2021 The Year of Change in eCommerce
Missed the meetup? Watch the recording here
After a year of adapting, constantly innovating and navigating a time that tested our resilience, the time has come to look forward rather than reflect. Join us as we move forward into a year like no other – with the epic battle between Facebook & Apple IOS, to the new customer experience metrics that will help you rank organically, the landscape is changing!
The focus for the first Shopify Meetup of the year was everything new for 2021. With a lineup of speakers including Dan Howe from Reload Media, Tracy Kaur from Shopify Plus, Elias Lattouf from Google and Edward Ross from TradeMutt, the morning was packed with valuable information, insights and ideas for the Shopify and eCommerce community to get the most out of 2021.
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Social Media in 2021
But first, the elephant in the room – iOS14 vs Facebook
Set to be the biggest challenge for social media for 2021, Dan discusses Apple’s newest iOS14 update that is set to be released later this month. With the update forcing apps to be more transparent with their security and data collection, Apple is giving users the choice of whether an app will collect their data or not. Dan expressess that this update will impact the effectiveness of all social media advertising, but in particular the Facebook Pixel.
Merchants were then provided with three key actions to focus on for this update.
- Verify your domain in Facebook Business Manager
- Work out which 8 Events you’d like to track
- Benchmark 28 day vs 7 day attribution
[See previous blog post here for more information on that].
#1 Creative Assets – Attention spans are less than ever
Attention spans are lower than ever. Today, people have an attention span of fewer than nine seconds. Fortunately however, the human brain is able to recognise and connect with familiar branding, colours and logos which makes social advertising the best way to communicate in today’s short-attention world.
From an advertising perspective, creative assets have the biggest impact towards sales targets with 47% of people are more influenced by creative to make a purchase. Here at Reload Media, we use the ABC (Attention, Benefit, Call-to-action) model to build the most effective mobile ads. Dan shares this model with merchants with further tips and tricks through his custom ‘Creative Checklist’.
# 2 Social Commerce – the biggest ‘new’ shiny thing
A new exciting feature for 2021, Social platforms are starting to allow consumers to buy directly from their platform. With Facebook and Instagram in the forefront, Dan expects most social platforms will offer this by the end of the year. In particular, Instagram’s Shop feature will drive purchases directly from within the app allowing purchases to happen within three simple clicks.
# 3 Beyond Facebook – what value can be found outside the traditional channels
Facebook and Youtube are by far the strongest leaders in the social space. However, Dan suggests there is still a lot of value with the small social platforms, especially Pinterest and encourages merchants to revisit the platform even if they have tried it before.
With 442m users now on Pinterest, the platform who is currently testing a ‘Shop’ button to allow for social commerce, is accessed by users looking for ideas and inspiration to purchase products just like yours.
Shopify’s Top 5 Trends for 2021
# 1 eCommerce boom fuels record online competition
The 2020 eCommerce boom grew 15.5% in the Asia Pacific region; driven by more people shopping online and shopping locally. With this increased traffic, Tracy mentioned that it is important to map out where these customers have come from and ensure your marketing efforts are placed towards the strongest platforms.
Additionally, she states the importance of uniting both your online and offline stores, taking merchants through options on how a brick and mortar store can be used to support an online store and how Shopify can support various customer journey paths.
# 2 New consumer behaviours reshape future of retail
The future of retail is here to stay. Retail has always adapted to new consumer’s behaviours such as lifestyles or spending habits and what they want now is fast shipping and convenience. Tracy takes our merchants through the best ways to do this in your Shopify store online and offline.
# 3 Fulfilment emerges as competitive differentiator
Consumers gravitate to brands offering fast, free, and sustainable, beautiful shipping. Merchants are prompted to think of new ways to meet these new values of customers using new or local shipping companies outside of the normal – Australia Post.
# 4 Brand building challenged by marketplace dominance
Although marketplaces are dominating, customers still want to buy and connect with local brands. Tracy explains how important brand building and storytelling is to encourage direct purchases from your store and not having to compete with other products through a marketplace.
# 5 Retention becomes a top priority as acquisition costs spike
The cost of acquiring new customers is becoming more competitive. Tracy explains why it is important to prioritise efforts into retaining and making your existing customers even more valuable to your business.
Changing Habits in a Virtual World
Changing Consumer Behaviours
Elias talks about how Australians have adapted to the ‘stay at home economy’, with over 1 million new Australian households shopping online.
What does this mean for merchants? Make sure your digital storefront is open for the potential new customers that might be looking for what you have to offer.
Elias then explains that Australians are consuming more media and video than ever before with 3 out of 10 are watching more YouTube, on average 28 hours a month. This creates an opportunity for businesses to reach audiences watching online video as part of a holistic digital strategy.
Furthermore, the consumer’s path to purchase is messy. There’s a lot that influences consumers between their first moment of awareness and the final purchase with Google calling this “The Messy Middle”. Elias takes us through Google’s top findings around how marketers can show up when it matters most.
What this means for merchants: Leverage behavioural principles by making your offering and creative messaging compelling for customers to take action.
What can you do today to set your business up for success?
Elias steps merchants through the things that can be actioned now to set your business up for success.
- Respond to new consumer habits Australians have new media and online consumption habits. Respond to these changes to capture their attention by Being there on relevant platforms such as Google search and others to win in a competitive and contracting market.
- Influence your customer in the “Messy Middle”. There’s uncertainty in the market and consumers are stuck in the “messy middle”, exploring and evaluating. Be compelling with offers that trigger an emotional response to select your company.
- Create a great user experience to win indecision. Make it easy for customers to interact with your website by differentiating your web and mobile experience.
TradeMutt’s Success
TradeMutt have a strong story who maximise their efforts through social impact. This has allowed them to connect with the community on a number of different levels, whether it be starting conversations through their work shirts and accessories – to their supply chains such as Work Restart, It’s Not Ok Projects, Sendable and Tiacs Foundation.
The Value of Brand Authenticity
Additionally, Ed takes us through the importance of brand authenticity and being able to find the right channel to put a face behind the brand. For TradeMutt it was their podcast ‘TradeMutt Radio’ where they’ve been able to capture their audience’s attention with relatable guest speakers such as Darren Lockyer, while at the same time raise awareness of Men’s mental health and the TradeMutt brand.
Ed’s Top Tips
Lastly, Ed takes us through TradeMutt’s top tips and resources that have supported them through their journey so far.
- Treat your customers like royalty
- Add value where ever you can
- Create a VIP list e.g Top 20% spenders (Give them early access to products)
- Follow up ALL leads (don’t expect them to convert on their own)
- Call ALL customers post purchase
- Put a face behind your brand and be yourself
Thank you for joining us for the first Brisbane Shopify Meetup for 2021! We’ll be back next quarter with more speakers, business insights and hopefully networking opportunities for the ecommerce community. Make sure you’re following @Reload_Media on Twitter or join our group on Meetup.com to stay in the loop for future events!
