Wunderman Thompson Future Shopper Report: Aussies want to spend beyond the grave and order online with intent of returning items
Social media, investment in eCommerce and the increasing influence of retail marketplaces continues to drive consumer spending online with those surveyed globally saying that 57% of their spend is currently online. The research comes from Wunderman Thompson Commerce’s Future Shopper Report 2022, one of the largest commerce studies, with 31,040 online shoppers participating globally across 18 markets and 2,000 respondents in Australia alone.
Increasing consumer expectations
The report shows that winning online means getting the service right. One of the biggest changes post- pandemic is the expectation and demands that consumers have of retailers. Nearly a quarter (24%) of global consumers and 14% of Australian consumers expect delivery in two hours and nearly 25% of Australians expect delivery to take no longer then 2-3 days. Almost half (48%) of global consumers surveyed are demanding faster delivery. These delivery expectations are putting pressure on retailers.
Environmentally responsible brands
68% of global consumers surveyed said that they wished that brands and retailers offered better environmental practices. When consumers were asked if they ‘actively choose brands that are more environmentally responsible’, the Asia-Pacific region sits well beyond the global average. Thailand consumers sit at number one globally at 83%, followed by Indonesia at number two (82%), India at number three (81%) and China at number five (71%). Australia and Japan had further to go in making active sustainable choices in the region, sitting at 46% and 38% respectively.
Returning of online purchases
Another challenge for online sellers looking to provide service and sustainability is that 23% of everything that global shoppers order online is returned. 40% admitted to over-ordering with the intention of returning unwanted items, presenting another dilemma for retailer’s digital supply chain. The worst offenders for returns in the APAC region were consumers in India, sitting at the top of the global chart at 44%. Over a quarter of Australians admitted to over ordering with the intent of returning excess products.
The appetite of Australian consumers
The research shows that Australian consumers also have a healthy appetite for retailers to invest in emerging tech trends, including cashless payments (37%) and checkout-less supermarket services such as Amazon Go (43% of Australians).
And the online world is creating enormous value for retailers, with 43% of Australian consumers planning to increase their usage of digital shopping channels. This has been driven by working from home (WFH), with 57% of Australian consumers saying they have shopped more online, and 52% saying they have discovered new brands as a consequence of WFH. 39% of Australian say they feel less loyal to physical stores they used to frequent before working-from-home.
Driving Change
Globally, online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Mercado Libre & Rakuten have held a consistent position in consumers’ minds this year with 64% of global consumers go as far to say they’re excited by the prospect of buying everything through one retailer and over a third (36%) already start their search on top marketplaces. While Amazon sits at number one across Europe, UK, USA and UAE, as we look to the Asia-Pacific region we see more diversity, with more marketplaces vying for consumers, and social media platforms featuring heavily. Although retailer and brand websites in Australia come out top, the Amazon experience is increasingly raising expectations of consumers with over half of Australians said they wished more brands and retailers offered services similar to Amazon Prime.
Says Melanie Wiese, chief strategy officer at Wunderman Thompson Australia: “We know online shopping has gone gangbusters through the pandemic. The question we all have, especially with rising inflation, is will those habits stick? And how will it change consumer expectations of brands online and off? The future shopper report has global and local perspective that brings data to those questions. The challenge and opportunity now befalling brands is to turn these new behaviours into true loyalty, in the face of new economic headwinds.
Our belief that the future belongs to brands ambitious about their contribution to people and the world is amplified by this outstanding report. Consumers need to buy into more than your product to win the future of commerce, and that will take enterprise level equity and inspired omnichannel retailing.”
Says Hugh Fletcher, global head of cinsultancy and innovation at Wunderman Thompson Commerce: “TikTok, Twitter and Instagram, marketplaces and eCommerce more generally offer shoppers an instant way to engage with, and purchase from, their favourite products and services. However, this means demands are higher, expectations are loftier, and consumers have a reduced patience; they want products and services at the click of a button and won’t settle for second-best. Couple this with the rising cost of living and retailers face a fight to get consumer’s cash as they choose where they shop, which brands to invest in and what digital services to use.”