8 eCommerce Trends That Are Determining The Future of Online Retail

Electronic shopping has its roots back in 1979 when an English inventor connected a modified TV to a computer, which was capable of transaction-processing, via a telephone line to build the foundation on which the whole eCommerce industry is built.

From buying clothes for a special occasion to booking a cab to reach your destination – most transactions are done on an eCommerce platform. And as you may have noticed, some of the biggest entrepreneurs of recent times are the owners of successful eCommerce businesses.

It goes without saying that eCommerce sites have entered each and every household located in not just the US but also across various countries of the world. And marketers are now focusing on eCommerce trends to decide what should be their marketing strategy to improve sales and conversions in the upcoming months. While some trends are as clear as day, others require a little research and observation.

Well, if you are willing to learn about the latest trends in the eCommerce landscape, you have come to the right place. Here are some of the most crucial eCommerce trends that are going to decide the future of the eCommerce industry.

1. Personalized experience

There’s no denying that personalized experience is going to play a major role in shaping the eCommerce industry in the coming years. According to an Accenture Research report, 43 percent of U.S. consumers are more likely to choose the companies that personalize their experience. The report also highlights the fact that 41 percent of U.S. consumers switched companies over a lack of trust and poor personalization.

Image Source: Mediapost

The report further reveals that 48 percent of consumers are likely to shop more when they receive a personalized experience. It has come to light that 74% of people hate to see irrelevant content on a daily basis. Unfortunately, most marketers haven’t been able to offer such a personalized experience, which is costing them a significant amount of revenue.

According to Gartner, businesses with the successful implementation of personalization in eCommerce will be enjoying a 15 percent profit boost by 2020.

2. Multiple shopping channels

A study conducted by the Harvard Business Review which investigated 46,000 shoppers, revealed that 73 percent of the participants used multiple channels to do their shopping. If you look around, you will see that people have already started to consider multiple channels before making a purchase. And this trend is only going to get bigger with time.

A study by Canalys further reveals that 22 percent of North American retailers already prioritize omnichannel efforts as they have found positive results by implementing those efforts. 30 percent of the surveyed sellers mentioned that a lack of capital is holding them back from providing an omnichannel experience to customers.

You can guess what kind of revolution the eCommerce landscape is going to experience once the retailers get hold of significant capital because they have already recognized the potential of the multichannel experience. According to Forbes Insights, 73 percent of retailers believe that multichannel is important to them.

3. Customer service automation

As we move towards the age of automation, there’s no doubt that customer interactions are also going to be automated. According to Zendesk, 85% of all customer interactions will be handled without any assistance from human agents by 2020. For now, 42 percent of B2C customers went on to purchase more after receiving a good customer service experience.

Since a quick resolution is a priority, 25% of customer support and services will be integrated with virtual assistance by 2020 for faster support. Interestingly, artificial intelligence will be able to handle 45% of customer questions from the live chat on its own, a 2018 report suggests.

4. Crypto-currencies as a payment method

Cryptocurrencies have already started to make a difference in the field of finance. And it is only a matter of time when cryptocurrencies replace credit/debit cards as the most popular eCommerce payment method. In fact, a PayPal Exec predicts that there is a “Very high likelihood” that Bitcoin may become a popular payment method.

Since cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin carry a low transaction fee (around 0.3%), they are set to become one of the most popular eCommerce payment methods by 2021, with a market share of 16.5 percent.

5. On-site and in-app mobile commerce

According to Business Insider, mobile eCommerce will make up 45 percent of the total eCommerce revenue (around $284 billion) by the year 2020. Already 56 percent of consumers use their mobile phones to research products at their home. It will be no surprise if purchases through mobile devices increase significantly in the next few years.

Image Source: Digiday.com

Walmart mobile eCommerce site increased its mobile sales by 98 percent just by optimizing it and improving the design. Exxel also witnessed a 272% increase in mobile conversion rate and 193% improvement in year-on-year mobile revenue by optimizing its mobile eCommerce platform.

6. Same-day delivery

Delivering products on the same day may seem challenging to most warehouses (77% of them) currently, but 38 percent of customers expect the high street retailers to provide same-day delivery. In fact, 72 percent of buyers would shop more if they had the option of getting same-day delivery.

In 2015, Macy’s made a partnership with Deliv to offer same-day delivery at just $5. This move helped them gain the #2 spot among online apparel retailers in 2016. So, you can imagine what can happen to businesses which are able to deliver products on the same day in the near future.

7. Faster delivery

Given that same-day delivery has the potential to boost sales of eCommerce sites of recent times, perhaps you need to think about more advanced delivery services to stay on top of eCommerce trends. According to the Walker Sands, 79 percent of US consumers are willing to request drone delivery if the product can be delivered within an hour.

Image Source: Businessinsider.com

It is predicted that 40 percent of parcels will be delivered within 2 hours by 2020. You will be surprised to know that 73 percent of participants in a survey said that they would pay up to $10 for drone delivery on today’s date.

8. Increasing use of video

In the last few years, the consumption of video content has taken a hike. And the eCommerce industry is all set to reap the benefits of it. A report suggests that 60 percent of consumers would rather watch a product video than read a product description. Not just that, consumers are 64-85% more likely to make a purchase after watching a product video.

Surprisingly, 58 percent of consumers believe that companies with product videos are more trustworthy. Furthermore, product pages with videos have 37 percent more chance of an add-to-cart conversion than product pages with no videos. There’s no doubting why the majority of eCommerce platforms are putting videos on their product pages.

Wrapping up

These trends mentioned above have already started to shape the industry for tomorrow, and every smart marketer has already begun making their move to stay on top of these changing trends. If you want your business to grow into something big, this may be your chance to make the right move and turn your small enterprise into a successful eCommerce platform in the near future.

Guest author: Being a versed blogger, Arif Rashid has found the inspiration in the generation of millennial while creativity connects to your writing. He tries to discover new trends in the world on technological aspects. Love to write blogs endlessly and enlightening others. He develops the skills and mindset to navigate constant change and build resilience. Presently he is part time writer at MyAssignmentHelp.

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