2020 saw a revolution in retail. What trends can Australia retailers expect to continue or emerge in 2021?
The retail industry in Australia was impacted severely by the pandemic. In 2021, retailers will not only need to adapt, but also adopt innovative strategies and pay attention to evolving trends to delight their consumers.
In this report, we’ve used Brandwatch Consumer Research to analyze English-language mentions coming from Australia to understand how consumers feel about the retail industry and how they’re adjusting their mindsets around shopping.
We’ll be looking at:
- Which elements of the shopper experience are generating the most interest?
- What was the key retail trend that stood out in Australia?
- Is the trend around DIY continuing to skyrocket?
- Which Australian retailers are winning online?
Which elements of the shopper experience are generating the most interest?
Shopper experience conversation has been transforming in recent years as e-commerce has boomed, innovation in retail tech has accelerated, and competition has grown. To get a better understanding of how consumers feel about different kinds of shopping experiences, we broke the topic down into categories from loyalty programs through to VR experiences and in-app checkout.
The different elements of the shopper experience generated almost 28k mentions from Australia across 2020 (a more than 50% increase compared to the previous year) and inspired 20% more unique authors to share their opinions online when compared to 2019.
One of the categories we studied really stood out in terms of growth across 2020: Touch-free experiences
Touch free
The buzz around touch-free shopping experiences exploded in 2020.
The share of voice for ‘touch free’ amongst all the shopper experience categories we studied doubled in 2020 compared to 2019.
To find key topics within the online conversations around touch-free shopping, we used Brandwatch’s AI-analyst Iris to detect what was driving peaks in conversation. We examined these trends and split them out between what the media were saying and what consumers were saying.
So what made the news around ‘Touch free’ shopping experiences in 2020?
In the news, there was a lot of positive buzz regarding how the pandemic was changing the way we shop, with digital adoption around shopping increasing dramatically since the beginning of the year. Even in those early stages of the pandemic, many retailers were innovating.
While the press celebrated retailers moving to support a contactless experience for consumers, we also took a look at what consumers are saying themselves.
Consumers in Australia were not shy about discussing their concerns online. For example, some were worried about being able to adopt contactless payment methods without getting a surcharge fee imposed on them.
Retailers will need to keep an eye on consumer pain points like the above, especially in stressful times, to ensure consumer experiences are as smooth as possible.
What was the key retail trend that stood out in Australia?
Analyzing social data from 2019 through the end of 2020, we noticed that sustainability has been one of the biggest trends that stood out in Australia.
In 2020, Australia mentions volumes around sustainability increased by 15% compared to 2019, as consumers and retailers looked for ways to promote a more eco-friendly lifestyle. This is often not easy with shopping items that are not recyclable, or supply chain issues that can be damaging to the environment.
Is the trend around DIY continuing to skyrocket?
Despite the ongoing pandemic, it seems like hype around DIY is starting to die down. We observed a surge in DIY mentions from Australia between March and April 2020, during the first lockdown. However, since then, there’s been a dip in mentions. This may indicate consumers are beginning to lose interest in building items themselves and prefer to buy “off the rack” or seek professional assistance.
That said, this also means there is a potential opportunity for retailers to offer professional services around in-home installations. Having ready-made products may cater to consumer demands, but having after-sales services for things that are difficult to assemble might add a tempting selling point to a retailer’s offering.
Which Australian retail brands are winning online?
With so many consumers in Australia going online to share their opinions and preferences, we analyzed social data using Brandwatch Consumer Research to see how top brands in the retail sector compare against each other. These scores are relative to other brands in the chart – the brand with the most mentions / highest percentage of positive mentions gets a score of 100, and the others will get a relative score based on the mentions they got.
For the purpose of this research, we measured the brands against three key areas:
- Social Visibility: Measuring mentions of a brand across all the sites Brandwatch Consumer Research covers (excluding news, forums, blogs, and review sites).
- Web Visibility: Measuring mentions of a brand across news, forums, blogs, and review sites.
- Sentiment: Measuring the percent of positive mentions a brand gets across all sites Brandwatch Consumer Research covers.
Woolworths, Bunnings, and Coles are tipping the charts in our overall brand visibility calculations. Let’s have a look at some of the things these brands are doing right:
Woolworths
Everyone enjoys a hot cross bun, but what we never expected to see was an influx of conversation around them in Q4, months ahead of when they’re most popular. Woolworths released two new flavours of their very own hot cross buns, in anticipation of consumers’ demands for variety. This has created online conversation as consumers, surprised by the early availability, looked forward to getting their hands on these treats.
Coles
Similar to Woolworth, Coles has also released their own version of hot cross buns which generated lots of hype and comparison with Woolworths’. Coles was also praised for their efficient queue system and use of a health and safety app in light of the pandemic, giving consumers a sense of convenience and comfort.
Bunnings
Consumers were impressed by the staff management and logistics at Bunnings, especially when considering that this is a warehouse that carries a variety of bulky and heavy duty products. Bunnings was also praised for their excellent quality in goods, with consumers requesting more variety to choose from in future.