Brands are going to need to rethink major sales event strategies as selling transforms through advanced data and AI use, a new predictions report for the Australian ecommerce market says.

Global ecommerce and marketplace accelerator, Pattern Australia, has released its top five predictions for the Australian eCommerce landscape in 2024. The predictions include a rethink of major sales event strategies by brands, an increased reliance on AI to accelerate marketing activity, a surge in brand research on social media, the maturing and evolving of the marketplace sector, and the transformation of personalised selling through advanced data analytics and AI.

According to Pattern's Cyber Weekend Benchmark Report, consumer demand for sales peaked earlier than ever, with October searches for 'Black Friday' increasing by 51% compared to 2022. However, sales significantly declined following Cyber Monday, dropping by 73%. This trend indicates a shift in consumer behaviour, with brands expected to turn to AI for smarter, faster marketing content creation.

"Brands extending Black Friday sales risk damaging profit margins and conditioning consumers to expect constant discounts. This competition-driven trend has transformed short-term promotions into prolonged clearance events – which might provide short-term gains but ultimately devalues products and undermines the ability to return to full-price selling," Pattern Australia General Manager, Merline McGregor, warned. "Brands should instead focus on product differentiation and targeting consumers with personalised offers as strategies to navigate the changing sales environment."

Another of Pattern's predictions is for pre-purchase brand research to increasingly occur on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. In 2023, one in three Australians visited a social media network in search of product information, a 7.3% annual increase.

"Brands must understand and embrace social media's role in consumer pre-purchase research. They can do this through collaborating with creators to amplify their voice, blending passive promotion with active engagement. Brands should also identify and nurture the right channels to sell their products. By doing so, they can align with the evolving trends of online shopping, preparing to not just participate, but to lead in the digital ecommerce space,” McGregor said.

Marketplaces like eBay, Amazon, and Catch are growing in popularity in Australia and set to continue to evolve in 2024 too, with 88% of shoppers buying from a platform like these in the past year. New market entrants like Temu and Shein are disrupting the marketplace sector and rapidly gaining market share.

In a highly competitive retail environment, McGregor believed brands need to be present where their customers are, which is increasingly on marketplaces like Amazon and now Temu.

"Marketplaces attract shoppers with convenience and transparency and brands need to ensure that they are present on popular selling platforms and that their presence is optimised and aligned with their overall brand strategy and messaging," she said.

Then there's the personalised selling that will be fuelled by advanced data anlaytics and AI. All this points to the need for brands to ditch "outdated promotional activities" and get their data-led sales strategies in order.

"It's not just about ads or discounts. Brands must dive deep into shopper data and become smarter with how they use their platforms, how they leverage influencer partnerships, and the solutions partners they’re working with, to form genuine, profitable connections with customers,” McGregor said.

"The Australian retail landscape will take an evolutionary step-forward over the coming year, driven by changing consumer expectations and the rapid integration of technology in ecommerce. Brands must navigate this new terrain with an agile mindset, harnessing the power of AI, social media, and personalised strategies to meet the changing needs of shoppers. It's not just about selling products; it's about creating meaningful connections and delivering value in a digital world where change is constant."