Accenture: 1B online shoppers entering market — here’s where from

Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers will emerge during the next decade in eight fast-growing countries, signaling a need for companies to reinvent their digital commerce strategies.

That’s according to a new study from Accenture, which identfiied the eight markets as Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, and the Philippines. The research also found that despite digital commerce revenues having quadrupled in these markets since 2017 — equating to $211 billion in 2022 — most multi-nationals are not set up to serve these digital-first consumers.

The report, “The Next Billion Consumers: A Fast-growing Opportunity for Digital Commerce,” noted that the digital consumers in the eight markets are between the ages of six and 26 and represent 36% of the aforementioned countries’ population, and their current behaviors offer key insights for companies looking to capture the next wave of commerce-driven growth.

According to Accenture, this next generation of consumers presents a significant opportunity for global companies, particularly because digital commerce eases some of the traditional barriers to entry in these markets.

“These new consumers are relevant to companies that operate in these countries today as well as the multinationals looking to grow their footprint and balance their global portfolios,” said Fabio Vacirca, global commerce lead, Accenture Song. “However, strategies based on the Western model of consumerism — the steady evolution from brick-and-mortar to digital commerce models that occurs over decades — won’t work for these consumers. Companies will need to be digital-first, leapfrogging older legacy approach.”
 
The report spotlights how the digital shopping behaviors of these emerging consumers have the potential to transcend boundaries and influence purchasing habits more broadly.  Four core digital shopper archetypes were identified from 3,000 digital consumers surveyed across the eight countries: digital native purchasers, digitally savvy millennials, digital native content creators and digital alpha influencers.

  Spanning three generations — Gen Alpha, Gen Z and millennials —  digital shoppers are already spending significant time online when discovering, considering and making a purchase:

•The majority (80%) of surveyed consumers use online channels such as search engines, social networks and videos to research products or services before purchasing.

• “Likes” and “good comments” on social media also influence 76% of these consumers’ online buying decisions. More than half of emerging consumers prefer shopping on social media apps to other purchasing platforms.
• At least six in 10 (63%) social commerce shoppers say they are more likely to buy from the same seller again.
• Sixty-five percent of consumers prefer to use online payment methods. They also say that convenient delivery options, such as “click and collect” (73%) and free delivery (79%), are critical drivers of their online purchase.
• Three-quarters see easy-return policies as a key influence on their online purchasing decisions.

“Commerce is having a big moment right now in the boardroom, with CEOs asking where the next wave of growth in commerce will come from,” added Vacirca. “The companies that will gain first-mover advantage will recognize they need to be as digital on the inside as they are on the outside and reinvent their commerce model to meet the needs of their future consumer.”

Methodology
Accenture Research used both primary and secondary data-driven research methodologies, conducted in 2022. The company analyzed 92 countries across the Asia Pacific region, Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa to find rapidly growing countries with strong digital potential. Additionally, it designed and fielded an online survey of 3,000 individuals across these eight countries.