E-commerce has brought a revolution to the retail market. It has adapted to the growing needs of consumers and brought them a level of convenience that simply wouldn’t be possible with regular retail. Every single year, millions of new consumers shop from the convenience of their phones and computers, making this one of the fastest-growing industries. E-commerce is a competitive market, which is why so many businesses are looking for the next big trends that will shift the market in their favour.
1. Eco-friendly influence
Common sense would have you believe that the most important factors that determine whether a product will be popular are quality, availability, and price. However, in today’s environmentally conscious society, eco-friendliness has become a metric by which E-commerce businesses are judged by. Buyers are rapidly moving towards eco-friendly consumerism and businesses are trying to catch up to this.
Businesses are beginning to aim for more sustainable sources for their products. If they can slap a sticker on their product that proves that it was made without harming the environment, consumers will put it on the top of their wishlist.
2. Social media E-commerce
Social media is no longer just the communicative channel it used to be. Many of these websites have introduced features that allow them to expand their business and research new avenues of connecting individuals and making a profit. One of the most notable examples is the current rise of social media shopping.
As the E-commerce market is showing no signs of stopping any time soon, social media websites have taken it upon themselves to give their userbase the ability to streamline purchases from products advertised on their pages.
Social media is one of the most powerful channels for the businesses of today. With the help of targeted personal advertising and social media influencers, businesses are able to give consumers a very well-crafted marketing experience. Businesses often link their stores to social media, in order to give their followers a quick way to go directly from browsing products to the shopping cart.
3. Voice shopping
There’s nothing that feels as luxurious as ordering your voice assistant to find and buy you something online. What was once seen as an unnecessary and excessive addition to smart devices might just be the next big thing in E-commerce.
The convenience of shopping with your voice cannot be overstated. It’s as easy as telling Alexa or Siri to purchase a certain product that you’ve been eyeing lately. This E-commerce trend has been growing steadily since the 2014 release of the Amazon Echo, and businesses are taking advantage of this by integrating more features and a better user interactive experience.
Voice shopping does come with its own set of drawbacks. Very rarely does someone complete the full shopping experience using their voice alone. It’s impossible to know what you’re buying without actually seeing it with your own eyes first. In order to actually make a purchase, you need to already know what you want, which means you have to have researched it beforehand. As technology progresses, there may eventually be new channels to help describe products and allow consumers to get through the entire process with their voice.
4. Personalization
A majority of online shoppers say that they prefer a personalized online experience. Marketers have long known that a personalized marketing and shopping experience positively impact the business-consumer relationship.
Because of this, E-commerce businesses are implementing measures to make sure that their target audience is receiving a personalized online experience. They provide the right information for interest in specific products, in order to ease the shopping process. Personalized e-mails remain a popular way to give out coupons and remind consumers of promotions that are happening within the E-commerce business.
5. Subscription models
E-commerce businesses are trying to turn short term consumers into long-term customers in order to guarantee future profits. This is often done through subscription models for certain kinds of products. If you find yourself purchasing the same product over and over again, being given a subscription from the business you normally purchase from makes the shopping process more convenient.
These subscription services also offer a few additional benefits to entice consumers to keep using them. Other than the convenience and guaranteed consistent quality that consumers receive; they also get bonus free samples for interesting new products that might interest them.
6. Advancements in material handling
The meteoric rise of E-commerce would not be possible without significant improvements in the area of product logistics. You can’t deliver millions of products without a proper framework of material handling to store and ship them. This rise in E-commerce has significantly influenced the material handling industry, leading to countless changes and improvements in order to meet this enormous new demand.
Everything from technology integration to inventory management has changed in order to adequately supply the ordered products directly to consumers. The delivery process has been streamlined and products are easily tracked and shipped over long distances within a short time span.
7. Mobile shopping
Mobile phones have become an integral part of the modern lifestyle. It’s nearly impossible to imagine yourself without constant access to the internet and the contacts of your closest friends. As mobile usage steadily continues to grow, so do businesses aim to make their services available and convenient on these platforms.
One of the reasons E-commerce has seen such exponential growth in the past few years is because of the increased convenience of browsing and shopping from mobile phones.
Online shopping on your mobile phone might have been difficult a few years ago, but times are changing fast. It’s estimated that mobile phone shopping will overtake desktop shopping in the next couple of years, paving the way for even better mobile optimization for consumers.
Conclusion
There’s no shortage of interesting and innovative ideas that E-commerce stores can apply to their business model. In order to stay ahead in today’s competitive market, innovation is key. Many of these trends will shape E-commerce in the coming years, which is why businesses need to be aware of them and be ready to adapt.
