Three E-Commerce Trends Dominating 2020

E-Commerce is evolving and growing at a rapid pace, as millions of e-commerce stores build better systems with more advanced behind the scenes automation.

Not only are the products and revenue models changing rapidly but the user-experience, technology toolkit and big data marketing methods are also all having a profound effect. It’s a whole ecosystem and it’s developing fast, right before our eyes. 

Rule #1… your focus should be on the customer experience; they are the heart of your business and the true decision makers. The better the shopping experience you provide, the happier your customers will be and more sales you will see.

If you want to scale your e-commerce business and keep it competitive, consider the following trends.

Trend # 1 - Social Media Shopping

In the past, if you wanted to purchase something online you needed to navigate to the website or online store and proceed with the transaction. Now, with features like Instagram Shoppable posts you can purchase your desired product without leaving Instagram. 

Do you see the impact of these features in impulse purchasing? The data doesn’t lie, according to Avionos 55% of e-commerce sales were completed via a social media platform in 2018. If your business is not leveraging Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or similar platforms for eCommerce, it’s time to get started! 

Trend # 2 - Voice Search Optimization

The device you are using to read this most likely has Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant or Cortana built-in, and while some people don’t use voice search, the number of people that prefer it over manual search is growing. According to ComScore, 50% of the total searches that will be performed this year will be voice searches. 

This is relevant to your e-commerce business because the number of people that use voice search to buy products is steadily growing. If you have never considered this, it’s time to start optimizing your website for voice by focusing on long-tail keywords. Without going too deep into this, just remember that voice searches are by nature, more conversational. Instead of searching for “running sneakers”, shoppers might ask “what are the best sneakers for running?” or “what sneakers can I use to run?”.

Trend # 3 - Customer service is King

This isn’t something “new” per se, but the approach and importance this area of e-commerce business is profound. 

Your customers and potential customers need responsiveness and it’s not enough that you have a team ready to reply, you also need to reach them via the channels of their preference and provide the quality of service they expect. 

Whether they are in Messenger, Twitter, email, phone, or WhatsApp you need to provide them with a well-trained team and point of contact. They want to be able to reach out 24/7 and have real-time conversations. If you create a strong customer service culture you have a huge advantage in the game.

Many companies provide average services or products, but their customer service is amazing! Customers simply want to be able to get information and support on-demand. If you are bootstrapping a store and don’t yet have the resources to offer 24/7 support or to provide it across multiple platforms, no worries. Simply start with what you have and make sure to fulfill what you promise. Make use of technology, and most importantly, don’t give up on the goal: providing the ultimate customer service experience!

Austin Wright is the founder of The California Beach Co and franchisee to multiple Anytime Fitness Centers. He has a passion for entrepreneurship, real estate, and health & fitness. Austin and his teams believe in delivering quality and value, creating best-in-class products, great relationships, and higher retention along the way.