Two Years of Data: From BNPL to Marketplaces and Everything in Between, What’s Changed?

This time two years ago, Power Retail released the first of its Trajectory Reports. It was a time of flux within the e-commerce industry, just a few months into a global pandemic. The landscape was changing quickly, and consumer behaviour was evolving rapidly. It became our mission to provide retailers with data in real-time so that they could best adapt, respond and grow. 

This is why, each fortnight, Power Retail tells you exactly what consumers are thinking, how their behaviour is changing and what they want from retailers. After collecting data each fortnight for over two years, how has the e-commerce landscape changed? Some of the results may surprise!

BNPL STAGNANT

There were certain trends we tracked, assuming we’d see huge shifts in consumer behaviour. BNPL, for example, we thought would sky-rocket in usage. In Trajectory Report 1, 14% of shoppers said they paid for their last online order using BNPL in August 2020. In Trajectory Report 50? An almost identical 15% of shoppers said they paid for their online order using BNPL. We have seen BNPL consistently hover around the 14% – 17% mark over the last two years, with no major movement.

Source: Power Retail Switched On Trajectory #50

THE MARKETPLACE SHIFT

Amazon Australia is the most popular marketplace, with 60% of respondents saying they have shopped there in the last year. eBay follows closely behind at 58%, with Bunnings at 57% in third place. It does show the way in which Amazon has been a ‘slow burn’ (relatively speaking), with naysayers doubting it would find its market when it launched Downunder. Given the majority of Australian online shoppers have made a purchase on Amazon, it’s safe to say it’s clawed its way to the top. Catch (45%), Facebook Marketplace (39%) and Myer (35%) all rank highly, showing there are an array of different types of marketplaces dominating. So what is driving marketplace spend? Pricing. Better price comes in top spot at 60%, with cheaper delivery options coming in second place at 47%, equal with sales events (47%). While much of the initial appeal of marketplaces was product range, this comes in fourth place for consumers (45%).

When are consumers heading to marketplaces? When they’re purchasing electronics, half of all survey respondents (50%) said this is one of their preferred marketplace categories of purchase. House or Garden comes in second place (47%) with Fashion in third place (39%). We know that Fashion is usually the most popular category for online purchases generally, so this shows that for marketplaces, there is a slightly different focus. Categories like Health Products, Food or Drink and Fitness are less popular (around 19% to 20%).

Amazon Prime is the most popular marketplace membership, with 41% of respondents saying they have a membership. Again, it shows just how far Amazon has come since launch. While eBay’s popularity is on par with Amazon, its membership popularity is far lower, with only 17% saying they have an eBay Plus membership. And…while the majority of respondents have purchased from a marketplace, 42% say they don’t have a marketplace membership.

SALES EVENTS ON THE RISE

The latest data reveals that Black Friday is now the dominant sales event in the annual promotional calendar, with 58% of consumers saving to participate. Click Frenzy November is nipping at the heels of Black Friday in close second, at 56%, then followed by the traditional Australian sales event day, Boxing Day, at 40%. This highlights the need to plan well in advance for the critical November and December sales periods, as consumers are increasingly withholding spend until they are guaranteed a sizeable discount. In fact, more than three-quarters of consumers surveyed said that they deliberately wait for online sales events to make their purchases (77%).

Want to know more? Download our Special Edition Trajectory Report #50, filled with BONUS trends and insights from the last two years. FREE to Power Retail Switched On Members.

Not a member yet? FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY, register for Switched On LITE for FREE and receive Trajectory Report #50. Register here.

PLUS join our fortnightly Market Update, in which we present findings from the most recently published Trajectory Reports. FREE to join (for both Switched On members and non-members), and just 15 minutes! Our next Market Update will take place on Wednesday, 24 August at 1 pm, and we’ll be taking a deep dive into BNPL. Register here.

The e-commerce landscape is changing. With a Power Retail Switched On membership, you get access to current e-commerce revenue and forecasting, traffic levels, average conversion rate, payment preferences and more!