Has digital widened participation by reaching new retail audiences?

What the 2020–21 research tells museum shops

First published in April 2022, this article considers what research from 2020–21 suggested about online museum retail and audience relationships. Art collectors, craft buyers, museum website visitors and museum-shop customers are different groups; findings about one should not be treated as measured results for another.

By November 2020 internet sales accounted for 36% of retail in the UK, compared to 19.1% in February 2020. While internet sales, predictably, peaked during national lockdowns, the surging popularity of online shopping prompted questions about which habits would persist after reopening.

Online retail offered a much-needed income stream for the museum sector during the pandemic. But how feasible is online retail for museums in the long term? Ecommerce requires resources which could be a step too far for stretched teams, as venues reopened.

A 2020 Emarketer forecast anticipated a dip in UK ecommerce sales in 2021 followed by growth through 2023. This was a forecast made during the pandemic, rather than an observed outcome.

So, what should museums keep in mind when considering ongoing online retail efforts?

NEMO suggests that the data here is lacking. ‘Of the responding museums, 93% have increased or started online services during the pandemic’, they state in their January 2021 survey, ‘However, almost 40% of the museums responded that they either did not track or did not know about the development of their online visitor numbers, which points to a lack of digital measurement frameworks and methods.’

But for the many museum shops that sell art and craft, there have been some compelling studies from which to draw.

Let’s look at art collecting first.

Online discovery and in-person art buying

Art Collecting 2021: An Artsy Report was released at the end of June 2021, and described changes in the art market during the preceding year.

The key takeaway from this report is that now, ‘every art collector is an online art collector’. They found that significantly more collectors had purchased online at least once in the last year (83% compared to 64% in 2019), but also that online had a key role in driving offline sales. Two-thirds of their respondents reported that they had found an artwork online, and then went on to buy it in person.

An impressive proportion of these artworks had been discovered through online marketplaces – with a smaller chunk being found through social media. So, online retail can offer significant opportunities for extending reach and building collaborative networks.

Artsy also took a look in detail at the habits of new collectors – specifically those that have made their first significant purchases ($10,000 +) in the last four years. What encourages these new buyers to enter the market? And what might they be looking for in future?

Artsy also explored how newer collectors used social media to discover artworks. Their habits offer questions for museum retailers to investigate, rather than a ready-made description of museum-shop customers.

Intriguingly, Artsy suggests that these trends are not provoked by the pandemic – rather ‘millennials became the art market’s biggest spenders for the first time in 2020, putting a generation that came of age with the internet in the driver’s seat.’

The report suggests that online discovery can support art buying both online and in person. Whether it generates museum-shop income or museum visits needs to be tested separately.

Photo by Michal Matlon

Craft buyers want stories and human connections

The Crafts Council’s ‘The Market For Craft’ report offers us a different viewpoint.

This report was written in April 2020, so is a snapshot of the market in the early period of the pandemic.

However, like Artsy, The Crafts Council found that there was a clear shift towards digital and that this was likely unrelated to the wider move to online retail in the pandemic.

‘There is a growing new generation of younger craft consumers. Savvy buyers, they like collecting and know what they want. They represent a significant shift in patterns of consumption, as craft becomes more mainstream.’

Online retailers such as Etsy and Not On The High Street have had a pivotal role in changing the landscape of craft retail, yet while they make it increasingly accessible the report found that even in the most digitally engaged audience segments, buying face-to-face was a top priority. Digital helps to tell their stories, but buying from real people was of key importance.

‘The growth in the public’s desire for authenticity, for experiences, for ethical and sustainable consumption have helped fuel an interest in making and in handmade objects.’ the report details, ‘Further impetus comes from a concern for wellness and mindfulness, as well as the growing need to switch-off from electronic devices.’

‘Another change – although one much more difficult to quantify’ the report continues, ‘is the role online platforms have had in developing the relationships between consumers, makers and the stories behind the objects they create.’

Connecting retail content with the museum

Buyers are interested in the real-life stories of their purchases, and by building connections, storytelling and championing causes we can add value to our products. Digital offers us the ideal platform to explore these narratives, in a myriad of new and captivating ways.

An online shop can introduce someone to the museum before they have considered a visit. A maker interview, for example, can lead naturally to the object for sale and then to the collection or exhibition that gives it meaning. Keep those journeys visible, and look at them separately: a purchase, a return visit to the website and an exhibition booking tell you different things about the relationship being built.

Use product pages to tell the stories behind your collection, make delivery costs and times easy to find, and write a clear next step for shoppers. Connect the product with a relevant collection, exhibition or visit page where that relationship is useful.

Curator: The Museum Journal reflected on retail as a vehicle for patronage, saying ‘The COVID crisis has changed collectors’ reasons for buying. Now, many buyers want to help the struggling arts scene through the pandemic. Supporting artists, through social impact and patronage, ranked as the second biggest reason when buying art online (68%).’ and vitally – ‘This motivation was particularly strong among the under-35s, over three-quarters (76%) of whom said this was their main reason, as well as new collectors (79%)’ (King et al, 2020).

Blooloop suggested that a key trend in retail for cultural attractions is likely to be cause-related shopping, ‘Think sustainable products and purpose-driven brands that give back to society and help protect the environment. These will continue to be a priority for visitors. Now more than ever, consumers want to feel good about who they buy from. They want to help make a difference.’

Which retail audience changes should you measure?

In September 2020, the ONS examined the shift to online spending during physical-store closures. That period raised useful questions about the relationship between online shopping and in-person experiences, but cannot by itself establish how museum audiences changed.

By viewing online retailing not just as an income stream, but as a storytelling and engagement opportunity, museums can maximise their work and encourage further real-life interactions.

To understand who your museum is reaching, review shop income, repeat digital engagement and physical visits as separate outcomes. Ask new customers how they discovered the shop, and compare what they tell you with the routes through your website. Growing online sales alone does not demonstrate wider museum participation.