Why smarter data, not more messages, will define e-commerce growth

Australian e-commerce retailers are facing a more complex operating environment, where rising customer expectations, tighter budgets and fragmented data are reshaping how growth is achieved.

New research from Intuit Mailchimp shows that consumers across Australia and New Zealand are more selective about engaging with brands than their global peers, with 64 per cent opting into email and 50 per cent to SMS – the lowest rates among surveyed markets. At the same time, while marketing messages are increasing, only 40 per cent of consumers say they are paying more attention, and around a quarter are tuning out altogether.

For retailers, this signals a shift from volume-led marketing that is losing effectiveness to relevance, which is becoming the primary driver of performance.

Anthony Capano, regional director, Apac at Intuit Mailchimp, said this environment is forcing businesses to rethink how they approach customer acquisition and engagement.

“ANZ consumers are some of the most intentional audiences when it comes to brand communications,” Capano told Inside Retail. “In today’s noisier inbox, customers are more discerning about what they engage with and quicker to tune out what doesn’t feel relevant.

“That makes it harder to capture new subscribers and easier to lose attention if the message doesn’t land.”

From volume to value

This growing selectivity is exposing weaknesses in traditional list-building and campaign strategies. According to Mailchimp’s The Art of the Opt-In report, more than four in 10 marketers in the region cite securing sign-ups as a key challenge, while many overestimate how much data consumers are willing to share.

Capano said the solution lies in shifting to a more deliberate, customer-led approach.

“The strongest results come from tying sign-ups to moments of high intent, such as after browsing or at checkout, where the value is obvious,” he explained. “It also means being clear about what the customer will receive and showing restraint in both the data you ask for and the volume of messages you send.”

This emphasis on restraint reflects a broader industry shift. Personalisation is no longer about basic tactics such as inserting a first name, but about using behavioural signals to guide communication.

“It means using website activity, e-commerce transactions and engagement patterns to understand where a customer is in their journey and what they are most likely to need next,” Capano said. “Brands that connect those signals in real time are the ones seeing the biggest ROI.”

The attribution gap

Despite this, many retailers still struggle to connect marketing activity to revenue. Globally, only 33 per cent of marketers say their pre-opt-in messaging is highly aligned, limiting their ability to measure performance.

Capano attributes this to structural challenges in how customer journeys are tracked.

“Customers move between devices and channels before converting, making it difficult to trace which touchpoints actually drove the sale,” he said. “Traditional attribution methods rely on cookies and URL parameters, which are increasingly blocked.”

This has created significant blind spots for marketers, particularly as privacy changes accelerate.

Mailchimp’s approach, he said, is to link engagement to outcomes using first-party identifiers such as email addresses and phone numbers, enabling more accurate attribution across channels.

The cost of fragmentation

Compounding the issue is the fragmented nature of many retail technology stacks. Customer data is often spread across multiple platforms, from email tools to SMS providers and e-commerce systems, making it difficult to build a unified view.

“For many marketing teams in Australia and New Zealand, which often operate with fewer than 10 people, that challenge shows up in day-to-day work,” Capano said. “Teams are constantly stitching together tools and reconciling data just to keep things moving.”

The impact extends beyond inefficiency. Without unified data, retailers struggle to identify high-value customers, detect churn risk or confidently allocate budget.

“That’s time taken away from strategy, creativity and optimisation,” he said.

A unified approach to growth

Intuit Mailchimp’s February product release is designed to address these challenges by bringing data, analytics and execution into a single platform.

The update introduces a range of new capabilities, including a Site Tracking Pixel that captures consented e-commerce and behavioural data, and a revamped omnichannel dashboard that combines email, SMS, automation performance and e-commerce events into one view.

For retailers, Capano said, this unified approach is becoming essential.

“In a climate of tighter budgets and higher expectations, retailers are under more pressure to connect marketing activity directly to commercial outcomes,” he said. “Bringing that data into one unified view gives teams the clarity they need to make confident decisions.”

The platform also integrates AI and predictive analytics, enabling marketers to identify high-value and at-risk customers, automate segmentation and optimise campaigns with fewer manual inputs.

Orchestrating the omnichannel experience

Alongside data unification, the release expands Mailchimp’s omnichannel capabilities, reflecting the growing importance of coordinated customer journeys.

“Effective omnichannel orchestration comes down to how well channels work together around the customer,” Capano said.

“If someone browses a product but doesn’t purchase, that might trigger a follow-up email with more detail, or an SMS with a reminder of a timely discount. Each message should build on the last.”

Research supports this approach. Brands with highly aligned omnichannel messaging and timing are significantly more likely to report strong performance across channels, from social media to emerging AI-driven platforms.

Measuring what matters

As expectations on marketing teams evolve, there is increasing pressure to contribute not just to revenue, but to margin and long-term customer value.

This is changing how retailers approach analytics and investment.

“Rather than reporting on what happened, teams can use predictive analytics to identify high-value customers and recognise at-risk shoppers,” Capano said. “That allows them to focus on the audiences and journeys that are more likely to drive repeat purchases and long-term value.”

Recent product updates reflect this shift, with enhanced reporting designed to connect campaign activity directly to business outcomes, including revenue and customer lifetime value.

Lowering the barrier to switching

For businesses reviewing their technology stack, ease of migration is another critical factor. Mailchimp’s latest updates include new tools to help retailers transfer contacts, templates and workflows with minimal disruption.

“The right platform should reduce complexity,” Capano said. “It should bring together e-commerce data, campaign performance and customer signals in one place, while also reducing manual work.”

AI-powered tools and automation are central to this proposition. Mailchimp reports that e-commerce customers save an average of 16 hours per week using the platform, while SMS users have seen returns of up to 22 times ROI.

From campaigns to commercial outcomes

For Australian retailers, growth will depend on how effectively they use data to drive relevance and results, says Capano.

By combining unified data, AI-driven insights and omnichannel execution, platforms such as Intuit Mailchimp are positioning marketing not just as a communications function, but as a core driver of profitability.

As Capano put it, “the focus is shifting from sending more messages to building smarter, more connected customer experiences that clearly tie back to revenue and long-term value.”

How Pickles Auctions evolved engagement

Pickles Auctions is one Australian company that has constantly evolved the way it engages with customers over its 60-year history.

“With Intuit Mailchimp, we’ve been able to simplify what was previously a complex mix of systems, signals, and customer behaviours, into something our team can actually act on,” explains Oliver Garas, head of digital marketing at Pickles Auctions. “That’s allowed us to send more relevant, timely messages that drive real action.

“We’ve focused on more precise segmentation and behaviour-led triggers to reach customers when intent is highest. And that doesn’t just apply at the point of purchase. In an auction, one of our most valuable audiences is the person who misses out because they’re already engaged and ready to act.”

To make that work at scale, he says, Pickles relies on having a clear view of the customer, which allows it to design more responsive journeys that build anticipation and urgency.

“The result is stronger customer engagement and more sustained growth, with our audience scaling from 600,000 to 2.1 million monthly visitors over six years. At a time when attention is harder to earn, simplifying how we use data has been a defining factor in how we deliver more impactful communication.”