The focus of the discussion was around what women want from brands and retailers, and how to develop a better, more innovative shopping experience for women in 2023 and beyond. Nielsen predicts that by 2028, women will own 75% of the discretionary spend—making them the world’s biggest influencers—so it's essential that ecommerce and marketing strategies cater to this female audience and reach them with engaging experiences on their chosen channels.
New tech leads the way for women's shopping experiences in 2023 and beyond
On Thursday March 9th - the day after International Women’s Day - Wunderman Thompson partnered with BigCommerce to bring together 40 of the UK’s most disruptive digital leaders for a breakfast event in Soho.
The panel, hosted by Josie Klafkowska, Global Marketing Director for the Commerce & Technology division of Wunderman Thompson, comprised of three of the UK’s leading women in the ecommerce and tech space:
- Lucile Pegorier, Head of Digital at The Fold London
- Shalina Ganatra, Head of Consultancy at Wunderman Thompson Commerce & Technology
- Hilary Large, Marketing Director & mentor to young marketers through MET Mentoring.
The following is a summary of some of the key questions and takeaways.
What trends and challenges are brands and retailers facing in 2023, and how can they be met?
According to Lucile, Head of Digital at The Fold—which produces modern, sophisticated workwear for women—has seen a 60% year-on-year growth due to the increasing number of women returning to work after the pandemic. “However, we have noticed differences in how people are shopping in different markets, with the US now driving 50% of our sales,” she said. “We’re trying to be more market specific by repositioning the brand to address the different needs of each market. It’s hugely important to be responsive to these differences in order to be more strategic.”
Shalina Ganatra, Head of Consultancy at Wunderman Thompson Commerce & Technology noted that in Q1, there has been caution in the consumer space and businesses are looking to make their marketing and tech budgets work harder.
“There is a focus on driving ROI and delivering business value quickly,” she said. “Additionally, businesses are looking to understand their customers better and are interested in segmenting their customer base to meet their different needs and behaviors. There will also be an even greater focus on innovation, including things like chatbots and the metaverse, while still keeping an eye on driving business value in the short to medium term.”
Hilary said: “2023 is a fascinating year with a lot going on, particularly regarding economic issues and their impact on women. There is a divide between those who are very price sensitive due to economic issues and those who have discretionary income but want to spend it on purpose-driven products. It’s therefore imperative for brands to have a clear purpose and be authentic in their messaging and actions.”
What is the future of ecommerce?
For the past six years, Wunderman Thompson has released its annual Future Shopper Report, the last edition of which brought together the responses of over 31,000 global consumers.
The 2022 report showed that 59% of female spending is now online, compared to 55% for men. This means women are spending nearly six pounds of every ten online.
The Fold started with a store in London and when the pandemic hit, Lucile had no choice but to expand to selling online. “Shifting our mentality and embracing digital transformation led to significant international growth,” she said.
The Fold has recently started using catalogues for marketing and reaching their busy female customers. “I think it’s important for brands to really work on bridging the gap between their online and offline experiences and use data to enhance the customer journey.”
Regarding omni-channel marketing, Hilary noted that it’s a term frequently used but rarely executed well by retailers.
“It means creating a seamless shopping experience across all channels, including websites, mobile, catalogues, customer service lines, and social media platforms, which is complex and difficult to get right.
Shopping through Instagram is a growing trend, but there is a lot of friction involved, including points of purchase and influencer involvement.”
Shalina stated that by implementing a balanced channel strategy, a brand can use various routes to market to sell their product, including retail partners, marketplaces, direct-to-consumer sites, social commerce, quick commerce, and the metaverse. However, it’s important for brands to have a strategy for each channel based on customer behavior, product offerings, brand awareness, and loyalty.
Brands should also consider the challenges and benefits of each channel and not use a scattergun approach. Direct-to-consumer is a growing trend, particularly in female-dominated categories like beauty, but brands must have a clear reason for customers to buy direct instead of using other channels like Amazon.
What role do influencers play in enhancing a brand, and how can you better utilize them?
“While I do find influencers fascinating, they can be unreliable and not always effective in driving sales,” Hilary said. “Some influencers are now setting up their own brands and becoming savvier in their business practices.”
Hilary is currently consulting for a fashion brand that plans to launch with an influencer strategy, but she says they want to have a more genuine, narrative-based approach to their partnerships rather than just a transactional relationship.
“Brands should keep in mind that consumers can see through inauthentic influencer marketing and that true partnerships through narratives are important for building a brand story.”
What is livestream commerce and where is it headed?
“Livestream commerce originated in Asia and has become a global phenomenon,” Shalina said. “It blends traditional broadcasting with interactivity, providing better brand engagement and community engagement. It’s likely to continue to grow as a platform. The live format allows for a closer connection to the buying process, from awareness to consideration to transaction, and the interactivity allows for detailed engagement with the influencer or host.”
Hilary noted that a product like jewellery is a particularly great fit for livestream commerce because it’s small and visually appealing.
Many ecommerce businesses are moving towards more composable commerce solutions. What's driving this trend and why is it good for business?
BigCommerce is a headless provider and, like Wunderman Thompson, a member of the Mach Alliance, a non-profit organisation that promotes open and high-quality enterprise technology ecosystems. Its mission is to educate and assist the industry in transitioning from legacy infrastructure to a composable one, by providing guidance on when, where, and how to begin and choose partners.
“The principles of Mach involve taking the best technologies from a vast selection of options available and being dynamic, flexible, and agile in response to changing consumer behavior and market needs,” Shalina said. She went on to suggest that technology decisions should focus on bringing the best capabilities and features together to deliver a great customer experience that progresses over time. Shalina also emphasised the importance of efficient and effective back-end operations so that teams can focus on understanding customer behavior and needs. She concluded that the metaverse is a new reality for business.
“Before making any tech-related decisions, it's important to understand the implications of those choices on the organisation,” Hilary said. She cautioned against choosing something just because it seems cheap or easy without considering whether it fits with the existing systems and what the organisation can manage to deliver. “It’s imperative for an organisation to go through its business requirements and understand what it can tolerate and cope with before making any decisions.”