AOB: 21 February 2020

This week's AOB covers an eco-rating system for French fashion, a Chinese influence in Spanish e-commerce, and a look at labelling for lunch (and beyond) in Australia. Bon appétit!

Tasty treats, and pretty packaging, can be difficult to ignore. 90% of Australians regularly enjoy pre-packaged snacks – and 28% of Australians eat more than seven a week¹ – but with obesity on the brink of being declared a national health crisis, there are calls for better clarification on what is, and isn’t, nutritious.

“As the consumer organisation Choice, and nutrition experts, have often noted, there is a wide variation as to how ‘healthy’ products in this category really are,” says Michele Levine, Roy Morgan CEO. And with people lacking confidence when deciphering what’s on the label of their favorite on-the-go foods, its up to brands to adapt, and shout about their health benefits (if they’ve got them).

Despite the wealth of data customers make available to brands, a global study by Experian has revealed that 55% of people feel they're going unrecognized when interacting with online merchants². In fact, shoppers are looking to brands to offer seamless, and personalized, shopping – by using their data to not only battle fraud, but enhance the experience

We spoke about the need for balancing efficiency with personalization in our guide, and harnessing the willingly-given information your customers provide for good is one of many ways you can help solve the issue of abandoned carts.

With the news that 28% of French people are already reducing their clothing purchases for ethical or environmental reasons³, the French government has announced that all clothes sold in the country will now come with an ‘environmentally friendly’ score.

The scores, which will be ranked from A to E, will show how sustainable each item is, considering how the item was made – as well as how it can be disposed of, how much water was used to produce it, the levels of toxicity in the fabric and dye, the carbon footprint of producing and transporting the item, and whether or not it can be recycled.

Sustainability in logistics is big business. So, if you’re looking to make the switch to green packaging, we’ve got you covered with our handy, informative article.

E-commerce in Spain is predicted to reach over €37bn by 2023⁴, and price-conscious shoppers are being driven towards online marketplaces, such as AliExpress, to get their retail fix. And, for the Alibaba Group, Spain has long been their stronghold in Western Europe.

Forecasting analyst, Peter Vahle, notes that “AliExpress has been live in Spain for more than a year, but has made its focus on Spain more obvious this year. It chose Spain for its first physical store in Europe and also announced plans to partner with roughly 10,000 Spanish retailers by 2019, giving AliExpress access to new international markets.”

If you’re interested to know in which countries e-commerce is expected to grow – or shrink – in the near future, check out the DHL Global Trade Barometer for more information.

Mobile commerce is showing no signs of slowing down, and a report by Quiq says that not only are 42% of sales now on mobile, but 65% of retailers are reporting that mobile sales have contributed to increased revenue⁵.

As well as enabling prospective purchasers to shop on the move, mobile devices are also the key to unlocking social selling  – so, if you’re not optimizing your sales strategy with mobile in mind, now’s the time to start.

SOURCES

1 Confectionary News

2 FindBiometrics

3 Statista

4 eMarketer

5 Quiq