Member Article

The key trends for eCommerce brands in 2019

2019 will be a year of more change for the UK retail sector. Primarily, the power and potential of true customer-centric delivery will be realised by the eCommerce industry. A conscious effort to move away from simply offering ‘fast and free’ delivery should be expected, in favour of delivery options that are more customisable and transparent, prioritising customer convenience. Here are the four main factors I believe will impact the industry this year.

Amazon driving up standards

Consumers place online marketplaces like Amazon in high regard because of the breadth of delivery choice offered. Amazon is admired for customisable, fast and free delivery, and lots of retailers are looking to emulate that in their own delivery function. However, if you’re representing a luxury brand, with luxury products, the same strategy will not align with your brand values. In my experience, delivery strategy needs to be led by three things: your customers, your brand and your product.

I’ve recently spoken with some fellow UK retailers, and the perception is that Amazon is driving up expectations. In actual fact, it’s making it challenging for retailers and placing pressure on them to mirror delivery offerings that are either not necessary, or impossible. Without using data from customer purchases to inform what kind of delivery options brands should have at the point of checkout, delivery becomes ineffective and it can also become difficult to manage if retailers try to do everything themselves.

When overhauling the delivery function in ecommerce, retailers need to ensure technology supports and integrates with their existing services. For a retailer, their eCommerce business never stops, particularly as they can’t afford a lengthy carrier onboarding process.

Automation is your friend

It’s important that retailers figure out what parts of the delivery and logistics process to automate. For example, if you have a broad portfolio of products like we do at Mamas & Papas – everything from cots to baby booties – it creates shipping complexities. First, how do you match the right delivery type and carrier to individual items? And secondly, from a technology perspective, how can you automate that process at checkout?

The trick is to deploy an automation tool – preconfigured with carrier options and services – with built-in machine learning. It needs to rely on a robust rule-based engine in order to consider a number of things instantaneously. For example, what kind of product is it? What is the basket mix? What location are the items going to, is it remote? Mamas&Papas ships far and wide, and somewhere like the Channel Islands can only handle a 3-day delivery option, so the rule-based system would automatically show the appropriate delivery options for that location.

The Brexit effect

There is still a lot of uncertainty around the implications of Brexit in the lead up to the deadline. And because of this, a lot of industries remain at a standstill. However, retailers need to look beyond the Brexit gloom, specifically at how international growth will be a key driver this year. Recent research from Global Freight Solutions showed that online retailers are exploring growth opportunities outside of Europe, in response to uncertainty around trade regulations caused by Brexit. Currently, only 1 in 3 retailers attribute 10 percent of revenue to international business, but there is a clear ambition in 2019, that UK retailers (76 percent) expect to increase international revenue. Huge potential lies outside of the EU with retailers prioritising the US, Australia and China for growth opportunities, yet we still need to have a plan that covers all eventualities, in order to come out of the EU.

Where is delivery headed?

While the headlines will likely be filled with delivery drones, this year is about pragmatism rather than anything else. This year more than ever, businesses need to have the flexibility to change and adapt with the market. If you give customers a breadth of delivery options, they’re more likely to find the best option for them. Customers want convenience over anything else. While retailers need to match changing trends and tastes, delivery is also vital to operations. Retailers need to overhaul their functionality and carrier partnerships for the right commercial reasons as well. A delivery strategy focussed on the needs of your customers, your brand and your products is key to success in 2019.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chris Greenwood .