E-Commerce of the Future: Innovation, Shopability, and Joyfulness
I was sitting in a coffee shop the other day when two young women burst through the door in matching sweaters – light-blue button-down cardigans with a white “1989” embroidered on the left chests and a small rectangular patch sewn at the bottoms. The patches read, “T.S.” – as in Taylor Swift.
It hit me: These women and the millions like them aren’t just Swift fans, they’re Swift shoppers – and the eponymous e-commerce sweaters are the latest thread in a massive global brand story worth emulating. In advance of her highly anticipated release of “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” Swift issued a limited-edition cardigan inspired by the album’s cover. The tie-in helped sell 580,000 vinyl records between October 27th and November 1st, 2023, making it the fastest-selling vinyl record since the stat was first tracked in 1991. It also topped the Billboard 200 – an astonishing achievement for an album originally released nearly ten years ago.
At just 34, Swift is a billionaire brand. Her innovative mindset, creative strategies, seamless shopability, and joyful storytelling stand to make her brand incredibly durable.
If a singer-songwriter can convert young music fans to loyal shoppers, why can’t companies like yours and mine be must-buys for advertisers in 2024? The answer is we can – if we master the e-commerce landscape as successfully and swiftly as Swift did.
Understanding the E-Commerce Landscape in Canada
Canada is ranked the 11th largest market for e-commerce, with a projected revenue this year of $50 million USD. The Canadian market is expected to grow by 6.3%, reaching more than $64 million in U.S. dollars by 2027. More than 70% of Canadians are digital buyers, a trend accelerated by the global pandemic, with online sales in Canada growing by 68% from February 2020 to July 2022. Four of every 10 Canadian consumers reported shopping on their phones at least monthly, and that number is expected to grow dramatically.
“More than 70% of Canadians are digital buyers, a trend accelerated by the global pandemic, with online sales in Canada growing by 68% from February 2020 to July 2022.”
Of course, there are headwinds. Global inflation, a potential national recession, and high levels of uncertainty are making shoppers anxious. According to a PwC study issued in March, nearly half of Canadians are either “very” or “extremely” concerned about their personal finances and 70% are reducing non-essential purchases. “For retailers and consumer goods companies, capturing a share of this growing market requires more than mobile-friendly e-commerce features,” the report states. “It takes a reimagination of how consumers use technology across multiple channels – sometimes simultaneously – to interact with your brand.”
I couldn’t agree more. As the managing director for Canada at Pinterest – a visual inspiration platform where 482 million people come to search, discover, and shop every month around the world – I believe the ever-evolving arena of Canadian e-commerce requires boldness and creativity in advertising. Businesses must rise to the challenge, not only to stay competitive but to genuinely inspire and connect with shoppers.
I’ve seen firsthand how these digital tools are not just lifelines but also launchpads for businesses across Canada. The future of e-commerce is centred around inspiration – in a space where every click can feel like a handshake, and every purchase an entry into someone’s home and heart.
Innovative Mindsets
In a crowded e-commerce landscape, Canadian retailers need to be innovators, exploring new formats and platforms for advertising. One example: To reach consumers during the Canada Day weekend, President’s Choice took over Pinterest’s search landing page to launch its semi-annual “PC Insider Report” brimming with over 50 new products. Pinterest’s high-intent audience combined with the allure of PC Insider’s report presented an opportunity to inspire people on Pinterest to try new things over the summer.
PC’s marketing strategy included a suite of Pinterest products, including a multi-objective campaign featuring videos, collections, static Pins, and Pinterest’s latest feature, Premiere Spotlight. Offering brands premium placement on Pinterest’s home feed and search pages, Premiere Spotlight gave President’s Choice access to over 6 million Canadians who come to Pinterest every month in search of food ideas, recipes, and hosting tips.
Seamless Shopability
Click on Taylor Swift’s product website and you’ll see how tempting and easy it is to buy her products. Shopability is a must for brands connecting to a loyal, engaged audience.
More than half of our users see Pinterest as a place to shop, and this year, Pinterest made its signature trend-spotting analysis, Pinterest Predicts, even more shoppable. Pinterest users from around the world can buy trends through an online store, the Pinterest Predicts Shop, and Pinterest opened its first-ever pop-up shop in New York City, a five-day event where customers could shop and experience the biggest trends of 2024.
“Click on Taylor Swift’s product website and you’ll see how tempting and easy it is to buy her products. Shopability is a must for brands connecting to a loyal, engaged audience.”
You may be interested to know that our unique forecasting model – with an 80% success rate based on the actions of millions of Pinterest users – suggests that the hot trends for 2024 will include groovy ‘70s-themed weddings, eclectic grandpa fashions, kitschy kitchens, and jellyfish[1].
Joyful Storytelling
Swift has created a brand environment that is safe and empowering for her fans, particularly young women. Her space is relentlessly joyful. In an online landscape that can be brutishly toxic, consumer brands need to be a haven for their customers.
Research commissioned by Pinterest shows that 60% of consumers agree that they’re more likely to remember, trust, and purchase from brands in positive environments. 70% of Canadian adults believe that brands are responsible for advertising in positive spaces and should be held accountable for where they place ads[2]. At Pinterest, we have a term for this consumer psychology: “It pays to be positive.”
“Two-thirds of Gen Zs in Canada agree that finding brands that align with their personal values is important, compared to 53% of Millennials.”
When a brand is missing from a positive space, people notice. This is especially true for Gen Z shoppers, who increasingly hold brands to high standards that align with their personal values. Two-thirds of Gen Zs in Canada agree that finding brands that align with their personal values is important, compared to 53% of Millennials. Similarly, 64% of Gen Z say that seeing brands alongside negative content has a negative impact on their perception of the brand, compared to 51% of Millennials. Our 190 million Gen Z users are Pinterest’s fastest growing audience with the deepest engagement[3].
Pinterest remains an online oasis with two-thirds of our users saying they feel positive after interacting with Pinterest. This feeling increases with frequency as 77% of weekly Pinners feel positive after interacting with Pinterest[4].
Integrating More Privacy into E-Commerce
Pinterest’s approach to privacy includes protection for both consumers and the brands who want to reach them. We’ve made it simple for Pinners to control how their data is used through their privacy settings, while brands must follow our Ad Data Terms and Policies.
We are working on new first-party solutions like our clean room with LiveRamp to help marketers securely connect the dots between on-platform behaviour and their own consumer data, without using cookies and compromising consumer privacy.
The Secret to E-Commerce Success
In a climate where e-commerce is increasingly core to the next generation’s shopping experience, e-commerce brands must stand out as beacons of positivity, packed with inspiration across a myriad of topics, while leading the charge in breaking trends. Canada’s most innovative retailers have already tapped into the formula for success – the e-commerce space is primed for an explosion of activity as others discover the secret.
[1] Pinterest, Global search data, analysis period of July 2018-June 2023. Analysis period for each annual report looks at two years of data to identify the trends.
[2] (Morning Consult, Positivity Study commissioned by Pinterest, Canada, April 2023.
[3] Morning Consult, Positivity Study commissioned by Pinterest, Canada, April 2023.
[4] Morning Consult, Positivity Study commissioned by Pinterest, Canada, April 2023.
