Australia – Following the ongoing surge in consumer interest in sales, the latest cyber weekend benchmark report by Pattern revealed a significant increase in searches for Black Friday in 2023. This underscores the need for businesses to reassess their approaches within Australia’s e-commerce landscape.
For this report, Pattern indicated that sales had an unprecedented peak in early 2023, noting a 51% surge compared to 2022.
Merline McGregor, general manager at Pattern Australia, commented on the said findings, stating that recent data suggests that brands should shift their marketing focus towards personalised offers. According to her, extending Black Friday sales may harm profit margins and instil an expectation of ongoing discounts among consumers.
Findings also showed the potential impact of advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), brand research, personalisation, and marketplaces, highlighting the possible changes for the current e-commerce landscape of the country.
As brands adopt AI for streamlined marketing efforts, the report underscores that a growing dependence on AI also raises ethical concerns and invites scrutiny regarding the quality and originality of AI-generated content.
The report further noted the importance of social media platforms in the present year’s brand research and discovery. Merline expounded further on this topic, stating, “Brands must understand and embrace social media’s role in consumer pre-purchase research. They can do this by collaborating with creators to amplify their voice, blending passive promotion with active engagement.”
Meanwhile, an anticipation for maturation and evolution is said to exist for the marketplace sector.
With Pattern’s report revealing 88% of consumers made purchases from platforms such as eBay, Amazon, or Catch in the previous year, this implies an era of competitive retail landscape, advising brands to establish a presence where customers are, with a growing emphasis on marketplaces like Amazon and the emerging platform Temu.
Additionally, the transformation of individualised sales is driven by advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence. McGregor asserted that to thrive in a growingly competitive online sales landscape, brands should extensively analyse shopper data and enhance their platform utilisation, aiming to establish authentic and lucrative connections with customers.
Talking about the findings, McGregor also shared, “The Australian retail landscape will take an evolutionary step forward over the coming year, driven by changing consumer expectations and the rapid integration of technology in e-commerce.”
“It’s not just about selling products; it’s about creating meaningful connections and delivering value in a digital world where change is constant,” she concluded.
