Original Research: The State of Ecommerce 2021

The ecommerce channel has delivered consistent double-digit year-over-year growth prior to COVID-19, and Kantar projects 2020 to be the strongest year yet with +22% growth driven by the massive shift from offline to online. It’s with this backdrop that Catalyst and Kantar release new original research: “The State of Ecommerce 2021: Navigating the New World of Omnichannel Commerce & Retail Media.” The report is a landmark study by Catalyst and Kantar that guides the omnichannel commerce efforts of brands as they navigate an increasingly complex ecommerce and retail media landscape.

New Original Ecommerce Research

The research is a foundational study that includes perspectives from shoppers, marketers, retailers, and partners that reflects and addresses the opportunities and challenges of the industry going into 2021.

The report is based on two surveys of marketers and consumers, including 500 online shoppers and over 200 industry professionals.  The research was informed by approximately two dozen qualitative interviews from leading manufacturers including L’Oréal, Colgate-Palmolive, Georgia-Pacific, Seagate, GSK, and Dorel Juvenile.  We also interviewed investors, media platforms, technology partners, and retailers including Google, Walmart Media Group, Pinterest, Instacart, CAVU Venture Partners, PromoteIQ, Pacvue, Salsify, and Kenshoo.  Data for both quantitative surveys was collected in April 2020, and interviews were conducted between March and May 2020.

Key Insights

Download the report to uncover insights and strategies to fuel your omnichannel commerce strategy into 2021 and beyond, including new data around:

• Evolving shopper expectations: Prioritize convenience & discovery: 66% of online purchasers choose a retailer based on convenience, while only 47% choose a retailer based on price/value
• Breaking down media siloes: Eliminate waste & improve effectiveness across platforms: Only 37% of ecommerce professionals say they are focused on optimizing their PDPs for SEO across the online platforms they use for digital marketing
• Owning the “Third Shelf” during the rise of online grocery and last mile delivery: 63% of Instacart users plan to use the service more in the future
• Going Beyond ROAS: Integrated media and KPIs for sustained growth: 56% of ecommerce professionals are allocating funds to data and analytics, making it the top ecommerce service budgeted for