THE AMAZON EFFECT:
How the Amazon Marketplace Has Transformed the Female Shopper’s Path-to-Purchase 2017 | THE AMAZON EFFECT
In just over 20 years, Amazon has completely revolutionized the way consumers shop. With just one click or tap, consumers can order everything from cereal to cosmetics, compare prices, read product reviews, and have it all shipped directly to their front door within days, or in some cases, hours. And it’s not limited to shopping, consumers are engaging with Amazon in a variety of ways throughout the day through Echo devices, Fire TV, or Dash buttons. Even when they aren’t actively shopping, consumers may visit Amazon to read product reviews, compare prices while in-store or shop at another e-commerce site. It’s safe to say Amazon is becoming increasingly integrated into the consumer journey at every touchpoint.
To better understand how the Amazon marketplace has transformed the shopper’s path-to- purchase, with special insights into beauty, we launched a survey to our proprietary insights community, Glimmer. Glimmer is the Women’s Marketing proprietary insights community, developed to activate and illuminate on behalf of our partner brands. Our community members are grassroots influencers who love to share their opinions and thoughts, fueling first-party qualitative insights in real time, from real women. We asked women to tell us why they choose Amazon and how they fill their virtual shopping carts.
How many women did we survey? How old are they? 9% 18-24 700 41% 25-34
Where do they live? 33% 35-44 Throughout the U.S., 14% 45-54 Canada, and Puerto Rico 3% 55+
For more trends and analysis visit www.womensmarketing.com
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Who Shops on Amazon? Everyone.
When we asked our community if they shopped on Amazon, a whopping 97% said “yes” and 64% are Amazon Prime members. Can any other retailer boast that 97% of women shop there? This speaks to Amazon’s penetration into the marketplace and the outsize impact it has had on retail. 97% 64% of women surveyed are Amazon shop on Amazon Prime members
What Happened to Retail?
To understand why Amazon has been so successful, we need to understand what happened to traditional retail and how ecommerce has contributed to its decline.
Despite the markets surging and unemployment steadily declining, consumers simply weren’t shopping the way they used to. There were too many stores and the marketplace was oversaturated. Consumers were prioritizing differently, choosing to invest in experiences over things. Fast fashion stole share away from established brands, new business models such as Stitch Fix offered the ultimate in personalization in a direct-to-consumer model, and startups like Everlane offered consumers “radical transparency” in sourcing, manufacturing, and pricing. And at the center of it all is Amazon—offering value and convenience.
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Is Retail Dead?
Some retail is dead, but not at all! Women still enjoy shopping in-store, in fact, 58% of Millennial women do the majority of their shopping in stores. There’s plenty of opportunity for retailers who are doing it right—Sephora, Sugarfina, Warby Parker are all examples of brands that are engaging consumers and creating immersive omnichannel brand experiences. Today, consumers expect more from retail, whether it’s an experiential environment, an exclusive product assortment, value-added services, or loyalty perks, there must be some benefit to the consumer beyond commodities.
The Shift to Digital Accelerated the Amazon Effect
Digitization transformed how women engage with brands and retailers both in-store and online and Amazon is emerging as a key destination for both research and purchase. Today, more than half of product searches start on Amazon. Consumers are bypassing search engines like Google and Bing and going straight to the source to find the products they want to buy, compare prices, and read reviews; our research confirmed that women are Amazon-first, prioritizing it above retail stores or brand websites.
Where do you go first when shopping?
41% 36% 22% 2% physical store brand website other
Why Amazon First?
Amazon’s extensive variety of products and brands, the convenience of one-stop shopping, and speed of delivery has made Amazon the go-to for busy women. But our research revealed that for 66% of consumers, the ability to discover new products and brands is important too. This is why independent brands have a tremendous opportunity for discovery on the platform. By optimizing their product pages for search and discovery, they can level the field with established brands.
Why do you choose Amazon first? When we asked which of these qualities was most important to 88% variety of products her, our community said: 79% ease of use 28% variety of products 77% speed of delivery 75% one stop shopping 23% speed of delivery 66% discover new products 23% ease of use
23% one stop shopping
For more trends and analysis visit www.womensmarketing.com
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It’s Not Only Amazon First, It’s Amazon Frequently
Amazon’s not only their first choice, but for 58% of consumers, it’s their default for the things they need at least once a week and among them 13% shop Amazon every day. How often do you shop on Amazon? daily 13% more than once a week, but not every day 32% once per week 13% 2-3 times a month 24% monthly 10% less than once a month 7% When will you make your next purchase on Amazon? today 13% this week 38% tomorrow 11% within the next month 26% I have no idea 7%
When She Has A Need, Amazon Is There
We know that convenience is one of the primary reasons that women shop on Amazon and this is reflected in the way she places orders. The ability to order from Amazon whenever and wherever is most convenient, whether it’s the mobile app, desktop, or simply asking Alexa, contributes to Amazon being her first choice. While she’s ordering on mobile most frequently, Alexa, Amazon’s artificial intelligence voice operating system, is quickly emerging as an important platform for both consumers and marketers. How do you place orders on Amazon? 82% 61% 8% mobile app desktop Alexa
6% all of the above
What Do They Buy? Everything. Our survey participants said they loved Amazon because it was a one-stop-shop…and they meant it. They’re shopping Amazon for everything they need for themselves, their home, and their families.
85% 67% 53% 39% beauty personal care household staples sports/outdoor 76% 61% 52% 39% clothing/shoes/jewelry toys books baby 73% 58% 46% 36% electronics anything that’s pet food/grocery hard to find For more trends and analysis visit www.womensmarketing.com
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Our survey mirrors Amazon’s phenomenal growth in the top categories. In 2017, beauty and personal care on Amazon have grown by 42% and 49% respectively, and Amazon’s apparel business grew by a third. In grocery, Amazon sales surged 93% year-over-year, securing one-fifth of online food and beverage sales in the United States in 2017, double that held by Walmart, no. 2 in the e-commerce grocery market.
Why Beauty on Amazon? As experts in beauty marketing, we understand that women love to discover and try new products. In the past, retail was the only place to learn about beauty, but today, there are many channels for discovery—social, digital, traditional media, and yes, Amazon.
A year ago, our previous research revealed that 46% of women went to Amazon to replenish their beauty products, while 42% discovered new brands on the site. Our Glimmer study found dramatic changes in her shopping behavior—79% of the women we asked said they started their searches for new products on Amazon and only 16% were going to Amazon solely to replenish, not for discovery. For indie brands, this is an unprescedented opportunity to connect with consumers at the moment they are ready to buy.
Along with discovery, we found that women are willing to pay more for products. Considering that 75% of Amazon Prime member households earn upwards of $112,000, brands have an opportunity to convert affluent consumers. Most important, our research reinforced that Amazon is, and will continue to be, a critical touchpoint in the beauty consumers path-to-purchase.
Why do you shop for beauty 7 in 10 How much are you willing on Amazon? take time to explore new to spend on a single beauty or personal care 79% I start my search for new brands and products product on Amazon? products here 43% $10-19.99 16% I only replenish from 8 in 10 42% $20 or more Amazon, not first-time are at least sometimes 10% up to $10 purchase of a product willing to try new
For more trends and analysis visit www.womensmarketing.com
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Searching for Solutions When consumers search on Google, they often shop by brand, or visit specialty seller retail sites like Sephora.com or Ulta.com. But our research confirmed that women search for products differently on Amazon—62% of our Glimmer community said they search by product feature or product type. For example, they’ll search for “vitamin C serum” or “charcoal mask”, rather than by brand name. It’s essential that brands selling on Amazon develop a keyword strategy beyond their brand name. Crafting conversion-minded titles, bullets, and product descriptions, are important factors for showing up organically on Amazon. Ultimately, this leads to higher conversion opportunities for consumers who land on your product page.
62% of our Glimmer community said they search by product feature or product type
Amazon and Influencers, It’s All in the Stars Almost every brand has an influencer strategy in place, but what happens after consumers read a review or watch a tutorial? According to our Glimmer community, they go to Amazon to see what “real people” have to say. And if the reviews aren’t stellar, you’re simply losing money—both in the investment in your influencer program and the potential for conversion.
For more trends and analysis visit www.womensmarketing.com
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More than half of our community belongs to a warehouse club like Costco or Sam’s, and when asked if they would give up their membership if they could get the same items delivered to their home from Amazon, 78% said yes.
The Opportunity for CPG Amazon continuously pilots and rolls out new models and services (e.g., Prime Now, Prime Pantry, Dash, Amazon Fresh), several of which often taking direct aim at traditional CPG sales models. Our research showed that half of women are already buying household staples on Amazon and a third are buying groceries. But we believe the opportunity is far greater. More than half of our community belongs to a warehouse club like Costco or Sam’s, and when asked if they would give up their membership if they could get the same items delivered to their home from Amazon, 78% said yes.
Consumers want the best prices, convenience and quality…and Amazon offers that. For independent brands the platform is a tremedous opportunity to be front and center with the most active consumers who are willing to discover and try new products. They have leveled the playing field and given newer brands the virtual shelf-space they wouldn’t have at retail. The Amazon opportunity is real, it’s up to brands to seize it.
Sources: Glimmer Women’s Marketing Amazon Survey 2017, One Click Retail Consumables on Amazon Q3 2017 Update, Packaged Facts 2017Amazon Leads Online Grocery Sales at 18% of Market, Unmasking the Beauty Consumer 2016 Seurat Group and Women’s Marketing
For more trends and analysis visit www.womensmarketing.com
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