High inflation and the cost of living crisis have made consumers think longer about managing their money. However, as money becomes more conscious, online merchants are also facing a slowdown in sales.In the latest report, automation platforms Primer We reveal some of the issues most impacting e-commerce and some of the emerging trends.
according to National Statistics Office (ONS) said online sales in the UK were down 2.3% across most retail sectors over the past year, revealing a disappointing time for the e-commerce sector. This statistic shows that online retailers are able to listen to their customers and make strategic, impactful and agile changes to their business to best reflect customer demands and shopping trends. revealing that it is important. Our latest Primer report delves even deeper into this area.
Primer Research ReportE street nightmarefound that 46% of Brits cite high shipping costs as their biggest pain point when shopping online. Additionally, 48% acknowledged high shipping costs as a primary reason for abandoning shopping carts before payment. As a result, it’s not surprising that ‘delivery and returns’ was the top pain point for UK retailers (33%).
Consumers abandon approximately 37% of all shopping carts before completing payment. The average price in the online shopping cart is 213.84. Failure to meet consumer demand for affordable shipping and a fast checkout experience could have a devastating impact on the company’s bottom line.
Gabriel Le RouxCo-founder of Primer, he commented on the report’s findings. “Online retailers need to ensure that they navigate through the volatile market conditions they are currently experiencing, while aiming to future-proof their business.
They are currently facing the nightmare of having to do more with less, but there are impactful, easy-to-adopt strategies that can pay off big. Our research provides a blueprint for e-commerce, helping retailers pinpoint consumers’ biggest pain points and adopt the best business strategies for 2023 and beyond.”
Will shoppers trust AI recommendations and decisions?
Meanwhile, Primer also looks at the UK-based retailer’s own pain points. Shipping and returns (33%), Staff retention and retention (33%), and e-commerce store development and maintenance (32%) were the top three concerns.
The rise of AI is making waves within the retail industry, with the majority of UK retailers (67%) positive to deploy AI tools within the customer journey. In fact, 30% of them are already taking a proactive approach, believing AI is the future of e-commerce. The remaining 37% are ready to consider using AI, but are also carefully weighing its potential benefits and drawbacks.
Primer also discussed the importance of understanding some of the fears some consumers have about AI. Given this, it could mean balancing AI deployments with more traditional forms of automation such as inventory management, order processing, and payment automation.
The majority of consumers (64 percent) are concerned about the use of AI in their shopping experience. Meanwhile, more than a third of UK consumers (37 per cent) are concerned about privacy and dislike personalized shopping experiences, and a further 27 per cent lack understanding of AI. I am concerned because
Automation is a step forward when it comes to reducing technical debt. They are more likely to distrust recommendations and decisions made by AI (36 percent) than they trust decisions (26 percent), said Le Roux. .
Social e-commerce ‘plays an important role in driving sales’
Social e-commerce has emerged as one of the biggest growth areas for 2023 in the retail industry. 54% of him in the UK have already purchased or plan to do so in the future through social media.
Gen Z leads the way in social media shopping, with 42 percent having already made a purchase through social media and a further 37 percent planning to do so in the future. But millennials are no less, with 39% already making a purchase through social media and 32% planning to do so in the future.
In response to this growing trend, 32 percent of UK retailers have already added social media as a selling tool in the past year alone. Among retailers already using social commerce to sell directly to consumers, the channel drives an average of 37% of their revenue today.
Le Roux also commented on these findings: A majority of UK retailers believe that social media will play an important role in driving sales, with 56% of UK retailers saying direct selling through social media will be an even greater selling mechanism in the future. says. 2023 will be the year that online retailers add social commerce to their sales channels so they don’t get left behind. “
latest payment
Modern payment methods have overtaken traditional plastic payment methods. PayPal It has emerged as the preferred payment method for British shoppers online, with 31% of respondents choosing their payment provider. Debit cards (26%) and credit cards (17%) are in the top three.
PayPal also mails credit and debit cards. has been named the most trusted payment method in the UK, with 50% of Brits trusting it with regards to their personal data. On the other hand, 47% trust debit/credit cards and only 8% of respondents do. Klarna.