We are in a world where convenience and accessibility are key motivators for consumers.
What more could you want than ordering your favourite cuisine, clothing brand or essentials from the comfort of your own home?
A staggering 87% of consumer’s retail purchases (not including grocery shopping) are made online and this method is monopolising the market. Consumers have everything they need at their fingertips!
This trend is amplified by a large demographic of aspirational, successful and career focused individuals prioritising time spent working or gaining knowledge over doing monotonous journeys to local shops.
Amazon – often thought of as a one stop haven for all your needs – is a highly dominant company in the online retail industry. In 2019 alone, it generated 280.52 billion dollars in yearly revenue and a sales growth of 20.45%.
The Amazon ecosystem includes a very genius loop effect whereby searching for a product will lead to buying numerous other products that are of potential appeal. The thrust behind this “loop effect” is due to their large inventory range, e.g. from LED lights to bathtubs. They try to include as many niche markets as they can in one platform. There is therefore no real need for consumers to go to anywhere else – never mind travelling to your local high street retailer!
These consumer trends and dominant market players pose a great threat to small, high street businesses or pop-up stores because they are generally not accessible online and therefore lose out on valuable digital consumer footfall.
On average 79% of UK adults own a smartphone and it is vital that smaller businesses figure out ways to tap into the potential revenue to be generated from online web- and smartphone sales.
Businesses are slowly adapting to the new technological advancements as more of your local restaurants are offering a third-party delivery service solution. Even off-licenses are being featured on Deliveroo as they aim to boost their sales.
Quick. Easy. Convenient……Three qualities that are crucial terms for business survival in the age of technology.
High street retailers have the potential to live up to these standards but need cost-effective solutions to gain an online presence to profit from the evolving consumer spending patterns.
By Rahul Karunaharan