Hi, my name is Caroline, today I am going to talk about the evolution of digital marketing and the internet. I am going to focus on how consumers use technology and how this has changed in the last 3-5 years. I will be covering their access, the devices they use, how they search and what they buy. I will finish by touching on consumer trends.
Access
Let’s start by looking at internet access. According to Hootsuite, in the last 10 years numbers have doubled from 2.2 billion users, to nearly 5 billion in 2022.
In the first year of the pandemic, those accessing the internet grew by more than 10% – largest annual increase in a decade.
Devices
What devices are people using to access the internet? The rise of the mobile phone is undeniable, with GWI reporting that more than 92 percent of working-age users go online via mobiles.
Back in 2007, when Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone, he called it “an iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator,” all in one. It laid the foundation for the smartphone, introducing us to pocket-sized computers that can answer any question with the push of a button. We no longer had to go home and use a computer to check emails or search online. The way we work, communicate, shop, bank, and are entertained has been transformed.
Search Engines
How do people search the internet? According to StatCounter, Google is the most important search engine and visited site in the world.
Knowing why people search is important in understanding user intent. Andrei Broder created 3 types; People search to do or buy something; to go to a specific site or brand; or to find out info on something.
E-Commerce
What are consumers buying online? During the pandemic as millions of people stayed home, online shopping became preferable to wondering through crowded stores. So global online purchases such as groceries, fashion and electronics increased by more than half a trillion US dollars last year, to $3.8 trillion. Food and Beverages grew by more than 35%, to $588 billion.
In terms of visits, Amazon.com is well ahead of its rivals but when you look at gross merchandise value (GMV), they are third behind Chinese competitors Taobao and Tmall. Both operated by the Alibaba Group.
Video Consumption
Video consumption is climbing. According to Hubspot, people are more likely to pay attention to videos. And just skim through content like blogs and ebooks. So, it’s not surprising that Semrush found that YouTube was the most visited website in February, even out-performing Google.
In a move to keep up, Instagram launched their new “Instagram Video,” this year, increasing the length of clips from 15 seconds to 60. They are also promoting Reels – their answer to TikTok.
Consumer Trends
With 73% of us still preferring in-store shopping, this will continue to be complemented by the online experience.
Flexible working and the technology required to support this is forecast to continue with schools and workplaces using platforms like Zoom and Teams to communicate and share data.
Increased Personalisation will be seen in a number of ways:
- Mobile phone and image recognition personalisation is forecast to grow.
- There is customer suspicion around Data Privacy and Cookies. A more consent-based, opt-in approach will be needed to increase customer trust.
- We will see more AI-Powered Personalisation – with improving product recommendations for the customer.
- Omnichannel Personalisation – According to Google, a person switches on average, between three devices to complete a task. They use over 10 channels to communicate with businesses.
Summary
So in summary, digital technologies has opened up the world to us with instant access to information, products and entertainment. The pandemic has accelerated technologies to help us communicate, share information and collaborate together remotely. The future will see us enjoying more personalisation and video content. All this combined with our love of in–store shopping, means we will still get to have the best of both worlds.
DigiTrek 