30-second summary:
- The US has anticipated a 12% drop in private consumption over the next two years, with recovery to pre-crisis levels only by 2023-24.
- Customer loyalty has taken a huge hit and the holiday shopping season is arriving sooner than expected.
- A quick look at the app economy and digital environment trends.
- Good news is, the daily average usage (DAU) has shown a steady growth which will continue as the holiday shopping season arrives.
- How you can activate more sales for your ecommerce business.
- Place your pieces strategically to checkmate adversity and your competition for the rest of 2020.
The global pandemic has reset the business chessboard. Customer loyalty has taken a huge hit and the holiday shopping season is arriving sooner than expected. Businesses have felt the heat this summer. This week we’re looking into the ecommerce and customer loyalty stats (fresh in) to help you create a playbook for Q3 and Q4 2020.
COVID-19 has given the globe a 10-year technology leap in terms of adoption and absorption and ecommerce is clearly winning.
Ecommerce the Queen of the chessboard
Ecommerce has hands down been in the top five winners for the US and UK, especially. An exclusive report by MoEngage and mobile app economy survey by mobile app intelligence provider, Apptopia, Inc. shows that ecommerce, retail, and grocery apps have crossed 750 million users globally.
The highest growth (Q1 vs Q2 2020) in app downloads and daily average usage (DAU) was observed here:
- Americas have seen the highest increase in the number of new users (21.53%) and active users (5.87%)
- The Middle East and North Africa had a 19.84% growth in app downloads while the DAU staggered around 2.95%
- Europe saw an 18.68% rise in add downloads while the DAU saw a 2.91% increase
Besides the Americas and Southeast Asia, the global average session duration dropped 0.33%.
Ecommerce app downloads peaked mid-March (credits the pandemic). Good news is, the daily average usage (DAU) has shown a steady growth which will continue as the holiday shopping season arrives.
Customer loyalty the vulnerable “King” of the chessboard
Customers are at the heart of all the business activities and as data from McKinsey suggests, customer loyalty has taken a huge hit. Hence, making it the vulnerable “King” of the chessboard.
The US has anticipated a 12% drop in private consumption over the next two years, with recovery to pre-crisis levels only by 2023-24. With customer loyalty being on shaky playing areas, our next segments will cover the what and how to help your ecommerce business activate more purchases, reduce cart abandonment, and improve sales.
Customer loyalty is fluid
In their latest survey report, Periscope by McKinsey tracked digital and in-store consumer behavior across the US, UK, Germany, and France. A close look conveys that in the last two months customer loyalty has seen numbers drop and is the most fluid in the US and UK markets. The numbers speak loud and clear:
- 46% of Americans switched from brands or retailers where they previously shopped
- 44% of Brits switched from brands or retailers where they previously shopped
Top reasons for abandoning loyalty and shifting brands
Here are the rankings on why there’s such a big shift in loyalty and brand preferences:
- Stock availability
- Competitive pricing
- Delayed delivery “windows” (more on this ahead)
In fact, loyalty card offers have seen a decline, March vs June (Q1 vs Q2)
- The US saw a 9%, falling from 37% in Q1 to 28% in Q2
- The UK saw a 6%, falling from 34% in Q1 to 28% in Q2
Playbook essentials for ecommerce success in Q3 and Q4 2020
Place your pieces strategically and checkmate your competition for the rest of 2020. Here’s a list of the ecommerce playbook essentials, powered by Periscope by McKinsey’s survey:
- Quick website loading (Rose between ten to 15 percentage points, from pre- to post-shutdown)
- Craft a seamless online browsing experience (Rose 12 to 23 percentage points, from pre- to post-shutdown)
- Identifying and targeting your target customer’s preferred channels
- Relevant messaging and promotion strategy (A key reason for 12-21% of customers to shift brands)
- Informative product descriptions (Top factor for a great online browsing experience)
- Clear product pictures to facilitate a good look and feel facilitating the user experience
- Free delivery and returns
- Fast delivery within one or two days
ClickZ readers’ choice for the week
We’re seeing readers buckle up for 2021 in terms of a humanized approach for B2B marketing strategies and first-party data.
To top it off, the early onset of the holiday shopping season has got hundreds of marketers flocking for insights to light up their ecommerce strategies.