RevLifter CEO Simon Bird delivers his eCommerce predictions for 2023

In our final post of 2022, RevLifter Co-Founder and CEO Simon Bird reviews a seismic year for eCommerce before laying out his predictions for 2023.

Well, 2022 – you certainly packed a lot into your 12 months.

We at RevLifter had plenty to keep us occupied. One of the biggest moments came in May as RevLifter won Best Performance Marketing Technology at the UK Performance Marketing Awards. We followed it up by claiming Best Ecommerce and Retail Campaign alongside Boohoo and Awin on the same night, giving us two significant awards in highly contested categories.

Just months later, we went about validating our new title with the launch of RevWallet. The new technology, a genuine game-changer for retailers that want to boost conversions and order values, brings all their offers, recommendations, and messages together on an intuitive on-site hub.

I’d like to reserve a big congratulations to Team RevLifter for realizing the vision of our conversion-driving, customer-assisting, and all-round awesome tool. And to beauty brand Face the Future, which grew AOV by +33% after becoming RevWallet’s first-ever user.

A little later, another big idea came to fruition in the form of Green Offers: an eco-friendly offer type that enables retailers to offset carbon emissions by trading the planting of trees for sales made by their customers. As the world responds to the ever-present concerns around climate change, we hope to do our bit through our partnership with Ecologi.

All of these events played their part in RevLifter having its best year to date. My personal highlights were:

• Record numbers over Black Friday and peak season
• Raising £3 million to support our North East expansion
• Growing RevLifter’s staff count (+15% more RevLifters!)
• Opening of a bigger RevLifter HQ in London

That was 2022. Now we’re looking to the next wave of developments to influence the movements of eCommerce brands.

I’ve made a few predictions that I can see unfolding in the months ahead. Expect plenty of talk of cookies, privacy, and deals as we prepare for a significant period in many respects.

AI gains a big break

Have you had a play with ChatGPT yet? If not, I highly recommend it.

OpenAI’s creation isn’t the first tool to use AI for the instant creation of copy, but it’s by far the best. The reaction has sent shockwaves around the digital world as users ponder the success rate of ChatGPT-created essays and articles.

Meanwhile, in the eCommerce space, I think we’ve just had a sneak peek into one of the biggest themes for 2023. The ability for AI to make use of our data will represent a huge trend as retailers look for ways of predicting their customer’s next move.

We at RevLifter are already looking into ways of using this method to answer a number of common questions for our brands, such as:

• Which orders are likely to be returned?
• Which sales are at risk of lapsing?
• When is a customer receptive to creating a big order?

Imagine the value of knowing the answers to each of these. AI-driven applications will get even closer to producing them in 2023.

The long-awaited demise of the third-party cookie

Last year brought frantic conversations around Google phasing out the third-party cookie – essentially the conduit for information that helps retailers learn more about their customers.

This year, I fully expect the conversation around alternative data solutions to step up a gear as Google finally makes good on its promise to sunset the cookie in 2024.

Google has already delayed the blocking of third-party cookies on Chrome twice. One announcement warned of its phasing out in 2020, then again in 2023.

This time, I think we really do have one final year to prepare for the change, meaning first and zero-party data solutions will likely attract a much bigger audience amid the scramble for customer insight.

New spin on recession response  

With tough economic times projected across multiple markets in 2023, we expect consumers to value price above all other factors when making a purchase. That means far more shoppers looking for vouchers to bring down the cost of their orders.

We saw this trend emerge during the last recession in 2009 as the use of vouchers saw a dramatic increase. What’s different when comparing the response to the recession in 2023 is that retailers will use data to avoid giving too much away.  

For example, many brands are now deploying on-site technologies to monitor customer behavior and predict outcomes based on thousands of previous journeys. These insights will outline when it makes financial sense to issue a deal and when they can preserve margin by leaving the customer to complete their journey.                                                                                                            

I predict that many more brands will take similar steps in 2023 as the recession puts a major dent in the viability of one-size-fit-all incentivization. (If it was ever viable in the first place.)

Product recommendations gain intelligence

Finally, I’m expecting retailers to move quickly in pursuit of truly intelligent product recommendations.

We often hear from retailers trying to upsell and cross-sell their customers with non-personalized suggestions. These tools might have been a novelty in 2015, but today’s consumer now expects much greater relevance.

One of the most cost-effective growth strategies in 2023 will see the tailoring of recommendations based on deep customer insights. I’d love to see more examples of brands getting creative with their first and second-party data, and there is so much potential for partnerships to flourish on this basis.

Final thoughts

As we head into 2023, all that’s left is to thank everyone that has supported RevLifter over the past year. We’re preparing for a massive Q1 and I can’t wait to tell you about all the exciting news happening across our platform.

From myself and the team, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year.