Major eCommerce Trends That You Need to Watch out Of In 2020
e-Commerce is one of the largest industries in the world that can never go out of trend as I think. By the end of 2019, the e-Commerce industry has made over 3.5 trillion dollars in sales worldwide and there is no looking back now. It is believed that the e-commerce industry will continue to grow in the coming years.
Most popular e-commerce websites such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and Walmart are ruling the eCommerce or retail industry. These eCommerce majors have revolutionized the overall retail industry and make online shopping easier for modern-day customers.
Around 40% of the world’s internet users use eCommerce websites to buy products online, which counts to more than 1 billion online buyers. And, total sales through eCommerce in the United States alone have been accounted for above 11% of all retails sales in the third quarter of 2019.
If you think that eCommerce has reached its pinnacle and there is no room for more, think again because various businesses or startups come every year in this domain and make their position in this fast-growing retail market.
So, if you’re still thinking about moving your brick and mortar store to a virtual store, these eCommerce trends will show that eCommerce isn’t just rapidly growing, it’s here to stay forever. And you too can integrate these trends into your business to meet steady in your online store.
Major e-Commerce trends that will allow you to stand out in your marketplace and capture more of your audience.
1. Video Content/Marketing
Video Content/marketing has proved to be the best way to increase product sales as customers prefer to choose visuals far more than the text. Every e-commerce website development company follows this strategy to engage more and more customers worldwide. You too consider adding attractive products’ photos and videos on your website, even of customers using your product. This will surely show you the admirable results within days.
2. There will be a growing volume of voice search
As per the Loop Ventures, around 75% of people from the United States will own a smart speaker by 2025. Thus, people are increasingly moving forward to voice assistant devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to get many things done.
You can integrate voice search feature in your eCommerce website. This feature will allow users to make an order with a simple voice command on the user’s voice assistant, without having to touch the screen. It saves users’ time on browsing, entering payment, and shipping information, making it very easy to repeat the order.
3. Dynamic pricing drives optimal sales and profit
Pricing is an important factor for every eCommerce website. Cutting prices of the products is not simple. You should make a proper strategy to drive the best value for the products you are selling online. To stand out in this highly competitive market, you should monitor your competitors’ prices, analyze seasonal and historical demand, and react to those insights in nearly real-time.
4. Progressive web apps
Websites are not real applications, but you can make websites feel and look like mobile applications using PWA. As per the evolving requirements of the customers, the eCommerce companies are providing better services without compromising the shopping experience of the customer. Even we have seen many brands focusing on enhancing user experiences with progressive web applications.
Amazon, Flipkart, and Alibaba have pioneered the use of PWA in their eCommerce website to look and feel like a native app. They have claimed that PWA-enabled web applications have helped them grow three times faster than an eCommerce website.
5. Mobile-Friendly is Not an Option
The use of smartphones has increased by 80% over the past two years. People nowadays use their smartphones to make product purchases online. And, online stores need to have their website mobile-friendly. Whether you simply make your website mobile-friendly or develop a specific mobile application for it. Hire a mobile app developer who can build and deliver the innovative mobile application for your store so that you can encourage buyers to download and make purchases through your app.
6. Contactless Payments
The effects of the current pandemic can be seen in the payment system. Due to the increasing cases of Covid-19, people are avoiding to pay with cash and cards for the products they purchased online. Thus, eCommerce websites providing a contactless payment system to reduce the risk of infection. Which means, individuals are less able to pay with money and cards, since it may be ‘somewhat risky.’ Contactless installment has been around for a couple of years, yet all through this pandemic has demonstrated the requirement for quicker transformation on a global level.
7. Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality is the feature of eCommerce. It has changed the traditional way of shopping. Now using this technology, users will have a virtual tour of their facilities in real-time. If you are selling products like eyeglasses, clothes, and shoes on your store online then you need to integrate this feature to grab new customers to your website. This feature will allow your users to try products in real-time to see how they will look. However, there is no surprise as already a number of eCommerce companies have implemented this technology on their websites.
8. Social Commerce for direct sale-
Social media has proved to be the best way to sell products online. Thus, various eCommerce websites have linked their store to social media sites so that people can buy products from them. Moreover, with the introduction of the “Buy” button on Facebook, and Instagram Checkout, social media channels have become the best platform from eCommerce websites. This is a great opportunity that you can take to boost your presence and sales on social channels.
As every smartphone user right next to you spend most of the time on different types of social media channels; you can run campaigns or can contact influencers on Facebook and Instagram to increase chances of getting discovered by their target audience.
9. Get the advantage of Artificial Intelligence-
The role of Artificial Intelligence in the eCommerce industry will become stronger in the upcoming years. This technology has made businesses smarter than before. Whether it is about to generate timely offers or Chatbots to assist customers quickly, Artificial Intelligence is the next big thing you should consider into your websites or applications to run a business successfully.
Various retailers around the world have adopted this technology in order to provide customers with amazing services and give them a competitive advantage.
10. Subscriptions keep customers coming back.
Subscription services are one of the best things you can do for your ecommerce website. We all know how subscription plans keep businesses running. As it provides customers various benefits to the customers as well as sellers. Regular discounts & Offers, fast delivery, early access, and free-delivery are some of the benefits that you can provide to your customers to keep them coming back.