In 2021, 10 Major E-Commerce Trends To Be Aware Of. Leave a comment

COVID-19 will undoubtedly have a significant impact, but not the biggest, on e-commerce trends in 2020.

As governments around the world were closing stores and implementing lockdowns to restrict social movement for months on end in order to combat the coronavirus, an increasing number of people are moving to online shopping to buy products.

Already, Jeff Bezos, CEO of e-commerce giant Amazon, has seen his fortune grow by approximately $24 billion as a result of increased customer demands for Amazon’s services and products as well.

And experts predict that the coronavirus’s impacts will not be a one-time boost to e-commerce, but will be long-lasting, even after COVID-19. This is because people will become familiar with the comfort and convenience it provides, as well as the advantages of contactless payments. Both of which are likely to lead to a permanent behavioural shift toward online purchases.

The growth of mobile shopping has been especially noteworthy.  Total mobile device sales are expected to reach $2.66 trillion by 2020. This value is predicted to increase by 18.8% this year to $3.16 trillion, before further increasing to $3.79 trillion in 2022. (Payvision, 2020).

These figures must be taken seriously. Improving the mobile shopping experience for customers can be a major opportunity for businesses.

The growing usage of mobile devices has contributed to the expansion of e-commerce. That’s because, customers are not only checking out online, they are using their mobile devices to explore or research before making a purchase decision. As customers’ trust in online shopping grows, they start to feel more comfortable & at ease while shopping on mobile devices than ever before. This is especially true for Millennials and Gen Z customers, who have grown up with computers and the internet at their fingertips. As compared to older generations, the new generation is much more likely to buy products using their mobile devices.

With more and more websites becoming mobile-friendly, make sure that not only your website but also your online store should be mobile-friendly. By doing so, you are simplifying and making e-commerce business more accessible for a wider audience.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on e-commerce cannot be overstated. After the coronavirus outbreak, more than half (54%) of consumers increased their online spending. Despite the fact that consumers of all ages are shifting to online shopping, the younger generation is primarily responsible for e-commerce development.

According to survey results, two out of every three (18%) younger customers from 18 to 34 years of age are now spending more money on online purchasing items than before the pandemic (Shopify, 2020). Consumers aged 35 to 54 increased their online shopping spending by 57%, whereas consumers aged 55 and above increased their spending by 41%.

As an e-commerce business owner, you should attract a new generation in the future to maximize your potential sales. Must increase your social media marketing effort in order to do so. More than half of young customers discover them through social media to buy from independent firms – a higher percentage than any other age group.

The number of people using social media to shop is rapidly increasing day by day. With the advent of Facebook’s “Buy” button and Instagram Checkout, social media is becoming increasingly important in the world of e-commerce.

As a result of social media, the way we live our daily lives, including how we buy things, has changed. This is an ideal time for businesses to think about how to boost their social media presence, which is a great way for brands to get success. Because customers are spending more time on various social media platforms, e-commerce business owners can get support from Instagram influencers. This will improve their chances to stand out in the online market by their target demographic.

Moreover, businesses can simply link their online stores with social networking sites using platforms like Shopify, allowing users to buy directly from them via social media. For example, Facebook and Instagram are constantly improving their features to fulfil the needs and preferences of online shoppers.

And who can forget TikTok, the newest and fastest-growing social media platform that has swept not only the hearts of teenagers but also Hollywood?

The video-sharing app has been working to integrate e-commerce elements, and its most recent efforts include testing the new feature which allows users to include product links in their profiles or videos. This implies that people who click the link will be sent to the URL inside the TikTok itself, rather than having to leave the app to access the website.

These social media networks serve as inspiration channels, allowing brands to be explored because people browse through their feeds. As social media becomes more & more popular in everyday lives, Its ability to influence e-commerce trends will grow. That’s why brands must focus their social media strategy depending upon the shopping experience.

Green consumption is on the rise, and companies must have to take action. Poor environmental records influence nearly four out of ten online customers’ purchase decisions (GlobalWebIndex, 2020).

As an e-commerce company, you should try to develop the eco-friendliest alternatives. Consumers have become more environmentally conscious than ever before and for the correct reasons. Online businesses must take action to ensure that their practices are eco-friendly. This includes measures such as sourcing items from fair-trade organizations that help create an eco-friendliest e-commerce environment.

Millennials are setting the way for eco-friendliest buying habits. Whether it’s free-range meat or vegan cosmetics, there’s a rising demand for companies to start thinking about the environment. Consumers are starting to feel more responsible for the environment, which increases the responsibility for businesses to meet all the eco-friendly needs.

Customers’ shopping habits and brand preferences are continuously changing due to the increase in online shopping.

A rising number of customers are becoming more open to shopping from independent businesses, despite the focus on sustainable and environmental practices. Moreover, half of the respondents (57%) say they are willing to try new products or brands for the first time (Shopify, 2020).

The pandemic, which damaged many small businesses and inspired many people to buy from and support them. In fact, more than a third (37%) of customers who buy from small businesses say they do so today more than they did before the COVID-19.

Some of the top reasons for purchasing from independent brands include a desire to encourage entrepreneurship (cited by 33% of customers), a need for unique items (33%), and a want to get exceptional customer service (31%).

By 2022, over 120,000 stores will adopt Augmented Reality (AR) technology, resulting in a better & memorable shopping experience. The retail staff and online shoppers will boost AR uptake in the industry. One of the main concerns that consumers have while purchasing online is the inability to see the product directly. AR technology bridges this gap by allowing online shoppers to see the products they like & want.

This may be a game-changer for online buyers. AR experiences have the potential to change how online shoppers see the products that they want to buy. Customers will be able to fully understand their demands and if the products they want to purchase fulfil their requirements by using Augmented Reality AR.

Some e-commerce businesses have already begun to experiment with AR, which will help them differentiate themselves from their competitors. Provides more customizable experiences to customers that will improve online shopping. Companies are adopting augmented reality (AR) not just to improve the customer experience, but also to allow shoppers to examine and explore products in the same way that they would during a physical shopping experience.

A personalized online experience is significantly more than 50% of buyers (Bazaarvoice, 2018). Moreover, 74% of marketers truly believe personalization has a “powerful” or “extreme” influence on customer relationship advancement (Evergage, 2018).

The easiest way to keep customers happy is to personalize the online buying experience. People who buy online want assistance in finding the products they want, and also a more personalized experience. Online customers may avoid some stores altogether due to the bad product recommendations.

Ecommerce sites are onboard on this trend and are spending on personalization tactics to improve the online buying experience. Personalization of email messages or delivering the relevant information to the interested consumer group are examples of this. By delivering personalized customer communications, relevant offers, and interacting with customers through, for example, video content, you can provide a better shopping experience and establish a strong relationship with your customers.

One of the various difficulties of running an e-commerce business is that sells goods to customers who have no possibility of direct interaction with it.  This is when visual commerce enters the industry. In a nutshell, visual commerce is the next version of static visuals. Visual commerce takes marketing to a new level by adding various forms of visuals such as customer-generated media, interactive content, compelling videos, and, as previously noted, Augmented Reality.

Visual commerce is slowly but effectively becoming an essential part of e-commerce, as seen by the advancement of the deep-learning technology that enables it. This includes the image-recognition industry, which is expected to expand from $20.19 billion in 2018 to $81.88 billion by 2026, or a 19.6% compound annual rate of growth (MarketWatch, 2020).

Image recognition is predicted to be the most widespread in the North American market, which refers to the popularity as well as demand for visual material among US customers. Nowadays, about 75% of internet users in the United States look for visual material before making a purchase on a regular basis. Only a small percentage (3%) do not.