Next Big Things in E-com

Augmented reality enhances the reality of online shopping.

Augmented reality (AR) has been a complete game-changer for eCommerce. With this technology, shoppers can experience the product they're shopping for, which helps them make a buying decision. AR has a huge impact in specific industries, such as fashion and home decor.

Gartner Says 100 Million Consumers Will Shop in Augmented Reality Online and In-Store by 2020

AR grants a person the ability to not just see a 3D model of a product but lets a user see how it looks if they were wearing it. Some products and industries lend themself better to traditional shopping methods, but AR is going to shake things up sooner than later.”

Tessa Wuertz, Director of Marketing & Partnerships, efelle.com, also sees the potential for even smaller to midmarket businesses joining the trend:

“We are expecting a lot more businesses to utilize AR for their products and businesses — so much so that it will become more standard in eCommerce and?social media?platforms. We’re seeing it put to use with larger companies, but I think we’re soon going to start seeing it become mainstream for businesses of all sizes.”

“Gartner expects that the implementation of 5G and AR/VR in stores will transform not only customer engagement but also the entire product management cycle of brands,” said?Sylvain Fabre, senior research director at Gartner.

Future of Personalisation

The rapid development of technology and the growing amount of time people spend online have increased the number of consumer touchpoints and interactions with brands they engage with. The concept of personalization (although not new) offers organizations the ability to improve brand loyalty, grow sales and revenue, and increase efficiency by using data to create more sophisticated and unique customer experiences

According to a 2019 McKinsey study, organizations that have implemented personalized recommendations and triggered communications have realized a 5–15 per cent increase in revenue and a 10–30 per cent increase in marketing spend efficiency.

As the ability to deliver more sophisticated experiences has evolved, consumers today expect real-time, curated experiences across digital channels as they consider, purchase, and use products and services.

However, many organizations struggle to deliver personalized experiences due to scale limitations of static, rule-based systems; complexities and costs of implementing a machine learning (ML)-based solution; and friction with platform integration.

Chatbots improve shopping experiences.

Digital disruption is rapidly rising customer expectations. Today’s consumers and business buyers are more informed and less loyal than their predecessors. They’re looking for differentiated experiences based on trust and understanding, and they will shop around to find them.

Not only do?80% of customers believe?that the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services, but more than two-thirds (67%) also say their standard for good experiences is higher than ever. And with 76% of consumers and business buyers saying that it’s easier than ever to take their business elsewhere, the pressure is on for organisations to get the customer experience right.

That’s where?AI chatbots come in. While chatbots can’t replace humans, they can complement the support-chat experience, giving employees or customers a friendly greeting and direct ways to get what they need — fast.

“More than one in three brands say customers and prospects prefer to complete a purchase or resolve service issues without speaking to a human associate, if possible”

Duran Inci, CEO of?Optimum7, sees chatbots becoming increasingly personalized to improve the customer experience:

“The same way chatbots are becoming more intuitive, so do I think that personal shopping assistant bots online will become more prevalent, using previous data to help anticipate new products that you’ll like. Similar to Amazon’s suggestions for similar products.”

Forecast endless possibilities

" Don’t Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch?"

I am a big fan of Stoicism, but I think that it’s high time that we move on from this Greek principle. The biggest nightmare of any business today is to sit on a pile of production-ready resources and see them idle. Or even worse- scrapping them due to the absence of demand. Thus, accurately estimating the shifts in customer sentiments and other factors contributing to the industry is a basic necessity. It holds existential relevance to the profitability and survival of the firms. So, if you are willing to keep your firm financially healthy and ensure sustainability in the longer horizon, you have to count your chickens way before they hatch. Plain and simple as that.

What is business forecasting??

Business forecasting is the process of analyzing data to predict future company needs and make insight-driven development decisions.?

There’s no downside to being prepared! Building a strong forecast prepares businesses for potential issues and identifies areas for profitable growth. Even if your predictions end up being inaccurate, you’ll have all the necessary data and information to get closer to the final forecast.?

there are a lot of new things happening in eCommerce. Technology and people are always evolving, and since eCommerce brings it all together, we are always going to be looking toward the future. One thing is for sure, is that it's never too late to jump right in, learn something new, and evaluate if it's right for your business. For now, consumers are in the driver's seats and eCommerce businesses will be customizing the journey ahead for them.