A lifeline to cope with pressure on the margins, with a development potential that is still largely unexplored. Electronic commerce is a frontier of great interest for companies, called to update their offer and market positioning to keep pace with an increasingly sophisticated demand. According to the latest edition ofDigital Observatory Fmcg (the acronym for Fast moving consumer goods), edited by Netcomm in partnership with NielsenIQi emerging brands they shouldn’t overlook the importance of a multichannel approach to make room in the market.
In particular, the study reveals that, after the boom of 2020 (up 146%), when many Italians have approached shopping via the Internet out of necessity, due to travel restrictions, the e-commerce continued in the pace of development also in 2021, achieving progress of the order of 23.5%. This has resulted in an amount of 1.8 billion euros, that is 2.5% of the turnover of the entire Fmcg sector. The push from online offsets the stalemate in physical store sales, generating a 0.4% increase in overall retail sales. For Roberto Liscia, president of Netcomm, these trends deserve to be carefully followed by market operators in order not to run the risk of losing pace with the evolution of demand. “The consumer is looking for efficiency, but also for an increasingly personalized, simple and intuitive experience”, he emphasizes. “The phygital starts right from the customer experience: digital joins the physical and plays a key role during all phases of the purchase process, from the collection of information and the comparison of prices, products and services, to after-sales support and review activities “.
According to the Observatory, emerging brands can greatly benefit from new consumer trends, provided they internalize three key concepts: convenience (time saving), healthy food e customization. In fact, the digital consumer is young, medium-high spending (the average online receipt is 42 euros), attentive to some specific characteristics of the products such as Italianness and “free from” (organic products or food intolerances).
The importance of emotions
When approaching the online channel, it is essential to know the dynamics that govern it, avoiding the temptation to assume that all the options that have proven to work on other channels are valid. According to a study conducted by Netcomm, the moment of payment, during online shopping, generates a positive emotional peak, particularly if the process is simple, reliable and fast. The research shows that 28.5% of online shoppers consider this channel a priority, 9.8% continue to prefer traditional shopping, while 61% choose based on the opportunity of the moment. Among those who indicated a preference for online shopping, a profile emerged mainly made up of young men, inhabitants of large urban centers, with a tendency to spend high monthly spending and belonging to a family of three or more people.
I buy today, I pay later
Remaining in the field of e-commerce, one of the emerging trends is the so-called “Buy Now, Pay Later”which allows consumers to buy the desired product immediately, with the possibility of paying for it in installments. Liscia sees it as an opportunity for businesses, as it “brings potential customers closer to online purchases”. If in some countries such as Australia and Northern Europe it is already widespread, the market in Italy for this instrument has just opened. “THE merchant who have already experienced it are benefiting from it with interesting feedback on user experience and conversion rates ”, adds the expert. “Furthermore, the offer of these tools by the payment provider it is becoming increasingly broad, allowing merchants to be able to use more tools with which to propose payment by installments “.