We’re already two months into 2023. How is your e-commerce program faring? Perhaps you’re overly cautious considering economists say a recession this year is likely. Or maybe you already started safeguarding months ago.

Regardless, it’s no time to ease up on e-commerce execution.

Recession or not, ChannelAdvisor’s recent report, 3 Global E-Commerce Tactics to Address for Success in 2023, provides insights and actions brands and retailers can take to step up their game in the midst of economic uncertainty, changing consumer behaviour and increasing market saturation. Let’s take a look at some of the key strategies you can execute to safeguard your e-commerce program this year. 

1. Adapt faster to changing consumer behaviour

Marketplace popularity continues to grow across the globe. In fact, Australian consumers are the most likely to purchase from foreign sites, with an average of 50 per cent across all age groups, but a higher percentage among younger consumers. 

Today, consumers visit these platforms to do more than make a purchase. Marketplaces have become digital town centres for browsing, discovering, researching and comparing products. 

Consumers are continuing to use more digital touchpoints too, from social media and digital ads to chat and customer forums. Globally, 82 per cent of consumers now say they use more than two digital touchpoints in their buyer journey. 

The way to respond to this expanding consumer footprint? Meet them wherever they shop. This year, expand your sales presence on new marketplaces, whether through well-known giants or emerging spaces that fit your product niche. Global diversification is also a good idea, as Southeast Asian marketplace Shopee currently ranks among the three largest marketplaces in the world, followed by global e-commerce giants like Rakuten and AliExpress.

2. Increase your product visibility and shoppability

Marketplaces are also more saturated than ever, causing brands to fight for product views and consumer attention more fiercely than ever. But marketplaces aren’t the only channel where discoverability can come at a premium. 

In Australia, browsing brand or retailer websites to discover products (44 per cent) is equally as popular as browsing marketplaces (43 per cent). Among younger consumers, social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) is becoming a key channel for discovery. In fact, it’s where 47 per cent of 18-to-25-year-old consumers have discovered products they purchased in the past year.

How can you stand out in every channel your consumers frequent? The answer is retail media, the rising star among advertising channels. The strongest retail media campaigns feature:

• Varied ad types (e.g., sponsored display, sponsored products and sponsored brands).
• Optimised content featuring relevant target keywords.
• Targeting based on performance and behavioural data.
• Segmentation for various parts of your catalogue.
• Automated efficiency resulting in a higher return on ad spend (ROAS).
• Regularly tested and modified content for improvement.

Regardless of how well the ad performs or where it’s placed, digitally savvy consumers now expect a seamless experience from start to finish. That means conversion should always be a click away from anywhere. By implementing Shoppable Media solutions, you can shorten the path to purchase, giving online shoppers direct access to where to buy online, where to buy locally or major retailers where your products are in stock.

3. Drive excellent digital shelf execution

While the Australian economy has remained fairly resilient in the midst of recession worries around the globe, consumers are now starting to feel the strain of cost of living spikes. 

This behaviour can lead to waning demand, triggering retailers to order fewer products from brands or carry fewer SKUs. If this happens, counterbalance by stepping up your digital shelf execution. Audit SKUs for prices, stock rates, visibility and content so the surviving products you do have on the shelf perform at their peak. By staying attentive to the performance of each product, you can help maximise conversion rates.

One currency that doesn’t fail in a recession? Personal connections. Brands should spend time nurturing retailer relationships and strengthening ties that will be harder to sever when push comes to shove. This is even easier to accomplish with Brand analytics data in hand to streamline partners’ jobs with the ability to spot pricing mistakes, check content accuracy and compliance and monitor out-of-stock products.

Prepared brands and retailers will win in 2023

You can’t always predict consumer behaviour or economic volatility — but you can stay alert and proactive in your e-commerce approach. By expanding your reach across channels, staying in tune with consumer behaviour and trends and fine-tuning your execution strategies, you can safeguard your program for success this year and beyond. 

Read the full 3 Global E-Commerce Tactics to Address for Success in 2023 report here. 

About the author: Darren Fifield is MD, Apac, at ChannelAdvisor, a CommerceHub company.