The battle for consumer eyeballs is not one to be fought on price, but through the delivery of more inspiring moments, medium and messaging.
The e-commerce experience of the future will be data driven. Highly intelligent algorithms will provide consumers with the ability to only receive offers that are relevant and of value to them. Integrated and connected devices will inform what we buy, when we buy and who we buy from. Attention is the currency of the New Economy.
This has created a new challenge for retailers: the medium that has enabled connections to be created at greater volume and velocity has also given people greater control over the type and timing of messages they are exposed to.
A study by Microsoft revealed that the human attention span has decreased from 12 seconds in 2002 to only eight seconds in 2013. But the consumer is inundated with more and more marketing messages.
Digital adspend in APAC is estimated to reach US$96.5 billion in 2018 and e-commerce merchants will need to get smarter and faster in making the most of their marketing dollars to capture the attention of potential shoppers. Consider the challenges already presented by the ability to make a screen disappear with a swipe of a finger, and the phenomenon of ‘screen stacking’. Add to that complex privacy laws and varied device settings that will further dictate access to the consumer. As we have witnessed with both traditional and digital media, despite changes in how we communicate, people remain open to engagement. Their requirement, however, is that companies need to offer more value and more rewards, with less disruption.
The quality of online connectivity has a gross impact on the success and growth of e-commerce in the region, as a key driver of consumer uptake is page load time. “A one-second delay in page load time equals 11% fewer page views, a 16% decrease in customer satisfaction, and 7% loss in conversions.”
Internet speeds in developed countries within APAC are some of the fastest in the world, but in developing nations, the issue of speed is superceded by the subject of internet access. An e-commerce merchant that wants to take advantage of growth in countries like Indonesia, where desktop Internet access is not as prevalent as mobile Internet access will need to consider this when building their e-commerce strategy. In Indonesia, less than half of the country’s Internet users spend three or more hours online per day; a consequence of poor Internet quality.
Rakuten Asia noted in 2014 that this resulted in most people conducting their online shopping during work hours as Internet connections were more reliable; which for Rakuten Indonesia peaked around 11am.
Compare this to data presented by Taobao, which revealed that in China, shopping via mobile phones provides an experience 67 seconds faster than on a personal computer and shopping hours peak at 10pm. Being aware of the time when people are connected is only one facet of attracting consumers. Targeting shoppers when they are in the most receptive frame of mind is another important factor in e-commerce marketing.
With the ability to connect with people throughout their day, at any time and any place, though location-based services via mobile devices, the imperative for merchants will be to provide offers that match the consumers’ emotional and physical needs in the moment.
“With all the offers that consumers are inundated with on a daily basis – through emails, SMS, websites, banners and more – even the best offers might get missed, if they are not delivered at the right time and place,“ says Sam Ahmed,Group Head of Marketing at MasterCard Asia Pacific. MasterCard has begun to test the effectiveness of this approach through its Digital & E-Commerce Engine by producing campaigns based on consumer interest over a period of 12 hours.
***The MasterCard white paper, “The 10 Industry-Wide Transformations Impacting E-Commerce in Asia Pacific and Implications for Your E-Commerce Growth Plans” is aimed at helping merchants navigate the rapidly evolving e-commerce industry and strategically plan for the future. It was developed following conversations with various e-commerce players across Asia Pacific, and examines perspectives from industry leaders on the varied state of e-commerce in these markets. © 2015 MasterCard. Proprietary and confidential. All rights reserved. All third-party product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners.
Artwork by Brent Sabas
This article was first published in the November-December 2015 issue of adobo magazine.
