Richard Falconer, COO, at Optiseller, today shares the trends the business has seen and how the pandemic has changed the face on online retailing in the UK and around the world:
Optiseller Trends
As we all know by now, the pandemic has accelerated the boom in online shopping to record levels, with some estimating that as much as 75% of UK shoppers now shop online. Competition is now fiercer than ever, so it is vital that sellers catch the eye of customers and give them exactly what they want.
All retailers need to realise that habits have changed forever, and that online behaviour will continue to change as more and more of us choose online over the high street. As a company we have been monitoring trends throughout 2021.
Fast postage is what online buyers now demand above all else, and they are quite happy to pay for the privilege. Optiseller’s experts recently analysed data from several online sellers, and found that online sales went up dramatically when express postage was offered. The research also found that fast delivery is now far more important than free shipping, as eager online shoppers expect their goods as soon as possible. Therefore, sellers need to prioritise express postage or next day delivery.
Online retailers have to now use socials to sell. Using social media marketing can be a really effective way of getting in front of new and existing customers at the right time in their shopping process. For this to work, it’s vital to set your objectives and goals, for example do you want to boost awareness of your listings and store overall, or do you want to increase loyalty and encourage return trade from existing customers? Also, remember to pick the platforms that suit your business; if you do a lot of business-to-business selling then maybe LinkedIn is the platform for you, whilst if you sell collectibles and jewellery, Instagram might be the right tool for you.
The data also showed some very surprising results during Black Friday 2021, as it seems people decided to switch off from their screens, as the big winners this year were vinyl records and books. There could be various reasons for this shift in behaviour, including people working more from home so they are looking at different ways to switch off and relax, plus different demographic groups are now shopping online due to the pandemic so searching patterns are bound to change as a result.
About Optiseller
Optiseller help sellers quickly and easily optimise their listings and monitor their performance on eBay and other marketplaces. Optiseller is an e-commerce data platform that provides over 50,000 users with the tools they need to control, manage and monitor their performance. The platform is now used in over 160 countries, reviewing over 70m listings every week. In total it has analysed over 1.1bn products.
TO hear more from Optiseller and how they can help you grow your business in 2022, register to attend their session at Tamebay Live, taking place on the 25th-27th January.
