The most anticipated slide deck of the year is here. Mary Meeker just released her annual Internet Trends Report in a record 355 pages. And it gives us the pulse on everything from internet usage stats to media consumption to retailer strategies. And new this year, it also gives us a fascinating deep-dive into gaming and healthcare.
The report
There’s something for every tech enthusiast in this report. But let’s take a closer look at some of the key takeaways for online retailers and entrepreneurs.
- Social media is changing the way business is conducted online and customers continue to expect more from retailers. Interactions are more real-time and customers want more transparency and accountability than ever. Businesses that build a healthy line of communication with their customers through social media are undoubtedly giving themselves an edge over the competition.
- Brands are sourcing content from their fans and it’s working. User-generated content can draw 6.9 times more engagement than brand-generated content on Facebook.
- Ads are getting more targeted and craftier. Just like Google cornered search ads by tailoring ads to user-input search terms, now Snap is optimizing ads to user-uploaded images.
- Ad measurability does come with its drawbacks, however. Customers are wary of their data being tracked and advertisers can find measuring ROI a challenge.
- Some effective retailer strategies:
- Pet supply store: Taps into a heavily engaged online user community. Also offers dynamic 24/7 customer service through their website.
- Cosmetics company: Takes advantage of user-generated content and influencers to showcase the product.
- Clothing retailer: Closes the loop between online and offline by creating engaging experiences on both their website and storefront.
- Parcel growth is accelerating and we’re seeing businesses take an omnichannel approach to online and offline engagement. Amazon is opening brick-and-mortar stores while Wal-Mart invests heavily in its web presence.
- More businesses of all sizes continue to move their IT infrastructure to the cloud while stepping away from the higher-cost traditional IT model.
- But security risks loom with phishing spam up 350 per cent from Q1 2015.
- In China, consumer confidence has been rising since the second half of 2016 and the tech industry is leading a lot of this. Entertainment is driving a lot of online consumption and users are increasingly willing to pay for live streaming content, videos, and games.
- India is growing rapidly and completely reimagining technology in some ways. They’ve implemented digital IDs for more than a billion citizens. This in turn paved the way for making banking accounts accessible to all citizens.
Watch Mary Meeker present the report at the 2017 Code Conference here: