The Q1 2017 EPIC Report found widespread confidence among online retailers with 94% of respondents selecting at least one area of planned growth during the first quarter of 2017.
I am excited to share SLI Systems’ debut E-commerce Performance Indicators and Confidence (EPIC) Report with you. The Q1 2017 EPIC Report includes findings and analyses from an in-depth survey of retail professionals worldwide and a look at consumer behavior trends based on more than 1.5 billion site search queries.
Survey findings in the first-quarter report represent a mix of retail business models, including pure e-commerce, as well as omnichannel merchants. In addition, 87% of the 200+ respondents work in a manager position or above – with 20% holding VP- or C-level positions. The responses, collected between Feb 6-March 6, 2017, come from a qualified cross-section of retailers around the world, offering a solid benchmark for us to compare retailer confidence and shopping behavior regularly.
We have included dozens of colorful charts in the 13-page report to illustrate the Respondent Overview, Confidence and Performance Indicators, Top of Mind (anticipated business impact of the new U.S. presidential administration) survey findings, as well as Search Trend Analysis, which looks at the average number of words in a site search query.
The best news? Ninety-four percent of retail professionals surveyed expected to expand their businesses during the first quarter.
Here are some other highlights:
Confidence – Eighty percent of respondents expect an increase in online revenues and profits, and 46% expect an increase in in-store revenues and profits.
Key Performance Metrics – Comparing Q1 2017 to Q1 2016, metrics include, among others, that 71% expect increased site conversion (CVR) and 76% expect a decrease or no change in their fulfillment costs per order.
Top Q1 Initiative – With 26% of the “Vote” Customer Experience earned the top spot among priorities. Inventory, Logistics & Fulfillment was second (14%), followed by Mobile Site (12%).
Mobile – An impressive 73% of respondents expect an increase in mobile transactions. Among those who cited mobile as their top initiative, the group selected “Mobile Site” six times more than “Mobile App.”
Amazon – Thirty-two percent of U.S. respondents, 38% of those in the UK, and 47% in Australia, see Amazon as more of a competitive threat compared to the same quarter last year.
Trump – U.S. retailers generally anticipate the new U.S. administration will have a positive impact on corporate taxes, a negative impact on selling internationally, and no impact on online sales taxes. Twenty-three percent of UK respondents expect it will have a somewhat or very negative impact on their online business.
As a global provider of cloud-based e-commerce solutions and services, SLI is in a unique position to analyze retailer confidence and online shopping trends. We hope that EPIC quickly becomes a useful resource for you to check the “pulse” of the e-commerce sector globally.
The complimentary report is available for download. Let us know what you think at research@sli-systems.com, and be on the lookout for future EPIC surveys. We’ll send you the resulting report once it’s published.
