As the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to alter their regular routines, e-commerce growth has been exponential to the point where it has established itself as the new retail norm. More than eight in 10 Prosumers (the leading-edge 15 to 20% of consumers who are first to market, forward-thinking, influential, and proactive) say they prefer the online shopping experience to traditional forms of purchasing. As things gradually return to normal post-COVID, this e-commerce trend is likely to remain the same, especially across categories like clothing, electronic products and devices, and beauty products.
However, as e-commerce continues to grow and evolve, it also risks losing its original luster, with one-third of Prosumers acknowledging the convenience, but claiming most of their e-commerce experiences are “really boring” —a feeling particularly prevalent among Gen Z (44% versus 26% of Boomers). E-commerce has become so mainstream it is effectively a homogeneous shopping experience across platforms, where one experience is a digital clone of the other. The fact is, we have not seen innovation in e-commerce experiences in a long time.
