The Future of Retail; 3 Facts to Consider While Building and Growing Your Online Store
In the last five years, global online retail sales have doubled in revenue, from $1.5 trillion to over $3.5 trillion in 2019 with an expected rise to $6.5 trillion by 2023. Ease of shopping on mobile devices, methods of payment and an increase of online stores have fueled this gargantuan rise.
1. COVID-19 will have a permanent impact on consumer behavior
COVID-19 has inevitably changed how people shop. People have been relying on online retail for products that they would only ever purchase from brick and mortar shops in the past. We have also seen a large increase in first time online shoppers as they flock to Amazon and other outlets.
Between May 3rd and May 10th this year we witnessed a gigantic rise in online retail activity compared to 2019. 70% in Europe, 118% in North America and an incredible 123% increase in APAC countries.
Although the steep increase may level off slightly as brick and mortar stores open their doors again as restrictions are lifted, it is expected that consumer behavior will be changed forever through a new wave of consumers who have discovered the convenience of online shopping for the first time. What’s more, many veteran e-shoppers are now using online stores to purchase services and goods they traditionally used brick and mortar retail for previously.
2. Although there are challenges, the opportunities are limitless
It is estimated that between March 9th and April 20th over £3.26 billion in retail sales was lost in the EU alone. This has left many retailers scrambling to find inventive ways of generating revenue.
Many businesses that had never focused on their online presence or started an online store have been flocking in droves to do so. The e-commerce solution behemoth, Shopify, have announced a 47% sales increase compared to the same quarter from 2019.
Aside from generating additional revenue and security, having an online store offers many other benefits such as potentially opening up products to a wider audience, new methods for interacting directly with your customers and access to analytics that will help you monitor the success and growth of your store and products.
If the global revenue projections for e-commerce are correct, seeing a global increase of $2.5 trillion over the next two years, it is important for retailers to launch their online store as soon as possible to ensure their portion of this increase.
3. There are plenty of creative ways to sell products online
Aside from the typical products-checkout model of most online stores many retailers are looking at newer and more creative ways to sell their items. The subscription box model has been around for a decade already but it has seen a massive spike in popularity recently, especially outside of the US where the concept is much newer.
The idea is simple, customers pay a recurring fee and are sent products every week/month, exactly like a magazine subscription from yesteryear but for a wide array of products from food & drink to cosmetics.
We recently asked 110 respondents from the UK and Ireland about subscription boxes. A massive 56% have used a service before with 42% of current subscribers have stayed with their service for 12 months plus.
Whats more, of those who have never used a service before 88.9% said they would be potentially interested in the future and of all respondents, 86% would choose a local retailer over a larger international company.
Build it right
Whether you are looking to set up an online store for the first time or build and grow what you already have, you’ll want to partner with a digital product agency who has a proven track record and understands the best e-commerce solutions.
At MiniCorp, we build exceptional digital products and experiences. We don’t just build products that work, we build products that thrive.
If you would like to partner with us to build and grow your next product contact us today or visit our website www.minicorphq.com.
