77% global online shoppers find marketplaces more convenient: Report

02 Feb '23

3 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

About 77 per cent of global consumers find marketplaces to be more convenient than the competition when it comes to online shopping, a 10-per cent year-over-year (YoY) increase, according to a recent report based on global consumers’ preferences when shopping both in-person and online. Three in five (60 per cent) shoppers wished more of their favourite retailers had online marketplaces.

In 2022, the US consumers conducted 46 per cent of their online shopping through marketplaces, a 10 per cent year-over-year increase from 2021.

A clear majority of consumers globally are prioritising value over brand loyalty—putting pressure on retailers to adapt, as per Mirakl’s Consumer Preferences in the Digital-First Economy report.

More than 4 in 10 (43 per cent) survey respondents globally stopped shopping with a specific retailer as a result of rising prices. Fewer than 1 in 5 respondents (17 per cent) continue to shop with the brands they trust regardless of price, putting pressure on brands that rely on loyalty from high-value customers to take agile approaches to product and pricing strategy in order to ensure growth.

In the US, 86 per cent consumers said inflation has made them look for better value when shopping. As a result, 71 per cent expect to move more of their spending online in the next 12 months to find better value. The data reveals the urgent need for consumer-facing businesses to focus on providing more products at competitive price points to maintain customer loyalty.

Globally, consumers are also finding e-commerce channels to be more reliable in terms of product availability. More than half (53 per cent) of US consumers agreed that the products they needed had been out of stock more frequently in stores in the last six months. These short-term out-of-stock challenges are yet another contributor to long-term behavioural shifts in favour of e-commerce. When a product they normally purchase in store is out of stock, half (52 per cent) of shoppers try to find it online often or very often. If they find what they’re looking for, nearly three-quarters (71 per cent) shop for it online the next time they need it.

Roughly half (51 per cent) of global respondents are likely or very likely to do the majority of their shopping online in 2023, as per the survey.

Global survey respondents cited loyalty and membership programmes (41 per cent); in-store pop-ups that show marketplace products in person (28 per cent); purchasing integration with the latest social media apps (20 per cent); and a handpicked selection from influencers they follow (19 per cent) as the features they’d most like to see in future online marketplaces.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)