Online retail sales shot up during the pandemic, and that has retailers and brands exploring new ways to capture a share of that growth. They’re finding better ways to personalize offers, fulfill orders, increase marketplace sales and market to online shoppers amid tougher privacy regulations. Here are four case studies of recent tech-driven successes.
Driven by the pandemic, U.S. consumers spent $609 billion more online from March 2020 to February 2022 than they did during the preceding 24 months. And that explosive growth—a 50% increase in the online retail market in just two years—has prompted retailers and consumer brands to test technologies that would help them win a bigger share of that ecommerce growth.
Their shopping list is long, according to a late 2021 survey of 93 online retailers by Digital Commerce 360. Ecommerce platform was the top tech priority for the coming year, but many others are looking for systems and software that will improve marketing, omnichannel performance, order fulfillment, marketplace sales and more.
Many retailers are looking for technology that will help them sell across channels—including via social media and online marketplaces—as well as in stores and on the web. A big focus among marketers is how to leverage data consumers share voluntarily, given that it’s increasingly difficult to collect data without shoppers’ permission.
That’s because of several recent consumer privacy initiatives. A big one was Apple Inc.’s introduction last year of a version of its mobile operating system that requires iPhone and iPad users to opt in — rather than giving them the option to opt out — for their online activity to be tracked as they move about the web.
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