Ecommerce is a changing industry, and those who fail to keep up with trends tend to lose out on a lot of potential customers later on. The competition is waiting for every opportunity to overtake you, and if you fail to realize that, it will not take too long before you are in a bad place.
Keeping up with as many trends in the industry should be one of the priorities for every entrepreneur. This article will be a good piece of information for those who have not been up-to-date with what is coming next, so be sure to read it.
Trend #1 – Omnipresent Support
Modern shopping gives customers opportunities to shop on different devices, like tablets, desktops, and smartphones. And they can make inquiries by either sending an email, writing directly on social media or website live chat, making a phone call, or even requesting a video chat.
It is important to ensure that your brand has all the channels covered and have someone who can talk to the customer as earliest as possible.
Trend #2 – Personalization
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According to Loyalty 360, more than 70 percent of customers tend to ignore offers that are not personalized or based on their previous engagements with the brand.
The numbers show that personalized content is more important than ever. And the brands who fail to realize this stand to lose a lot of their current customers.
Thankfully, technology has advanced, and it has become easier to collect information about customers and appeal to their needs.
You can even look to add some freebies in their orders, like complimentary t-shirts or mugs. Finding a surprise like this will help to establish a stronger relationship between your brand and the customers.
Trend #3 – The Rise of Mobile Browsing
Statista expects that about 50 percent of internet surfing will be on smartphones and tablets by the end of 2020. What does this mean for ecommerce? Well, for starters, optimizing a website for mobile devices should be one of the priorities.
Some businesses are shifting their focus on developing applications for smartphones and tablets. If you have the budget for it and believe that it will make things better for everyone involved, consider getting an app for your store as well.
Trend #4 – Voice Search and AI
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The popularity of devices like Alexa and Google Assistant is making entrepreneurs rethink how they can utilize voice search for their brand. An average person finds voice commands to be more convenient while searching the net, and shopping is no exception in this regard.
Developments in the artificial intelligence industry are also something to keep a closer eye on. Machine learning reduces the burden of having to collect information about customer behavior manually.
In addition, chatbots could revolutionize the customer support departments for a lot of brands. Having a computer that is available 24/7 and responds immediately saves resources. And while there are still ways to go until chatbots are able to interact with the customers like real humans, it is only a matter of time before they overtake people working in customer support departments.
Trend #5 – Easy Checkout Process
If you are looking to reduce the number of abandoned shopping carts on your e-store, consider making the checkout process easier for everyone.
For starters, it might be a good idea to introduce an option to shop without needing to register an account. Also, when you create a registration form that requires a lot of information, some people are bound to give up and not bother filling all that in.
Trend #6 – Different Payment Methods
A variety of payment methods is also one of the priorities and should be taken seriously to reduce the rate of abandoned shopping carts. Payment options like credit cards and PayPal are given, but what about others? Mobile payments like Apple Pay or Google Pay should also be on the list of available alternatives on your store. Finally, more and more businesses are recognizing cryptocurrency as a payment method so that one might also be worth implementing.
Trend #7 – Drone Delivery
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Major companies like Amazon, Alibaba, and Dominos have already started to experiment with drones and what they can offer as a delivery option. The initial results are positive since drones can take the package to the customer quickly. There is no need to worry about traffic and terrain like mountains.
If the predictions of experts are correct, drone delivery will become a staple in the industry, and you should also be ready to implement it in your business.
Trend #8 – Emphasis on Customer Experience
There is a question of what will be important for marketing in the next few years. Well, customer experience is certainly one of those things. You need to build strong and lasting relationships with your customers.
Offer exclusive deals, create a loyalty program, have a quick response time for any questions they might have, and do everything else to build a positive reputation and raise brand awareness.