The affect the pandemic has had—and continues to have—on consumer behavior and buying habits is well documented. With the disruption or complete shutdown of brick-and-mortar retail establishments during the pandemic, consumers migrated to online platforms more than ever before, and the trend is expected to continue, presenting a huge ecommerce marketing opportunity.
Did you know?
- Since COVID-19 began, 37% of consumers have ordered products online that they would have typically purchased in store.
- 145 million new people participated in e-commerce for the first time during the pandemic.
- In 2020, 17% of total retail sales were generated by e-commerce; that figure is expected to climb to 25% of total sales by 2024.
- From April to June 2021, retail e-commerce sales in the United States surpassed 220 billion U.S. dollars, the highest quarterly revenue in history.
- In the U.S., e-commerce sales made up 11% of total sales pre-pandemic, 22% of total sales pre-pandemic, and 13% of total retail sales as of December 2021.
The good news for e-commerce merchants is that these behavior changes are likely to extend beyond the pandemic. In a McKinsey & Co. study in late 2020, 75-84% of consumers surveyed indicated they expect new shopping behaviors adopted during the pandemic to become permanent.
The E-commerce Trend Includes Direct to Consumer Brands
The uptick in e-commerce included direct to consumer (D2C) brands, bringing them more mainstream, according to the latest report by GfK. 62% of U.S. consumers have tried a D2C brand in the last six months; 40% of those plan to use D2C channels more, even as COVID-19 shopping restrictions ease.
According to eMarketer’s forecast, U.S. direct-to-consumer (D2C) ecommerce sales will reach $151.20 billion in 2022, an increase of 16.9% compared to 2021.
This shift in consumer shopping behavior presents a massive opportunity for e-commerce brands to engage and acquire new customers. Does your marketing strategy target and reach consumers when and where they like to connect with brands?
Online-first shoppers (those who prefer to buy from an internet-based store if price and product quality are similar) respond to ads across multiple channels.
- 47% responded to and ad/coupon in the mailbox in the past 12 months
- 49% responded to and internet banner ad in the past 12 months
- 48% responded to a pre-roll video ad in the past 12 months
- 53% responded to a streaming video ad in the past 12 months
Subscribers of D2C brands also respond to ads across multiple channels:
Increase Reach and Response with Multi-Channel Solutions
Anchor your marketing strategy with direct mail while boosting its reach and effectiveness with a digital component. Promote awareness of your brand and highlight your products while targeting your best potential customers in the channels they respond to most often.
- When print is paired with digital media, advertisers see as much as a 30% increase in response.
- Print drives 11% purchase intent compared to only 4% with digital alone. That’s a 175% INCREASE when anchoring your digital campaign with print.
- 61% of consumers visited a retailer’s website after receiving a print ad .
- Response rates increase by 30% when direct mail is paired with digital targeting .
- 60% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase after seeing an ad in offline and online.
- 69% of purchase influence is driven by print and digital media.
Create one-on-one messages in a tangible format with shared direct mail and boost the effectiveness of campaigns with complementary digital ads. Read more case studies to learn how other e-commerce brands have leveraged our solutions to drive results. Reach out today to plan your strategy!
Sources: GroupM; Digital Commerce 360; Facebook; McKinsey & Co, COVID-19 US Consumer Pulse Survey, Nov 2020; Statista 2021 reports; GfK report; Canada Post Neuroscience Report; Millward Brown Print Campaign Analysis; AdMall AudienceSCAN; IPC Cross-Border E-Commerce Shopper Survey 2019; Valassis Purse String Survey; Data & Marketing Association