The year 2021 brought new challenges because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The disruption forced many businesses to adapt to business transformation, producing a change in the way the people live, work, and shop in new circumstances. This has given an immense opportunity to the eCommerce industry to grow and flourish manifolds.
Ecommerce stats
Right across the 2021 calendar year, Australians turned to online shopping like never before. Australians spent a record $62.3 billion online, with 9.2 million Australian households shopping online. Not only in Australia, but the trend of online shopping has gained momentum worldwide. In 2020, over two billion people purchased goods or services online, and during the same year, e-retail sales surpassed 4.2 trillion U.S. dollars worldwide. It's evident the pandemic has changed the way we shop, and new habits formed over the past two years are now firmly ingrained.
Throughout the 2021 calendar year, shoppers bought from a broader cross-section of retailers. The categories are not only limited to grocery and apparel, but every category including health and beauty, hobbies and recreational goods, and home and garden have hit an increase in selling. It is seen that people are now preferring local products over exported ones and Shoppers intend to buy more from local retailers.
The online shopping trend will continue to grow. It's high time for local businesses and retailers to set up their eCommerce stores and leverage the power of technology and social media to boost your eCommerce sales
The essentials of an eCommerce website
First, a great end-to-end user experience is essential to growing and maintaining a loyal customer base. Buyers need to know every detail of their products and provide thorough information, supported by images, video, or even virtual reality for which website is a way to list all the products along with the feature and description of usage. Websites are a great tool for 2x your sales and generating leads for your business.
Including a variety of payment options, competitive shipping and a range of delivery choices are also essential, providing customers with the flexibility they are seeking.
Post-order parcel delivery and customer satisfaction are paramount. It serves as creating an avenue for your customers to share their experiences – positive or negative – with each other, building trust, loyalty, and a sense of community around the brand.
Building credibility and sustainability is also important and affects how people shop online. Deliver what you promise and deliver that in an eco-friendly way with good packaging and invoice details. Survey data shows that one-in-four shoppers selected a brand due to ethics and sustainable practices, and 60% are willing to pay more when it comes to buying sustainable and ethically made products
Many retailers are harnessing the power of social media and investing in social selling and social commerce. Today’s shoppers are discovering and exploring new brands and products through content shared by their peers. While still a growing channel it is important retailers consider how they can use social media as part of their selling strategy.
Social platforms are the direction moving forward. We are predominantly using Instagram shops and have seen revenue from Instagram shopping grow 123% year on year..” - Kasie Heathcote, Group General Manager – Digital & Loyalty at Accent Group Limited
How Unilakes is helping
Unilakes has a history of a satisfied customer base when it comes to setting up an eCommerce store. Unilakes has a wide range of tools and a talented team that knows how to get you more sales and impactful online engagement of products. Set up your eCommerce store with Unilakes.
Conclusion
Current stats and behavioural research suggest that shoppers will continue to buy online more frequently. Looking ahead, we expect online shopping to continue to grow much faster than physical retail.
For further inquiry, please contact Unilakes Technologies at 04 82647 200 or email us at sales@unilakes.com.
Written By
Rabeea Hammad
Technical Collaboration Executive
