2022 has been a year! Not only has the Government’s mismanagement caused economic turmoil, but the war in Ukraine, inflation and cost of living crisis have made a very tough retail environment. Consumer and business confidence has been knocked and it’s substantially impacted ordering habits.
So, what have the ordering habits and delivery needs been in 2022, and what are our prediction for habits in 2023?
Of course its going to be a challenging time for businesses
Firstly – the bad news. We would expect there to be a substantial upturn in small businesses going bust over the next three to six months. So, if like us, you’re an unsecured creditor, keep a close eye on your aged debtors. There’s been a variety of reasons for this increase; from poor supply chain management to lack of demand from historic clients due to the cost of living squeeze.
This is definitely a time to be wary of giving credit to customers.
eCommerce ordering habits
It is probable that a lot of people in the nonessential eCommerce space will have a really tricky time in the coming year. Those businesses providing goods such as alcohol, beauty products (like hair extensions), health and wellbeing will continue to trade very strongly. When people aren’t going out, they will treat themselves to a nice bottle of something, whether it be our Coachbuilt Whisky or pre made cocktails from The Cocktail Society. So, overall, we do not expect our alcohol fulfilment clients to be impacted much. But, some of the bigger ticket items, like some of our sport and leisure companies, we can see having a greater challenge in 2023.
Ordering habits – when are customers buying?
Our 2022 analysis shows that the order volumes over a month point to customers buying post payday. There’s a huge uplift on the Monday after the first weekend that people have been paid. This is a great opportunity for eCommerce retailers to jump on. Make sure you’ve got good stock in for the month’s end, and promote it!
We have also seen a very restrained August and September because consumers have become savvy to Cyber Monday and Black Friday offers. Retailers are increasingly forced to reduce prices before Christmas to fall in line with this trend. If your orders have been down in early Autumn, don’t worry, everyone’s have.
Our advice is to get on board and prepare for the key offer days in 2023. They are what defines a consumer’s ordering habits.
Big offers drive ordering habits
Promoting big offers to your customers makes a real difference in terms of new orders. Anybody who does a promotion of a 30% reduction or more has a noticeable uplift in terms of despatches. Having spent a long time getting hold of, and building your customer base, they should be your first port of call.
Offer them great discounts and product alternatives from your original sales hook. For example: If you sell a pot of honey, then targeting with a tincture or honey-based beauty item would be a really good cross sale. Always aim to maximising your return on that customer acquisition.
2023 ordering habits and trends summary
Key take aways:
- Small treat items will trade strongly
- Target your customers around payday
- Cross sell complementary goods to your existing customers
- Big offers drive sales – be prepared to lose some margin to keep sales going
If you need more help in preparing for the coming year, check out our business building resources and retail reports.
If you’d like more information on our fulfilment and delivery services, our team can be contacted on 0333 567 5888. Alternatively, email us at sales@diamondlogistics.co.uk or complete our contact form below.
