The retail sector has been turned upside down over the last two months as the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns continue to impact both Australia and the rest of the world.
While bricks-and-mortar retailers in non-essential categories have been faced with dwindling foot traffic, online retailers are experiencing a surge in visitors.
The week of March 22 had the highest consumption of ‘online shopping’ at 52% above a six month average, according to Amobee's Brand Intelligence tool.
In early March, the most searched online retail categories were clothing and electronics.
Towards the end of the month, interest shifted to more essential items as people prepared to bunker down.
April saw another shift in online interests as more people try to get comfortable with their new stay-at-home lifestyle.
The top products and categories that saw an increase in online engagement include family lifestyle, personal care and nutrition and home and garden.
Consumption of ‘delivery service’ increased by 484% and interest on ‘Air Fryer’ for a better home cooking experience is up by 453%, compared to March.
Gillette is the highest trending brand in the personal care and nutrition category with interest up by 275% from the previous month.
Essential vitamins and minerals closely following at 106%.
There were also spikes for items like mattresses, up by 50%, and plants, up by 26%, as more people aim to improve their homes.
While online shopping only accounted for 9% of total retail sales in 2019, it is expected to grow further in 2020 as more traditional businesses go digital.
With Coles, Aldi and Woolworths still showing a shortage of essential goods, consumers have been looking at online alternatives such as Cleaners Supermarket, Bulk Wholesale, Pharmacy Online, The Bidet Shop.
McDonald’s was trending as an alternative for offering staples like milk, bread and eggs at drive-through.
Easter, traditionally the retail industry’s second biggest trading period outside Christmas, was dealt the blow of isolation and store closures, following a slump in retail in early April.
However, top brands such as Myer, Coles and Woolworths still saw huge interest during this period.
While Coles had the highest volume of content consumed during the Easter period, Easter content was 11 times more likely to be consumed in association with Myer, who over-indexed with the term ‘free delivery’, after reducing its delivery threshold to $49 and updating its return policy.
Woolworths saw seven times more interest driven by Easter-related content like ‘best seafood for Good Fridays’ and reduced weekly specials due to COVID-19.
"The low association skew between Easter and online retail brands, like eBay and Amazon, shows a clear opportunity for these retailers to position their e-commerce platforms as go-to shopping destinations during the holidays and special occasions," Amobee head of strategy and analytics Stefania Accardo says.
“With Mothers Day around the corner, retailers have a great opportunity to capitalise if they act clearly and quickly.”
As more people stay at home, the increase in time spent online and watching TV represents a huge opportunity for all brands to reach multi-screening Australians.
Amobee SVP for Australia and New Zealand Liam Walsh says retailers need to mesh data with changing consumer trends.
“By combining real-time data with current behaviours, retailers can put new strategies in place to reach their customers during and after lockdown,” Walsh says.
“To make it through 2020, we predict that retailers are likely to double down on their investments in data-driven digital marketing across all screens so they can connect with consumers in a fast-transforming retail landscape.”
All insights and data were taken from Amobee’s Brand Intelligence Tool.
Amobee's proprietary Brand Intelligence tool analyzes digital content engagement and consumer sentiment historically and in real time.
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