The Privy Ecommerce Trends Report HOW SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ECOMMERCE STORES ARE MARKETING THEIR BUSINESSES IN 2018
ABOUT THIS RESEARCH In January 2018, we surveyed over 500 small- and medium-sized ecommerce businesses to find out what was working, what their challenges were, and how they find their inspiration. The survey was conducted among Privy registered users selling on Shopify or BigCommerce using the SurveyMonkey platform.
ECOMMERCE IS EXPLODING FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED BUSINESSES In October, Shopify reported more than 70% growth year over year.
With more than 500,000 merchants
on its platform, ecommerce is
clearly exploding. On Privy sites alone, there were
3.2 billion consumer sessions on
small- and medium-sized merchant sites in 2017.
SMALL REALLY
MEANS SMALL • 50% of participants are “solopreneurs” • 74% of participants sell less than 100 SKUs • 24% sell less than 10 SKUs • 50% sell between 10 and 100 SKUs
OVER 40% OF ECOMMERCE BUSINESSES IN OUR SURVEY PRIMARILY SELL APPAREL Personal Accessories (23%), Sporting Goods (9.5%), and Cosmetics (8%)
also ranked highly
SETTING AND
MEETING GOALS ARE A CHALLENGE FOR ECOMMERCE BUSINESSES
• Overall, only 43% of ecommerce businesses who set goals were able to meet or exceed them in 2017, while 21% of businesses in the survey did not set revenue goals. • During the holiday season, 50% of all businesses that set goals, met them. • 79% of more established businesses — those with 5 or more employees — did meet their holiday season goals. • On average, ecommerce businesses are looking to grow by 43% in 2018. • More than 16% of businesses want to double their revenue or more.
SECTION 1
Despite the low barriers to entry,
starting an ecommerce business is not easy
“ The struggles I'm facing,
The chances I'm taking,
Sometimes might knock me down
but no I'm not breaking.
I may not know it,
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most yeah.
Just got to keep going,
And I, I gotta be strong,
Just keep pushing on.”
- MILEY CYRUS IN “THE CLIMB”
FROM A TECHNOLOGY STANDPOINT,
GETTING STARTED IS EASY
Getting results is a much bigger challenge.
2017 REVENUE FOR
BUSINESSES IN FIRST YEAR
2017 REVENUE GOALS
FOR BUSINESSES IN FIRST YEAR
LESS THAN $5000 $5001, - 10,000
DID NOT MEET MY GOAL
$10,000, =1000,000 $100,001-$5000,000 $500,001 - $999,999 $1 - $5 MILLION $6 - $9 MILLION $10 - $25 MILLION OVER 25 MILLION *Responses from 0-1 year old businesses
I DIDN’T SET GOALS FOR 2017 MET MY GOAL EXCEEDED MY GOALS *Responses from 0-1 year old businesses
“ I just started my business November 26, 2017. I have sold about $300 so far. I would like to increase sales to $100/day.”
– TRACY FROM THE EQUINE ONLINE
“ I wish my business could expand faster but being a smaller business it has to be one step at a time.”
- CASSANDRA FROM BROOKLAN TREE
THE 2017 HOLIDAYS WERE ALSO TOUGH FOR MANY NEW ECOMMERCE BUSINESSES
63%
Did not meet their goals in the 2017 Holiday Season *Responses from 0-1 year old businesses
DESPITE CHALLENGES, NEW BUSINESSES ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT GROWTH IN 2018
53% 21%
Of new businesses are planning to grow by more than 50%
Of new businesses are planning to double their revenue or more
*Responses from 0-1 year old businesses
TO GROW IN 2018,
NEW ECOMMERCE BUSINESSES FACE SIX KEY CHALLENGES 1. Driving traffic to their stores 2. Getting new customers 3. Improving the performance of advertising 4. Building a social media presence 5. Getting repeat purchases from past customers 6. Increasing cart size *Responses from 0-1 year old businesses
?
To drive store traffic and generate sales,
Facebook, Instagram, and email are the most used marketing channels
and are seen as the most effective by new businesses.
For new businesses, Facebook, Instagram, Facebook ads, and email are the most used
marketing channels for driving online store traffic.
FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK ADS EMAIL MARKETING PINTEREST GOOGLE ADS TWITTER REMARKETING YOUTUBE
*Responses from 0-1 year old businesses
New businesses find that Facebook, Instagram, Facebook ads, Google ads, and email
were most effective in driving sales.
MOST EFFECTIVE
IN
G A T S
M RA C FA
EB
K O O
AD
LEAST EFFECTIVE
S
C FA
E
OK O B
G
OO
D A E GL
S
IL A EM
MA
G N I ET K R
A M RE
G N I ET K R
*Responses from 0-1 year old businesses
SE
ST E R TE
O PIN
U YO
BE U T
T
ER T T WI
ALMOST 70% OF NEW BUSINESSES SAY THAT GROWING THEIR EMAIL
LIST IS VERY IMPORTANT OR CRITICAL TO THEIR BUSINESS *Responses from 0-1 year old businesses
In 2018, new ecommerce businesses looking to expand their marketing
are most interested in trying Google Ads, remarketing, and YouTube.
Interested in trying: 18.5% Google Ads, 13.9% Remarketing, 13.5% YouTube *Responses from 0-1 year old businesses
KEY TAKEAWAY:
While the technology makes it easy to get started,
it takes planning, grit, and perseverance
to be successful in ecommerce.
SECTION 2
Ecommerce businesses focus
on the top of the funnel
“ What really decides consumers to buy or not to buy is the content of your advertising, not its form.”
DAVID OGILVY ADVERTISING ICON
ACROSS ALL ECOMMERCE BUSINESSES,
THE TOP GROWTH CHALLENGES ARE CONSISTENT:
Driving site traffic and getting new customers DRIVING TRAFFIC TO YOUR SITE GETTING NEW CUSTOMERS GETTING REPEAT PURCHASES FROM PREVIOUS CUSTOMERS INTRODUCING NEW PRODUCTS INCREASING CART SIZE INCREASING INVENTORY REDUCING SHIPPING COSTS
WHAT IS YOUR #1 CHALLENGE/GOAL FOR 2018? “Drive more traffic and grow my email list/social accounts faster.”
– KELLY FROM ROLLICK
“My business is only a few months old but I hope to get more consistent traffic and more sales this year.”
– GABRIELLE FROM THE DIAMOND SPUR BOUTIQUE
“Build brand awareness and develop a community of followers through my brand. I don’t want to just be a clothing line, but an entire movement.”
– CHALISA FROM FLAVOR
Over half of companies with 5 or more employees are using Google Ads. 28% of companies with
5 or less employees use Google Ads.
Instagram, Facebook Ads, and email marketing are the
most used channels for driving sales across all ecommerce stores.
MOST USED
TA S IN
A GR
DS A K OO
M FA
B CE
LEAST USED
C FA
OK O EB
G
OO
D A E GL
S IL A EM
MA
G N I ET K R
A M RE
G N I ET K R
O SE
PIN
ST E R TE
U YO
BE U T
T
TT I W
ER
For 100k+ revenue companies, email marketing is the most effective channel for driving sales.
Instagram, Facebook Ads, and email marketing are
also seen as most effective in driving sales.
MOST USED
TA S IN
A GR
DS A K OO
M FA
B CE
LEAST USED
C FA
OK O EB
G
OO
D A E GL
S IL A EM
MA
G N I ET K R
A M RE
G N I ET K R
O SE
PIN
ST E R TE
U YO
BE U T
T
TT I W
ER
70%
of ecommerce stores
think list growth is very important to their business
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ECOMMERCE BRANDS ARE USING EMAIL MARKETING
82% Of companies with 5
or more employees
88% Of companies with over
100K in revenue
96% of ecommerce businesses are using offers
in their marketing and on their website.
Free shipping and percentage off a whole order are seen as the most effective offers.
MOST USED FREE SHIPPING % OFF A WHOLE ORDER % OFF A SINGLE PRODUCT
MOST EFFECTIVE % OFF A WHOLE ORDER FREE SHIPPING $ OFF A WHOLE ORDER
$ OFF A WHOLE ORDER FREE GIFT WITH PURCHASE
% OFF A SINGLE PRODUCT
$ OFF A SINGLE PRODUCT
FREE GIFT WITH PURCHASE
EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
BUY ONE GET ONE FREE I DON’T OFFER DISCOUNTS
BUY ONE GET ONE FREE $ OFF A SINGLE PRODUCT
KEY TAKEAWAY:
The most successful ecommerce businesses are investing in specific strategies to attract more visitors to their stores and strategies to turn visitors into subscribers and customers.
SECTION 3
Small ecommerce brands are
playing follow the leader
“ Inspiration is hard
to come by.
You have to take it where you find it.”
BOB DYLAN
Ecommerce brands look for advice from the experts,
industry leaders, and each other.
WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION? I READ ECOMMERCE AND MARKETING EXPERT BLOGS AND ARTICLES I LOOK AT TOP RETAIL & ECOMMERCE BUSINESSES I SEEK OUT OTHER BUSINESSES LIKE MINE IN ONLINE FORUMS & COMMUNITIES I READ MARKETING PUBLICATIONS I ASK FRIENDS AND FAMILY I GO TO CONFERENCES OR WORKSHOPS OTHER I DON’T SEEK OUT ADVICE OR INSPIRATION
EMPLOYEES AT BIGGER COMPANIES ARE FAR MORE LIKELY TO READ ECOMMERCE AND MARKETING EXPERT BLOGS
69% 31% of respondents at brands with 5 or more employees read expert blogs
of respondents at brands less than
5 employees read expert blogs
ECOMMERCE STORES ARE INSPIRED BY
THE BEST ONLINE RETAIL BRANDS
*most common response in open ended questions
WHAT BRANDS INSPIRE YOU?
“ Patagonia does an extremely good job on creating copy that elaborates and illustrates how serious they are about environmentalist efforts as well as detailing the quality of their products. Their founder embodies humanity and injects it into the brand’s core values.”
– CHRISTIAN AT MOJO BAZAAR
“ Tiffany’s and Victoria's Secret. The products are strongly linked with the emotion of love and is expressed very well through their marketing.”
– UMAR FROM TUESDAY IN LOVE
“ Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Tesla. They have been able to dominate their market and continue to innovate.”
– MARK AT BLUE BUDDAH STORE
“Ellen is a brand I am inspired by. Being kind to one another is a good motivator for all the products they sell.”
– TEHMINA FROM SHEEN FASHION
“ Brands like Nasty Gal inspire me to be more innovative and to create stories with the product we sell rather than just shoving product down peoples throat. More like selling a lifestyle.”
– JACLYN AT GIA MONAE
“ From a total business perspective, I am inspired by New Zealand brand Untouched World. I love the quality products that they offer, their attention to detail, design aesthetic and strict adherence to social and environmental ethics.”
– KRISTEN FROM ECOHAVEN
“ Vineyard Vines - they provide great products, amazing photography, and have an insane following .”
– MATT AT SHELLY
“Apple inspires me because of all the different technology they are putting out. It keeps changing and growing every year.”
– MARISSA FROM SHOP CELL ACCESSORIES
KEY TAKEAWAY:
Take inspiration and ideas from proven brands and apply your own passion to make it personal for you and your customers.
Thanks For Reading The 2018
Privy Ecommerce Trends Report LEARN MORE ABOUT GROWING YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS OR SIGN UP AT
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