The digital ecosystem increasingly drives the consumption habits of users, setting new guidelines for how we buy, how we decide and how we find new products.
Havas Market reveals to us in this article what the trends of 2024 will be in the digital business environment
Sonia Paz: “Spain, as the fourth country in electronic commerce in Europe, is heading towards a promising 2024 with an expected growth of 12% and projected transactions of 1.08 trillion dollars. This optimism is presented in a global context where the “Inflation is a key concern for 40% of consumers, overcoming challenges such as poverty, social inequality, unemployment and the coronavirus. These figures highlight the strength and adaptability of e-commerce amid global economic challenges.”
One of the biggest changes we've discovered this year is how consumers search for and discover products. Traditional search engines have found strong competition on social networks and marketplaces. Amazon, Ebay or AliExpress have become a reference source of information for users since 6 out of 10 buyers (59%) search for information directly on these sites according to a recent IAB study.
Another of the key pillars is the way in which we connect physical and digital environments: omnichannel is a concept that has been with us for some time but has led to a much more complete concept: Phygital. Not only is it necessary for there to be a single user experience between channels, but physical environments must be increasingly digital. And, according to a McKinsey study, multichannel customers buy 1.7 times more than single-channel customers.
Fernando González adds: “Phygital is a valuable experience, but also efficiency for the user and freedom of choice. The user requires to be able to choose at all times how to interact with brands, and for them to offer a personalized response without encountering points of friction regardless of the chosen channel. It is estimated that by 2025, 68% of consumers expect stores to dedicate ample space to experimenting before purchasing.”
Sustainability is changing people's habits and decisions, and according to Global Web Index, 61% of millennials are willing to pay more for products that are sustainable and take the environment into consideration.
Cristina Castillo adds: “More and more initiatives are being born such as re-ecommerce, also known as second-hand commerce, which as a lever will allow brands to also gain loyalty among those buyers who are more sensitive to price. Companies like Levi's SecondHand, or models business like Vinted, promote the loyalty of their consumers through what is known as accessible luxury, which is made possible thanks to their models based on the circular economy. Currently, re-commerce is growing 11 times faster than general retail market.
If 2022 was the year of the Metaverse, 2023 and especially 2024 will be the year of AI. There is practically no area where AI will not set the rules of the game. But there is undoubtedly an area in e-commerce where it will play an important role: Content. In the personalization of the experience, whether in audiovisual content, site design, product preference or descriptions, nothing will be left to chance thanks to AI. That from the analysis of user preferences, the decision of which content is key to display at each moment and the personalization of these will be thanks to AI. It is estimated that AI currently makes marketing investment more efficient by 15%.
Retailers are breaking in, although they have always been there, but this time with Retail Media. And we can say that 2024 will be its year due to the consolidation that we will see in this discipline. Technology, business models, deep knowledge of the consumer, retailers and brands themselves are prepared to make retail media the ideal solution to scale brand sales. If done right, what can go wrong?
Vicky Ducournau adds: “It is already imperative for brands that Retail Media budgets, as well as their results, are not part of the Retailer's income statement (or trade marketing) but are included in the Retailer's budgets. marketing. Until this does not happen, we will not be able to capitalize on all the potential that Retail Media has in demand generation strategies. Retail Media is, in itself, one of the most powerful strategies in terms of demand generation that exists with which should be part of the media mix with a global (and more than demonstrated) impact on the advertisers' business”.