It’s a brave new world, and the digital realm offers plenty of opportunities.
Digital devices and laptops are integral to the crossover of work and leisure, and encourage a 24/7 availability mentality.
So while that can be challenging for employees, it opens up a raft of opportunities for business.
Internet users have doubled in the last seven years – there were 3.2 billion users globally last year. That’s 43 percent of the worldwide population and 79 percent in developed countries.
The 2016 Digital Consumer Index suggests society is “on the brink of another technological revolution” that is all about the fusion of technologies.
So how is business embracing the new world?
Think of the key terms we hear daily – the sharing economy, and disruptors. Uber, Airbnb, Netflix are all high profile examples of businesses that have fundamentally changed consumer behaviour.
In the logistics business Richard Thame, Fastway Couriers CEO in Australia, has harnessed the digital trend. Thame says “With three in four internet users in Australia now shopping online, delivery demand is going to continue to climb.”
And so pre-Christmas the business embraced the share economy with its Blu Courier concept: boosting franchisees’ capacity with flexible workers – drivers signed up for peak times.
A digital strategy is now essential for every business.
In retail mobile commerce and online purchasing are on the rise, and many retailers are turning to an all-embracing omnichannel offering.
David White, national leader of Deloitte’s retail, wholesale and distribution group, says “What we are seeing is a convergence between bricks-and-mortar operators and online. Instead of a head-to-head fight with digital channels seeking to replace physical stores, the channels are working together to provide the customer with an integrated offering.
“Digital isn’t just a sales channel. It’s also a way of empowering and connecting with the consumer, and is more effectively being used to increase foot traffic to bricks-and-mortar stores and increase basket size.
“But underlying this, significant change is taking place in terms of what these new bricks-and-mortar stores look like and the role they perform.
“New stores are becoming intertwined with retailers’ online offering, store layouts are changing, interactive technologies are being introduced, and the customer experience is being transformed.”
Just think of tech-focused Domino’s: the constantly innovating pizza chain has reported a significant 36.9 percent rise in online sales across Australia and New Zealand.
But the biggest shift is coming to the travel world, predicts Euromonitor. It anticipates that more than half (58 percent) of all travel bookings will be done online by 2020.
In contrast, only 11 percent of retail sales are expected to be digital, and just 7 percent of food service revenue will come from online.
Delivering the convenience of online ordering is crucial, and particularly important for the nine out of 10 Millennials who use home delivery. However the survey of more than 1000 Australians conducted by global open location platform company, HERE, also found 27 percent of respondents believed home delivery services to be overpriced.
The survey revealed nearly a quarter of Australians (24 percent) would like to avoid the chemist prescription queue with home-delivered pharmaceuticals, while one in six want to support their local shopping strip and independent stores without having to leave home.
We are convenience driven, digitally savvy, less bound by traditional work hours, time pressed and constant consumers of information and entertainment.
That’s great for businesses which can adapt to suit the ever-changing market.