"BigCommerce 2023 Merchant Report": What are the new trends in independent site sales?

It is learned that recently, the data optimization platform Feedonomics and BigCommerce jointly released the "2023 Merchant Trend Report", which analyzed the data of BigCommerc's 30,000 independent merchants in the United States, and announced changes in category trends, mobile and social sales, integrated market platform channels, etc., to help sellers better understand current market trends.

Category sales changes

The report compares sales of various categories in the first quarter of 2023 with the first quarter of last year. The research shows that most categories have relatively stable changes, but a few categories have large fluctuations.

CBD sales grew 136% year-over-year, the fastest-growing category. This growth is not surprising since Google updated its ad policies in January to allow the promotion of some FDA-approved medicines containing CBD in California, Colorado, and Puerto Rico.

Luggage sales plummeted at the beginning of the 2020 epidemic, and although sales have increased in the following two years, they have not yet returned to pre-epidemic levels. In 2022, consumers' willingness to travel continued to increase, with luggage sales in the first quarter increasing by 115% year-on-year.

Other categories are returning to their pre-pandemic growth trajectory. For example, the home gardening category saw a 13% year-on-year decline in sales in the first quarter of this year after a significant increase in sales during the pandemic. According to incomplete statistics, this category added 18.3 million consumers worldwide during the pandemic. With the resumption of physical shopping and continued inflation, a decline in demand for this category is also expected.

Mobile e-commerce trends

Mobile commerce refers to purchases made through mobile devices. With the continuous improvement of mobile technology, the popularity of social shopping, and the convenience of payment brought by Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Amazon Pay, the potential of mobile commerce is still great. The proportion of mobile commerce in total retail sales will increase from 6% in 2022 to nearly 9% in 2026.

BigCommerce merchant data shows that in the first quarter, mobile e-commerce's total merchandise volume (GMV) increased by 1%, order volume decreased by nearly 6%, and average order value (AOV) increased by 7%. In addition, this trend of decreasing order volume and increasing average order value is very obvious in all categories.

For merchants, an increase in average order value means fewer shipments but increased revenue, which also means a higher return on investment. Currently, the abandonment rate of mobile e-commerce in the United States is 84%, and that of desktop computers is 72%. If merchants can find ways to reduce the abandonment rate, they will be able to further benefit from the increased average order value.

Social e-commerce trends

BigCommerce's internal data shows that the number of orders generated by merchants through social media channels has dropped by 33%, but the average order value has increased by 63%, from $85 to $138. As a result, the total sales GMV generated through social media has increased by 9%.

As with mobile e-commerce, customers on social media channels are also increasing their average order value, which means that building customer trust will become more important. For brands, increasing presence and establishing an authentic brand image in channels where target audiences often stay will help attract more potential customers.

Generation Z is the most active user of social media. Data shows that 97% of Generation Z consumers regard social platforms as the main source of shopping inspiration, spending an average of more than 4 hours a day on them. As digital natives, Generation Z is not very responsive to traditional advertising. Coupled with the popularity of short video content, more personalized and novel content is needed to attract Generation Z.

Meta found that 41% of Generation Z would have a deeper impression of a brand if the brand’s content made them feel like a member of the brand community. Authenticity is also an important factor in attracting this group, so brands need to pay attention to the delivery of UGC content.

E-commerce platform integration trend

The report analyzes the expansion of BigCommerce merchants to new e-commerce platforms from January 2022 to May 2023. The research shows that TargetPlus is the e-commerce platform with the most merchants joining, accounting for 25% of new merchants. Walmart is second, with 19% of merchants joining the Walmart platform sales during this period.

Amazon and eBay tied for third place, with 15% of merchants joining their platforms respectively. The two are the world's largest e-commerce platforms, and their small share may be because most merchants have already sold on these platforms.

Meta (including Facebook Marketplace, Facebook Shops and Instagram) accounted for nearly 10% of the integration share, highlighting that more and more brands are using social media channels as part of their multi-channel strategy. Macy's, one of the world's largest high-end department store chains, ranked sixth with a 5% integration share.

Among the top six platforms, TargetPlus and Macy's are invitation-only platforms, which means that the brands that join the platform are carefully selected, representing higher product quality, and the customer base is mostly high-income. Brands often have the opportunity to expand to these platforms only after they succeed on platforms with lower barriers such as Amazon and eBay.

Some vertical e-commerce platforms also occupy a certain share, such as BedBath&Beyond (1.82%), Newegg (1.36%) and Belk (1.36%), and there are 10 other platforms that occupy less than 1% of the market share.

Overall, while larger e-commerce platforms are still the main consideration for most merchants, more and more brands are beginning to expand to newer platforms, which have relatively less competition and more targeted audiences.

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) adoption trends

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is reportedly surging in popularity in the U.S. and is being adopted by more and more merchants. According to a report by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the number of BNPL loans issued by the five major U.S. lenders increased by 970% between 2019 and 2021.

In 2022, approximately 360 million people worldwide are expected to use BNPL services, and 900 million people are expected to use BNPL by 2027. The growth of BNPL is closely related to the increase in average order value (AOV) because more people can purchase higher-priced goods.

According to C+R Research, PayPal Credit is the most popular BNPL service in the US, followed by Afterpay, Affirm, Klarna and ZipPay. More than half of BNPL users said they prefer to use these services rather than credit card payments.

According to the report, as the epidemic ended, some categories gradually returned to their pre-epidemic growth trend, but some new category opportunities also emerged. The growth of mobile and social e-commerce means that merchants have more opportunities to reach consumers and increase the average order value. The popularity of BNPL shows that consumers are open to new shopping methods, provided that they can increase the convenience of shopping.

Editor✎ Ashley/

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