The Future Shopper Report 2023

THEFUTURESHOPPERREPORT2023 Aglobalreportofferinganunparalleledviewintotheworldofonlinecommerceandshoppingbehaviortohelpbusinesseswinonline,surveying31,000+consumersacross18internationalmarkets. 7THEDITION 31,647CONSUMERS///18COUNTRIES UK NETHERLANDS POLAND USFRANCE JAPAN MEXICO COLOMBIA BRAZIL SPAIN GERMANY UAE INDIA CHINA THAILAND AUSTRALIA ARGENTINA SOUTHAFRICA 2 INTRODUCTION Welcometothe7theditionofour“FutureShopper”report,offeringanunparalleledglobalviewintothehabitsofonlineshoppers.Likelastyear,thisreportcovers 18countriesandover31,000consumers,givingusatrulyglobalviewofonlineshoppingbehaviors. Wehavenowenteredanerawhichwecancall“post-COVID-19”,butmuchofthecollateraldamageremains,withthescarsinretailstillpresent.Andwhilewemighthavehopedthatbeingpost-pandemicwouldhavecoincidedwithasenseofpeaceandharmony,itfeelsliketheworldisinevengreaterturmoilthanbefore–bethatbecauseofthewarinUkraine,othergrowinggeo-politicaltensions,inflation,orthecost-of-livingcrisis… So,howisthisallaffectingthewayconsumersshoponline,andwhatdoesitmeanforbrands,retailersandmarketplaces? Theover-ridingaimofourFutureShoppersurveyistohighlightthetrendsthatbusinessesneedtobestrategicallyplanningfor,andactupon.Andtocutthroughtheopinionsandstoriestofindthefacts. Wehopeyouenjoythisreport,andremember,youdon’tneedtoreadeverypagetounderstandthestory,aswe’vepackagedupboththeheadlines,andacondensedversionofthereport. METHODOLOGY TheresearchwasconductedbyCensuswide,with31,647onlineshopperswhoshoponlineatleastonceamonthinthefollowingmarkets:UK,US,France,Spain,China,Japan,Australia,Brazil, Argentina,Mexico,Colombia,India,Poland,UAE,Netherlands,Germany,SouthAfricaandThailandbetween06.04.2023–20.04.2023.CensuswideabidebyandemploymembersoftheMarketResearchSocietywhichisbasedontheESOMARprinciples. HUGHFLETCHER GLOBALMARKETINGDIRECTORANDTHOUGHTLEADERSHIPLEAD 3 CONTENTS 3INTRODUCTION 5THEHEADLINESYOUNEEDTOKNOW 8THEFUTURESHOPPERCONDENSED 10SECTION1: CHANGINGCONSUMERS,CHANGINGBEHAVIORS 24SECTION2: WORKINGFROMHOME(WFH) 30SECTION3: THECUSTOMERJOURNEY 36SECTION4: THECUSTOMERJOURNEYBYINDUSTRY 44SECTION5: ONLINEPURCHASINGINMOREDETAIL 50SECTION6: GETTINGTHEEXPERIENCERIGHT 68SECTION7: MARKETPLACES 76SECTION8: SOCIALCOMMERCE 88SECTION9:SUSTAINABILITY 94SECTION10: NEWCHANNELS,TECHNOLOGIES,ANDTHEFUTURE 102SECTION11: GAMINGCOMMERCE 107CONCLUSION 108HOWWECANHELPYOU 4 THEB2CFUTURESHOPPERREPORT2023:THEHEADLINESYOUNEEDTOKNOW 5 3.NEWWAYSOFWORKINGAREALSOIMPACTINGHOWWESHOP. WFHischanginghowweresearchpurchasesonline,theretailersandbrandsweareloyalto,andwhereweultimatelyspendourmoney. Whatdoesthismeanforyou?Areyouclearwhatimpactanew,moreonlineshopperwillhave onyourbusiness,loyaltytoyourbrandorretailer,andthechannelsthroughwhichyousell? THEHEADLINESYOUNEEDTOKNOW... 1.THEONLINEWORLDANDCONSUMERBEHAVIORSARESTARTINGTO SETTLEFOLLOWINGTHEPANDEMIC-RELATEDDISRUPTION. Oneofthekeyobservationsthisyearisaconsistencyofdatawithlastyear.Thisisstrikinggiventhehugeyear-on-yeardatachangeswehaverecordedsince2020. Whatdoesthismeanforyou?Isyourstrategyin-linewithallcurrenttrends,andareyouaccuratelypredictinghowconsumerswillengagewithyouinthefuture? 2.ONLINESHOPPINGREMAINSSTRONG,ANDWILLGROW. …butwehavenotseenhugeYOYgrowthinonlineshoppingsincelastyear.However,largegrowthisscheduledoverthenext10years,sobusinessesmustthinkonline-first,andfocusonenablingsalesacrossanever-increasingnumberofchannels. Whatdoesthismeanforyou?Isyourbusinessplanningandacting“digital-first”andchangingprocessesandorganizationalstructurestoreflectthesetrends? 4.WE’VEWELCOMEDTHERETURNTOPHYSICALSTORES. Themajorityofconsumersstillfavorretailersandbrandswithphysicalanddigitalstores,andinthesearchandinspirationphasewehaveseenthere-emergenceofphysicalstorestobekeyduringthepurchaseprocess. Whatdoesthismeanforyou?Reviewyourbalancedchannelstrategy.Doesitallowconsumerstoseamlesslyshiftacrosschannels,andacrossdigitalandphysical? 5.MARKETPLACESCONTINUETODOMINATETHECUSTOMERJOURNEY,EXPERIENCEANDSERVICE. Buttheshareofspendpercentagesisnotgrowing,andtherearesignsofrecoveryforD2Cbrands,whohaveaddressedtheirissueoflosingconsumersduringthepurchasephase. Whatdoesthismeanforyou? Isyourmarketplacestrategydeliveringwhatitneedsto?Isyourcontentoptimizedtomakeyoustandoutfromthecrowd?Andhowareyouremainingconnectedtoyourconsumers? 6 8.SOCIALCOMMERCEHOLDSHUGEFUTUREPOTENTIAL. Consumersconsistentlytellustheywilluseitmoreinfutureasapurchasechannel.Thisisencouraging,giventhatmanyofthefrictionpoints,suchasin-apppurchasing,andfull back-endintegration,areyettobecompletelyrealized. Whatdoesthismeanforyou?Doyouhaveasocialcommercestrategy?Areyouthinkingabouttechnologyandintegratingyourback-endsystems? 10.THEWORLDISDIGITIZING,ANDWESHOULDTHINKMOREDIGITALLYANDOUTSIDEOFOURPHYSICALLIMITATIONS. …astherearenowmoredigitalproducts,moredigitalplatforms,andmoreconsumerswhobelievetheiravatarsarejustasimportantastheirfleshandbloodbodies.Thefuturewillbeonewherephysicalproductsandserviceswillbereinventedtoworkinthedigitalandphysicalworld. Wh