Never Replicated but Possibly Replaced

Went on a little hiatus! I just finished exams this week and locked down some summer plans. I’m really excited for what summer has in store!

Yesterday, I finally got a chance to read May’s trend briefing from trendwatching.com. I love this website! It’s like a goldmine of information and ideas from all over the world. The people running the site are always on the lookout for emerging consumer trends and company innovations. The best thing about these monthly briefings is that it always include actual examples of companies and websites that are putting these trends into actions. It’s inspiring, really.

This month’s focus is on e-commerce. It is truly amazing how far companies have taken e-commerce from where it was a decade ago. Although online brand experience will never replicate the offline, clever companies have made it easier to replace by supercharging the “e-tail” experience (online retail) with added benefits that the offline experience will never be able to offer. The May briefing put it well:

Certain factors (taste, smell, and physical interaction to name just a few) still compel people to continue to shop in the ‘real world’. But the online world has its advantages too, especially when it comes to things such as collaboration, accessibility, reach, transparency and shareability.

And… “U.S. e-commerce sales will grow 62% by 2016, to USD 327 billion (Source: Forrester, February 2012).” Incredible!

The attractiveness of a market segment has often been evaluated through criteria such as identifiability, reach, responsiveness and profitability. The web has allowed the online world to speed up this evaluation. For example: geo-targeting helps identify users, social media empowers reach and web analytics measure response. Nowadays, companies often go beyond the basics and do things such as develop fancy mobile apps to further engage with their customers, assist with their purchasing behaviours and encourage them to share their positive experiences – all, of course, online.