A new generation of over 1-billion digital native consumers are emerging in eight fast-growing countries in the next decade creating new areas of growth for companies, according to a new global commerce study by Accenture.
Living in Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria and the Philippines, these digital consumers are between the ages of six and 26 and represent 36% of the aforementioned countries’ population – and their behaviours today offer key insights for companies looking to capture the next wave of commerce-driven growth.
According to Accenture Song’s report – The Next Billion Consumers: A Fast-growing Opportunity for Digital Commerce – 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.
In addition, the research also found that despite digital commerce revenues having quadrupled in these markets since 2017 – equating to $211-billion in 2022 – most multinationals are not set up to serve these digital-first consumers.
“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,” says Fabio Vacirca, global commerce lead at 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, leap-frogging older legacy approaches.”
Who are the next generation of digital consumers?
The report highlights how the digital shopping behaviours 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. They are digital native purchasers; digitally savvy millennials; digital native content creators; and digital alpha influencers.
Spanning three generations – Gen Alpha, Gen Z, and Millennials – these four core segments of 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.
* And 65% 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,” says Vacirca. “This moment is similar to the tectonic shift the telecommunications industry had when consumers leap-frogged landlines to mobile, or similarly in the movement from the theatre to streaming services.
“The companies that will gain first-mover advantage will recognise 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.”