With the rise of online shopping and the ever-popular AI, it’s tough to keep track of what’s trending. Which is why today we’re talking all about the current consumer trends of 2023 for you and your brand.
Online Shopping
It’s not going anywhere, folks. In fact, according to Global Consumer Insights, up to 63% of customers made a purchase directly through a brand’s website this year. And half of those polled intend on boosting their online spending over the next 6 months. On top of that, search engines are the number one way consumers both research and purchase products. Google ranks at 55% in popularity, followed by Amazon at 39%, and then retailer’s websites at 36%. So, what does this mean for your brand? Boost that SEO!
Boost Your SEO
Ok, but how and why? SEO (search engine optimization) is the key factor in making your brand or business rise to the top of search engine results. The better your ranking when it comes to these, the better the traffic will be to your online presence.
How to boost your SEO? Well, for starters, we wrote a whole blog on how to do so through video content (see here). Other great ways to do this are writing blogs (such as this one), including closed captions for your video, and keeping an active social media presence by interacting with your audience. Hone in on your company’s relevant keywords, and be sure you’re providing useful and authoritative information to your audience, as Google pays attention to these components.
Sustainability Is Important
More than 70% of online consumers said that sustainability not only was important to them but also influential when it came to their purchases. In fact, these same consumers said they were willing to pay up to 5% more if the product and/or service being sold was sustainable in some capacity. This could be a product sourced locally, made from recyclable materials, a company having a low carbon footprint, etc. Even a company known for its ethics, such as a proponent for human rights. Actually, companies known to have diversity and inclusion within their teams are much more appealing these days, with 42% of customers saying they’d prefer to buy from them than others.
AI and the Trust Factor
If you’re at all online, you’ll have heard about the rise of AI within the workplace. Regardless of one’s opinion on its pros or cons, it is an undeniable force that needs to be addressed within your company. While consumers are still slowly warming up to integrating AI in their shopping experience, up to 44% say they’re willing to use it in product research. However, only 26% say they trust AI, so it’s obvious the human touch is still very much required when it comes to customer service.
Adding to this, data privacy concerns are at an all-time high when it comes to consumers. With 81% of online customers worrying about how companies use their personal data, it is imperative you utilize trust and transparency within your business and online presence. Ways to do that?
- Consumers want to be given a choice about sharing their data or not.
- If so, they want to know their data is stored safely and securely.
- They’d like to know they can, at any time, delete their personal info from your database.
- Customers want to be informed exactly how their data will be used. And finally…
- They want your pledge to never sell their info to a third party.
In summary, the key takeaways are to continue moving with the trends in an ethical and trustworthy way. Don’t just build your online presence but stay active on your platforms, to both boost that SEO while establishing relationship to your audience.