10 Trends Shaping the Future of Ecommerce

10 Trends Shaping the Future of Ecommerce

With global online retail sales projected to exceed $1 trillion in 2025, there has arguably never been a better time to make a move into the ecommerce sector. But let's not overlook the fact that commerce businesses are also facing more challenges than ever before.

To give you a better insight into the levels of investment that ecommerce businesses need to make to survive and thrive within ultra-competitive spaces, here are 10 industry-transforming trends, each of which can be placed into one of the following categories:

1. Reducing pain points in the consumer purchasing journey

2. Developing rich and engaging brand experiences tailored to target audiences

3. Successfully securing sales anywhere and everywhere

The Rise of Voice Commerce

Research published in 2019 highlighted that 45% of millennials had used voice search technology at some point in their shopping journey. Applying this information to search engine optimisation (SEO) can have a tangible impact on where your brand appears in search engine results pages (SERPs) because voice search terms are often far more conversational.

A Step Towards Automation

Many businesses already use automation to a certain extent, including utilising marketing tools and email scheduling capabilities. The automation of the future, however, is more concerned with machine learning and robotics, which have the potential to revolutionise the supply chain and streamline the process of analysing data including consumer purchasing histories.

Interestingly, approximately 40% of all consumers in the United States have engaged with a retailer's chatbot, so the opportunity to enhance the scope of your customer service offering is already available.?

3. Enhancing Mobile Commerce with Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)

PWAs are used to offer a user experience that is more aligned with those provided by native apps over web pages. As PWAs are equipped to deliver consistency, reliability, advanced engagement functionalities and fast loading times, it should be no surprise to learn that they are increasing in popularity at lightning speed.

Developing Connected Omnichannel Experiences

The bar is high for high-quality customer experiences and as the world moves even closer towards a digital-first approach, brands will need to invest heavily into this part of their online strategy.

An omnichannel experience looks beyond the storefront and ensures that consumers are being presented with consistency and quality across all channels. Customer service is a key element to focus on here, particularly in terms of devising ways to go above and beyond to meet the expectations of your audience.

Broadening Ecommerce with Social Selling

As social platforms evolve to introduce on-platform ecommerce components, it would be remiss for any merchant to overlook this opportunity. Just look at the success of Pinterest's Lens feature, which allows users to take a picture offline and use the platform to find the same product online.

Personalised Checkouts

As credit card usage is declining, merchants need to expand their payment options to ensure consumers can purchase products using their preferred method. Personalised checkout experiences will ensure brands can offer enough choice and effectively reach new markets.

Prioritising Transparency

Research illustrates consumers are willing to spend more on purchasing products that are more environmentally friendly. Younger generations in the US and UK are more likely to pay more, however, concern for the planet is shared by all. Consumers are actively looking for brands that are willing to be transparent, so being more open can have significant commercial advantages.

The Rise of Subscriptions

From dedicated subscription services to merchants offering subscribe and save selling capabilities on products that will require replenishment, there are myriad opportunities for ecommerce brands to drive loyalty, boost customer satisfaction, and increase sales.

A Comprehensive Approach to Data Analysis

In the future, many ecommerce businesses will choose to leverage data on an in-house basis, which will allow decision-makers to focus more keenly on strategy. This approach will also support smarter decision-making processes, particularly in relation to customer retention and targeting.?

Connecting with Newly Online Markets

The percentage of all retail sales that are coming from ecommerce are increasing on a global level. That figure is currently sitting at around 18% and it's set to grow almost four percentage points between now and 2023. There are significant opportunities here for brands to adopt a cross-border approach to selling, particularly in areas where ecommerce sales were previously lower.

MOOT.