The e-commerce industry is always evolving; countless new stores and business ideas seem to appear every day. Global e-commerce revenues hit $4.9 trillion in 2021. This number is forecasted to increase by 50% over the next 4 to 5 years – hitting $7.4 trillion by 2025/2026.
This means competition is ever-increasing.
In this article, we’ll go over the 5 e-commerce trends that will inevitably define the future of the industry’s development – allowing you to get an advantage on the competition.
1. Mobile Commerce
First and foremost; mobile commerce. We’ve seen the rise of M-commerce for several years and now more than ever, online businesses are optimizing their websites and operations for mobile compatibility. Allowing clients to shop via mobile devices has become the norm.
Currently, mobile devices account for 61% of retail traffic with 70 million online users shopping via mobile devices. This figure will continue to skyrocket as we head into 2023 and therefore will be the leading e-commerce trend that will shape the future.
The reason for the success of M-commerce is simple: consumer convenience. Customers can make purchases from anywhere in the world with the tap of a finger. Not only can customers purchase with ease, but they can now research and compare products on the go. They can compare the aesthetics of the product they’re looking to purchase by screenshotting and saving the image in their gallery for visual comparisons later on.
2. Personalization
Personalization will play a crucial role with consumers as 60% of consumers are more likely to become returning buyers if a company provides a personalized shopping experience. Personalization refers to customized search results for each individual customer according to their past behavior on a website by analyzing their profile data – which refers to various aspects such as the time of day they search for a product, what interests they have, how many times they’ve purchased from a competitor’s website, etc.
With tailored search results for each individual, customers will begin to build a sense of trust and loyalty toward your online business. Aligning your online operations with customer interests tells the customer you care about offering them the best possible products or services that they’re actually looking to buy. This results in customers becoming repeat purchasers.
3. Artificial Intelligence (A.I)
As technology becomes more advanced each year, the utilization of A.I will rapidly increase across all industries. A majority of e-commerce owners already believe A.I will help them personalize their online shops and will even benefit their backend operations.
Currently, there are a plethora of uses that A.I has been implemented into; voice-activated payments, virtual conversations, chatbots, data collection, algorithms, customized search results, security and fraud prevention, and voice searches – all of which are the most common uses in e-commerce.
AI algorithms are capable of collecting and analyzing massive amounts of data. According to IBM research, 40% of organizations that implemented A.I in their business operations showcased a result in solved supply chain issues. By combining artificial intelligence and production process management, cost overheads and downtime can be reduced.
4. Augmented Reality (A.R)
Like A.I, the technology for augmented reality (AR) is rapidly improving. Statista estimates that the augmented reality industry is worth $30.7 billion, with over 400,000 AR glasses sold in 2021. A.R technology uses 3D mapping to allow customers to try on things or preview experiences before purchasing – let alone physically trying the product.
A.R allows you to deliver a more intuitive and engaging visual shopping experience that lets customers interact with products in an immersive way. Like many future trends; it’s convenient. A.I improves customers’ ability to visualize products before buying them – enabling them to make more successful purchases. Categories such as fashion and home decor are looking to experience the most benefit from this technology.
5. Social Commerce
Now that social media has advanced, customers can now buy and sell, subscribe or unsubscribe via social media platforms instead of going directly through the original source website. Social media is no longer used exclusively for online marketing; now customers can make purchases through several platforms without ever having to land on the product’s original site. This practice is common with Facebook and Instagram Shops, which see an increase of users and buyers each year.
In addition to social media to becoming a direct sales channel, social commerce benefits advertising by increasing organic consumer interaction. The social commerce industry is expected to grow steadily between 2022-2028, and social commerce will expand three times faster than traditional e-commerce solutions.
Conclusions
E-commerce connects people and technology – therefore, businesses need to adapt to consumer conveniences with these mentioned technologies or risk being trampled-on by the competition. As it’s displayed within this article, it’s evident the landscape of the e-commerce industry is becoming more competitive. Moving forward, e-commerce companies should look to adapting to meet customer needs as conveniently as possible within this continuously changing climate.
