E-commerce evolves in 2021

A Lazada ad for the 11.11 mega sale day in a MRT station in Singapore.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made us all used to virtual everything. "Businesses of all kinds have had to evolve at record speed and move between the digital and real worlds. For example, retail stores who are digital-and-brick-and-mortar and those purely digital are all redefining what digital business means to them. I predict that this new environment isn’t temporary," said Lauren Vaccarello, CMO, Talend.

"What we will see in 2021 is a true deepening and merging of the analogue and digital domains. Your favorite local yoga studio may have started featuring more online options during the pandemic and this will not change. In fact, consumers will begin to expect online or hybrid options ongoing.

"Before, an online experience was nice-to-have, now it will be a business requirement to ensure loyalty and success. This will also be the case for retail store shopping; online and in person options were nice to have, but now they are an expectation of every customer."

Adobe cited figures to show that consumers are now increasingly comfortable with online shopping. Data from Adobe found that consumers spent a US$34.4 billion during Cyber Week 2020, a 20.7% year-over-year (YoY) increase. Nielsen’s Impact of COVID-19 on Consumer Behaviour survey also found that two in five consumers in Singapore had increased their online shopping activities, Adobe noted.

"That number will only continue to grow, especially as 5G becomes more widely available and completely redefines what’s possible from a customer experience perspective online and on mobile. Ultimately, an experience-driven approach to commerce across channels is going to be imperative in 2021," Adobe said.

Retail tech to evolve

“2020 accelerated the adoption of online, and 2021 will cement those new-found behaviours as lockdowns and reduced mobility force shoppers to stay online. Many retailers have struggled to adapt to the changed environment and it seems that every day another well-established business goes into administration, while those who have innovated and can move fast to meet the puck have and will thrive," said Sarah Neill, Founder of fashion tech startup Mys Tyler.

Neill said innovations in retail technology will fall into three categories:

· Acquisition - better attribution, more focus on the funnel, retargeting and converting each opportunity

· Logistics - more efficient and faster (cheaper) shipping, technology that can help reduce return rates through better matching of sizes and management of expectations

· Design - responding to the changing needs of consumers

· Engagement - bringing some of the experience of retail into an online environment through social commerce and more experiential approaches.

"While retail is set to have another tough year, it’s going to be interesting to see the evolutions that take place in innovation and technology,” she said.

The key will be going omnichannel, said Commvault. “COVID-19 has permanently altered the retail industry, and there is no turning back. The shift to digital platforms has opened opportunities for us to engage on a much deeper level with customers than ever before. Search engines are now able to double up as digital assistants, from scheduling dental appointments to ordering food and groceries. Voice search will also disrupt SEO conventions and have tremendous impact on consumer behaviour,” said Yasir Yousuff, Senior Director and Head of APJ Marketing, Commvault.

“The shift to digital platforms will enable marketers to target and prospect for new customers with even greater accuracy. Marketers must therefore align their customer decision journey with the shift in consumer purchase and information search, while ensuring that audiences can find content on their preferred channel and in the format that they enjoy.

“Moving forward, a multichannel approach to marketing will be critical. Businesses will need to ensure all channels from website, mobile, social media and store front are seamlessly connected and brand aligned. This means a lot more data is going to be generated, and businesses will need to access and make sense of it all. Ideally, this should take place in a central environment, with the necessary security measures in place.”

Social channels rule

"Within the last year, social platforms have made great strides to advance social commerce offerings in the midst of the pandemic. Facebook introduced Facebook Shops and rolled it out to Instagram and Facebook. Snapchat announced its first shoppable show and Pinterest made it easier for users to find similar products on its platform," said Ryan Holmes, Hootsuite's CTO and Co-founder.

"With more than half of the world’s population on social, these platforms will focus on developing new features that make it easier for consumers to shop in 2021. Critical to that evolution will be advancements in mobile payments for social commerce. In 2021, we’ll see Apple Pay and Google Pay become available for consumers to make purchases as they scroll through their Instagram or Facebook feed.

"Social platforms will experiment with other payment methods like cryptocurrency but this will take place in the background. The speed at which these new innovations and offerings will be made available for social commerce will speed up next year as these platforms fight for the largest slice of the market."

New payment models

"Not only are we seeing an increase in electronic payments, but also consumers connecting with banks through mobile apps and QR codes and exploring the extra access and services smaller digital banks can offer. Consumers’ increasing appetite for alternative banking and payment options will benefit the new wave of digital-only banks in the region that can provide more personalised services and products and a superior customer experience, meaning incumbent banks will need to up their digital game. Many are partnering with fintechs to make this happen, leveraging the Open Banking model and open APIs," said David Brown, Head of Payments, APAC, Finastra.

"Looking ahead to next year (2021), governments and the financial services industry must continue to invest in critical digital infrastructure needed to support digital payments as a key part of the ‘new normal’ of banking moving forward. As financial institutions continue to leverage fintech and the cloud to bring seamless payments offerings to consumers, we also hope to see further collaboration in the industry supporting small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) through the transition to digital payment systems. SMEs currently account for over 50% of ASEAN’s GDP, but only a small majority of these are truly digitised.

"Improving access to technological solutions will allow SMEs to experience the benefits of digital payments, such as an increased digital data footprint which improves creditworthiness and opens up new lending pathways, as well as allowing for better participation in the digital economy and global supply chains."

Contactless experiences

According to Adobe, consumers expect contactless experiences in 2021 as they will continue to take measures to limit exposure to the coronavirus. The company cited Forrester, which predicts brands will look to replace touch screens, in-store feedback buttons, credit card PIN pads, and other touch media with contactless interfaces that rely on gesture, voice, and proximity. "A Mastercard report indicated that 51% of individuals in Asia Pacific have made the swap to contactless payments, with 75% of them indicating that they will continue to use contactless modes of payment after the pandemic is over," Adobe added.