With NASA's Juno spacecraft expected to arrive at Jupiter and Orbital Technologies launching a space hotel for wealthy tourists, 2016 may turn out to be a wild ride. So too, for the eCommerce industry, as mobile and multi-device shopping continues to skyrocket.
Here are some hot trends and tips for eCommerce success in 2016:
Half of all eCommerce transactions are already made using multiple devices. As that figure crosses the 50% mark in 2016, retailers will need to redesign the online buying experience for this new reality.
Source: Criteo State of Mobile Commerce Report, Q3 2015
Take action: Campaigns must be activated on all devices and all properties fully tagged to leverage mobile and desktop.
Mobile is now the first screen for the majority of consumers, especially as larger smartphone screens make mobile shopping more convenient. Consumers are increasingly using smartphones in lieu of tablet or desktop.
Take action: Consider prioritizing your mobile app strategy and optimize your mobile buying experience.
In the US, Cyber Monday remained the biggest online shopping day of the year with $3bn in sales, according to Adobe. However, Singles Day (Nov 11) celebrated in China was actually the world's biggest online shopping day of the year, with Alibaba alone reporting sales worth $14.3bn, a 60% increase from last year. This trend will grow stronger in 2016.
Take action: Re-balance your online and in-store strategies for these big shopping days. Brick and click retailers should expect more traffic online than in-store on the year’s biggest sales peaks.
As the majority of consumers now research online before visiting a store, understanding a shopper’s prior online activity is vital for retailers. According to Google, 8 out of 10 shoppers that have a smartphone are using it inside the store to help them shop, even though most later purchase at the POS.
Retailers are starting to get a better view of the customer’s shopping journey by connecting with them via their app, and/or by using beacons and technologies to match the customer email ID or loyalty program at the POS.
Take action: As you invest in these technologies, make sure you have the expertise and operating resources in place to manage customer interaction in real-time.
Even with probabilistic and deterministic matching now possible, today’s cross-device linking is only capturing part of the picture.
In 2016, marketers will begin to align spend with how consumers are moving across devices, publishers and environments to consume information. We will start to see more evidence of true people-focused marketing.
Take action: Consumers don't think about their media consumption by device, browsing environment, or by publisher in a silo, therefore neither should you. You need to restructure your marketing team to fully understand consumer intent and to look beyond the walled gardens.
The traditional banner ad is on the way out, especially on mobile. Consumers expect non-intrusive ads and personalized content, and advertisers must deliver. Ad-blocking will also accelerate the move towards non-intrusive ad formats. The good news? According to Adblock Plus, 75% of users don’t mind receiving non-intrusive ads.
Take action: Shift to non-intrusive and relevant ads to achieve genuine engagement with consumers. They’ll respond with higher conversions.
Order fulfilment will be a big focus for retailers in 2016, with many offering delivery options to match Amazon’s Prime Now service. Both online and brick and click retailers will be trying this strategy through specialized third parties like Instacart.
Take action: Look to same-day delivery – or even faster – for a significant competitive edge in 2016.
There’s plenty of change on the horizon in consumer expectations, retail investments and marketing strategies. Social media will continue to have a big influence on online shopping and improved mobile payment services will also help drive eCommerce growth in the new year.
Stick with Criteo for the latest data and expert guidance on eCommerce in 2016!
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