Family making an eCommerce purchase by Kindel Media
eCommerce websites are witnessing an incredible boom in traffic. Consumers turn to online shopping not only for books and storage, but essentials such as food. If you have an eCommerce website or are planning to get one developed, now is a great time to brush up on the latest eCommerce trends to stay ahead of the competition.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
There is an increasing demand for simple, convenient and flexible online buying opportunities. The pandemic has only accelerated our shift towards eCommerce – up to 95% of sales could be conducted through eCommerce by 2040, according to Nasdaq.
The new eCommerce trends we’ll be covering will help you not only with your overall strategy, but also with your eCommerce website design. Let’s get started.
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Top 10 eCommerce Trends Shaking Up the Industry
1. Mobile eCommerce Dominates
60% of people begin and end their online shopping experience on different devices. Furthermore, 52% of people globally have made a purchase on a mobile device.
Increasingly, people are spending the entire eCommerce customer journey on mobile devices: from discovery to making a purchase.
Hence, it is wise to get a mobile app developed for your eCommerce business.
2. Increased Use of Chatbots
eCommerce businesses that adopted chatbots have seen their revenues shoot up by over 25%. Chatbots can also save your business money, cutting support costs by up to 30% according to IBM.
Hence, many online shopping businesses are changing their systems to “chat first”, which combines human live chat with AI chatbots.
3. Ethical Business Practices
Businesses should strive to be ethical regardless of trends, but it is still important to note that 68% of Gen Z consumers “expect brands to contribute to society”, according to Facebook. Furthermore, 61% of consumers say they would pay a higher price for a product if it were manufactured in a way that was sustainable and ethical.
However, Gen Z is not the only demographic that cares about ethical and sustainable products. A study by Nielson showed that sustainable products have higher rates of growth compared to non-sustainable products in the same category.
4. Cognitive Supply Chain Management
Cognitive supply chains are distribution and inventory management systems that are predictive, intelligent, adaptive and self-learning.
Hence, cognitive supply chain management results in improved insights and transparency, mitigated risks, enhanced performance and personalized customer service.
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5. Social Commerce
Social networks are integrating online shopping into their platforms. Global social commerce is expected to reach 604.5 billion USD by 2027, at a CAGR of 31.4%.
Integrating eCommerce directly onto a platform helps networks keep audiences on that network for longer, get a cut of every sale, and collect valuable data.
6. Live Video Shopping
You want to keep an eye on this eCommerce trend. Live video shopping involves showing off and selling products in a live video stream. It is a budding market in the West, but has already seen huge success in China.
Examples of live video shopping platforms and companies include Sweden-based Bambuser, Alibaba’s Taobao Live (which made 2.85 billion dollars in only one day), and Amazon Live Shopping, which launched in February 2019.
7. Niche Direct-to-Consumer (“DTC” or “D2C”) Products
One of the latest eCommerce trends is selling niche products to a relatively small but passionate customer base.
One such company is ThirdLove, which offers bras in half-cup sizes – they claim these fit better for up to half of women. This strategy (along with offering an innovative app) has propelled the brand to a valuation of over 750 million USD.
Furthermore, since they are focused on DTC, they can offer more customization and variety than a retail brand.
In a similar vein, “mom jeans” may not appeal to the masses, but have found popularity online.
8. Voice Search
Almost a third of Internet users in the US have used a voice assistant to look up information about a product or shop. By 2024, smart speaker sales across the globe will surpass 30 billion USD. More and more people are using voice search for purchase decisions.
9. In-Car Shopping
Many vehicle suppliers are equipping their new cars with Apple Car Play or Android Auto. These systems allow smartphone functions to be used, hence opening up a sales channel for eCommerce businesses.
Whether you need to buy a last-minute birthday gift or a little something for your grandma, online shopping from inside your vehicle is no longer a thing of science fiction.
For example, Audi customers can now purchase and activate new functions in their vehicle through the myAudi app.
10. More Ways to Pay
Don’t skip out on proper payment gateway integration. Your customers might actually cancel a potential sale if they cannot pay the way they want on your eCommerce website or app. Hence, it is best to offer a wide variety of ways they can pay, as well as enable saving payment information for faster checkout.
Conclusion
With technology and eCommerce evolving rapidly, it is important to keep up with the latest online shopping trends. It’s always a good idea to learn about the top eCommerce trends and evaluate whether they are right for your business. For now, there is a heavy emphasis on the customer-centric approach, and it’s a wise place to start, all things considered.
If you want to give your customers a great experience with eCommerce website development, BluEnt is just a click away. Our dedicated eCommerce web developers serve Fortune companies, funded startups and SMEs. Browse our case studies to see how we’ve helped businesses like yours.
Ready to make your eCommerce website a success with custom website development? Contact us now!
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