eCommerce Fulfilment trends in 2023
In 2023, Amazon has laid off a considerable amount of people globally. People are looking to go back to IRL (in real life experiences) and that includes Saturday shopping as a day out. So, when we’re looking at the five trends influencing the e-commerce fulfilment industry, we’re going to be looking at the trends aligning with the people that, despite the theoretical contraction of online retail, seemed to be bucking that trend.
1. Build brand loyalty
I think people have got a bit sick of monolithic brands that have no personality. The brands we see doing really well, such as Makers Cabinet, are producing cute or innovative or high-quality items that aren’t readily available in retail shops. Because they have built a passion audience for those products, their customers want to make sure they are first in line to be able to buy them. The brands that are doing well are focusing a lot on telling their clients exactly why their brand is very special and why they should keep buying from them.
2. A shift to subscription models
Our most successful eCommerce Fulfilment clients have an opportunity to subscribe and possibly save (I’m fully aware that’s an Amazon term!). This ensures that people regularly stock up on items they repeatedly use. Whether it’s vitamins or vodka we all go through our personal essential items regularly and subscription models help our eCommerce retailers, like Grow with me and Books that Matter, build up sustained revenue streams.
3. There’s a big rise in young Instagram led brands
Whether it’s fashion or make up there are a lot of unique little brands launching all over the place. And these are often young entrepreneurs like House of Emerald. We have a lot of empathy for young entrepreneurs at diamond, as our CEO started her business at only 20, and they appreciate being able to outsource the practicality of their logistics. These young entrepreneurs are finding it very easy to get online businesses up and running very quickly and this speed is something which is giving them traction over and above more old-fashioned eCommerce.
4. Brands need to consider their marketplaces very carefully
The eCommerce retailers working with Diamond Logistics has access to over 40 plus marketplaces and just for interest over 30 plus carriers, so they can sell anything, anywhere, anytime and equally deliver anything anywhere anytime! But you need to really make sure that the marketplace is representative of your brand. If you’re trying to build a prestigious brand then I’d be very cautious about a pile ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap marketplace. If you’re trying to build margin, then you obviously want to sell it via your direct website on something like Shopify or Woo Commerce because retailer marketplaces (such as diy.com and Marksandspencers.com) will eat into your margin. There is also danger, if you use marketplaces that have the ability to monitor the success and value of your transactions, for them to eventually manufacture and replicate what you’ve been so successful in selling. So, you have to have a marketplace strategy. Only you can decide what that is but there will be a ripple effect in terms of ongoing business impact so you must select your marketplace strategy carefully.
5. Sell treats or essential’s not big-ticket items
We found a slowing down in terms of our bigger ticket items throughout the group. Whereas vapes, fishing tackle, alcohol and vitamins continue to boom.
They always said that cosmetic companies do quite well in recession because people still feel that they can afford a lipstick. So, if you’ve got a big-ticket business, you might want to think about diversifying into a smaller unit cost range to continue to sell to your existing client base. Or perhaps look at providing credit terms so your clients can still afford your product.
eCommerce is still booming in the UK. That’s why we’re opening three knew fulfilment centres local to you every month. If you need a hand getting your eCommerce brand to scale in 2023, come speak to the experts her
