Discovery, delivery, sustainability and inclusivity: The new focus of retail

The pandemic has changed the way we do things, and the way Australians shop is no exception. While the end of 2021 saw us ease out of restrictions across the country, many habits acquired during lockdown have continued into 2022, proving that increased online shopping is here to stay. 

With the shift of consumer values during COVID-19, it’s clear the focus of retailers also needs to change — or those businesses could be left behind. 

SmartCompany Plus spoke with three retail experts to find out exactly what retailers should be focusing on as we ‘live with COVID’. Here’s what they had to say. 

A new world of discovery

COVID-19 has driven the push to online shopping by accelerating the transition for people who used to never shop online, or encouraging those who already did to do so more. 

In fact, according to Statista, worldwide e-commerce sales grew to an estimated $4.9 trillion dollars in 2021 — up from $3.3 trillion in 2019, pre-pandemic. By 2025, Statista researchers expect this figure to hit $7 trillion. 

As personalised shopping app Little Birdie’s founder Jon Beros explains, from a retailer perspective, this means it’s become a lot more cluttered online and therefore more competitive when trying to acquire customers. 

So how can retailers get better customers, and keep them? 

The answer lies in ensuring your brand is easily discoverable on the ever-crowded web — through SEO optimisation, collaborating with online directories, and expanding your social media reach — in order to secure what Beros refers to as “qualified customers”. 

A “qualified customer”, as Beros explains, isn’t a consumer who is just browsing — it’s a customer shopping with intent, who has found the best product at the best price due to the ease of discoverability. 

“For the retailer, [discovery] drives them an incremental sale or an incremental customer that they may not have gotten otherwise.” 

Amping up delivery

For some retailers, being discovered on the world wide web isn’t their main concern: it’s making sure their many orders can get delivered on time. Following the ongoing delivery delays from the Christmas period, Doddle — a global fulfillment company — encourages retailers to get on top of their options. 

“We’ve started to see a shift in mindset around parcels and how parcels are delivered, both from retailers and consumers,” Doddle chief executive APAC Justin Dery tells SmartCompany Plus. 

“We’re a big place,” he says. “It can be expensive to send parcels around and it can be difficult to send parcels around — it has been that way for a long time” 

Dery adds that keeping up with the massive demand doesn’t involve building more sheds and putting more vans on the road. Instead, it’s about considering a “more sensible and sustainable way” of delivering parcels, often through looking at global trends and seeing how they could shift habits locally.

For example, during the pandemic, many retailers have amped up their click-and-collect services, with this trend towards alternative delivery options expected to continue as “out of home” delivery options continue to grow, Dery says. 

“Convenience has always been the driving factor for consumers to make a decision,” he adds. 

“Giving control [over deliveries] results in a better checkout experience. After all, no one likes getting the dreaded ‘sorry we missed you’ card.” 

“The main message for retailers is that out-of-home collection can help maintain customer satisfaction by giving consumers more control and choice over how they collect — and return — their online shopping to suit their lifestyle.” 

Ultimately, Dery notes, those that “don’t embrace new technologies are going to have a tough time competing against retailers that do”. 

Sustainability is here to stay

Dery adds that these alternative delivery options have provided consumers with the chance to make sustainable choices, and feel like they are “doing their part” as an increasing proportion of society becomes more heavily involved in climate action. 

After all, alternative delivery options means fewer cars on the road, which leads to less congestion from delivery vehicles and fewer carbon emissions. 

But sustainability in retail is a trend that spans further than these delivery options. In fact, at Alibaba Group’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival last year, data from an Alibaba study showed 70% of the global consumer population considered sustainability when shopping. 

To tackle sustainability, Alibaba encourages retailers to increase their use of green technology, make an active effort to lower their carbon footprint, and use plastic-free, recyclable packaging. 

Inclusivity in the forefront

Another primary focus of the Alibaba event was inclusivity, to promote accessibility along with empowering vulnerable communities. 

In a statement, Alibaba Group managing director Australia and New Zealand Maggie Zhou said it is “crucial” to focus on building existing value systems, which is why the conglomerate has chosen to implement a number of new initiatives that promote both sustainability and inclusivity. 

But inclusivity isn’t just important for Alibaba, it’s important for brands all across the globe — including here in Australia. 

Last year, local brand JAM The Label joined forces with The Iconic to bring its inclusive line to a wider consumer-base, through The Iconic’s ‘Adaptive Edit’ initiative — a section of the online retail platform dedicated to catering for Australians living with disabilities and other access needs. 

As Zhou noted at the Alibaba roundtable, allowing those with a disability such as one leg to buy a single shoe — instead of a pair of shoes — shows how brands are really “considering their consumer’s needs”. 

Another year online

Despite changing restrictions and the ability to return to brick-and-mortar retail, it’s clear that for retailers, having an online presence is absolutely essential — but it’s also only the tip of the iceberg. 

Considering and implementing changes to their discoverability, delivery options, sustainability practices and inclusiveness is the key to getting a slice of that worldwide spend.