A newly published white paper, produced in association with Contentful, highlights how consumers and their mobile phones are transforming the retail ecosystem.
The growth of ecommerce has been well documented. Online shopping is now a major part of retail, with consumers and retailers alike juggling both online and offline experiences.
For consumers, the availability and convenience of ecommerce has been a huge draw. This has continued even with the pull of in-person service in physical stores. The sophistication of ecommerce sites now offers increasingly personalised and interactive experiences.
It is no surprise that smartphones are fast becoming the ecommerce device of choice. ConsumerX data shows in the past year, smartphones have become the single-most used device for shopping online. In the UK, 90% of respondents are always (38%), often (34%) or some of the time (18%) using their phone to buy online.
While, 39% of French respondents always use their smartphones for ecommerce purposes, against 22% who always use a laptop and 15% who always use a desktop. Smart speakers are never used for ecommerce by 82% of respondents, as they are yet to become a common way to buy online.
In Germany, 29% of consumers use a smartphone for all of their online shopping, with a further 28% saying they use one most of the time. Only 18% have never shopped online from a smartphone.
Laptops remain a popular shopping device for most consumers, but desktops are becoming less popular, with 62% of UK shoppers reporting that they never make purchases on them. Despite their popularity, laptops are not used for all purchases by a majority of shoppers in any market.
The move to mobile shopping has helped fuel the rise of advanced shopping experiences with many consumers embracing new technologies.
Next-generation ecommerce
Further research from ConsumerX reveals that 26.7% of consumers engaged in live shopping and 18% utilised virtual shopping assistants within the past year.
Looking ahead, these figures are expected to climb even higher. Over 36% of digital shoppers express a desire for their preferred brands to introduce virtual shopping assistants in the coming year. Additionally, 35% anticipate augmented reality features, while 30% are interested in live shopping experiences.
While the abundance of physical and increasingly advanced digital shopping experiences provides consumers with unprecedented choice, it also creates a potentially overwhelming shopping environment with information overload.
Multichannel marketing, which connects with consumers across various touchpoints including physical stores, ecommerce platforms, and social media, should be a key focus for retailers and brands, in addition to multichannel retail.
This messaging must also be highly personalised for retailers and brands to differentiate themselves.
This feature first appeared in the Contentful – Connecting the dots of ecommerce white paper. It draws upon Contentful’s expertise and ConsumerX data, to explore the significance of customer engagement and personalised content in driving conversions.
Additionally, it examines how AI tools are simplifying this process and offers insights into building a highly adaptable ecommerce platform.
It features three full length profiles, with two additional brand snap shots, including: Bang & Olufsen, Costa Coffee, Moonpig, Pets Deli and Swarovski Optik.
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