for. Favourite products to buy online include entertainment (53%), technology (48%), home products (40%), toys (39%) and luxury items(28%).

Who’s paying?

When it comes to the demographics, millennials are topping the polls, with 50% of total online spend by the avo-loving generation. Generation rent is also embracing voice assistant shopping (44%), making voice-friendly website optimisation very important. In fact, 72% of online shoppers wish that retailers would be more innovative in their use of technology to improve their shopping experience – something that eBay has been taking note of recently.

Take aways

This is just a touch of the information in the report, but the main theme is that online shoppers are out there and they aren’t afraid to research, switch websites and change retailers for the best price, delivery options and product selection. eCommerce sellers can hedge their bets, or win them all with multichannel management software.

 

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About Expandly

Expandly is multichannel management software that allows you to manage your eBay, Amazon, Wish and Etsy accounts alongside your shopping cart, shipping carrier and accountancy software – all from one central location.

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