What is waiting for online brands in 2021?
Customers turned to online shopping more frequently with the pandemic in 2020, and their shopping habits started to change.
Now, customers shop more consciously and decide for themselves where and how to spend their money. This means that brands that do not meet consumers’ expectations may be in danger.
Privacy and Data
As the number of Internet users grows, it has become even more important to protect their privacy and data. Therefore, users expect brands to protect their data and be clear about how they use it and what they offer in return.
In 2021, many brands will now bring discussions about data ethics to life. Data ethics is not only about meeting the basic level of compliance with laws and rules, but the process of choosing the right one for users.
A recent survey of brands in EMEA countries reveals that for the vast majority of brands, data ethics is now handled at the management level. One in five brands states that they have set up a privacy excellence center (a senior team focused on data privacy) to prepare for legal changes.
By obtaining the correct permissions from customers and keeping them securely, you need to respect customer preferences and invest in first-party data. By creating a strong and robust infrastructure, it is possible to make more measurements with fewer data.
Consumers At Home
Due to COVID-19, consumers spend more time at home than ever before. Users increasingly turn to online videos for information, entertainment, and communication. YouTube application on TV grew by 80% in March 2020 compared to the previous year, as the total watch time of online videos gradually increased. By 2022, it is estimated that online videos will account for at least 80% of consumers’ internet traffic.
Sustainable Products
The pandemic has increased consumers’ demand for sustainability. They widely accept “Recycling” behaviors, with considering their impact on the environment when making their purchasing decision. For example, on Google Trends, we see an increasing number of searches for the terms “sustainable” on some related topics and queries above.
Consumers want brands to show through concrete actions that they take responsibility and act transparently. According to research on sustainable fashion, creating and presenting sustainable features creates a Halo effect. These affect customers’ perception of quality and value at important decision moments.
Brands leading these changes aim to improve continuously their efforts and protect the environment through methods such as business partnerships, sectoral initiatives or new production and recycling techniques.
Mobile Devices and App Usage Increasing…
Users spent over 1.6 trillion hours on their phones in the first half of the year 2020. In the third quarter, application usage increased by 25% compared to the same period of the previous year. Users spent 180 billion hours on apps every month. According to the same research, takeaway food, games, online learning, entertainment and shopping categories will benefit more from this attention gained by the mobile apps.
Best or Cheap ?
“Cheap” has a singular meaning and its search trend has been decreasing since 2004, whereas “best” may refer to price, popularity, or another metric, and its search trend has been increasing for 16 years.
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
Machine learning, neural networks, and AI have been nebulous concepts used as marketing lines. We have started to see practical applications — photo upscaling, real-time filters, noise reduction, video background blurring or replacement, face recognition, deepfake technology, live translation and transcription, voice assistants, and more. As we go forward, more and more of these applications will become commonplace on our smartphones and PCs.
The Mysterious Age
Liam was so excited for his birthday! Not only for the presents, but for the moment when he could finally say, “My age is six times bigger than the product of its two digits.”
How old did Liam turn ? (I will explain the solution next week)
Last Note
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