The digital world is changing rapidly, especially for eCommerce businesses. Today’s digital-oriented society means that more people are choosing to shop online. Statista estimates that there were more than 2 billion digital shoppers in 2021. This number is only going to increase in the future.
Because eCommerce trends are driven by the wants and needs of consumers, they change constantly. Because customers are the driving force behind a business’s success you must ensure that your products, services, and branding are aligned with their interests.
The announcement of the Facebook Metaverse is one trend that will shake up the eCommerce industry. The Facebook Metaverse will enable internet users to shop, play games and hang out with their friends from the comfort of their own homes. The metaverse is expected to create a new digital economy. eCommerce companies need to develop marketing strategies around this technology in order to ensure success with eCommerce.
The ability of a company to adapt to changing trends and user behavior is key to its growth.
This article will highlight the top seven trends in online shopping to help you create successful eCommerce growth strategies.
Omnichannel eCommerce
Omnichannel eCommerce is one of the hottest trends in online shopping. It combines multiple marketing channels to offer customers seamless online shopping. Omnichannel eCommerce allows you to effectively nurture potential customers throughout the sales funnel, regardless of how they contact your business.
A customer may place an order through your website. They later decide to check their order status and shipping details via your mobile app. Imagine they discover an issue after the item arrives. They can contact customer service via your social media channels quickly.
Omnichannel eCommerce allows you to seamlessly transfer your customers’ experience from one channel to the next. This eCommerce marketing strategy will require you to upgrade your business tech in order to manage all your channels from one system.
If you are unfamiliar with this trend and don’t know where to start, eCommerce experts can help you develop eCommerce growth strategies that will work for your business. Partnering with an eCommerce digital marketing agency will optimize your omnichannel strategy and drive eCommerce success.
Prioritizing Customer Retention Over Customer Acquisition
The eCommerce industry grew because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in increased online competition and more digital advertising spending. Online businesses need to spend more on advertising campaigns in order to be noticed in a highly competitive market and attract new customers. According to The Drum digital ad spending rose to 49% in the first half 2021, compared to ad expenditure in the first quarter of 2019.
Companies are now focusing their marketing efforts to retain customers and not acquire new customers via paid advertising in order to prepare for the future eCommerce. These are the best customer retention practices:
* Use multiple channels of communication. Customer feedback gives you insight into the preferences and needs of your customers, enabling you make necessary adjustments.
* Create loyalty and reward programs. Rewards and loyalty programs encourage repeat spending and emotional connection.
* Hiring eCommerce Experts: Partner with an eCommerce digital marketing agency to ensure the success of your customer retention strategies.
Loyalty to a business does not affect their purchasing decision. They would rather wait to pay more for products and services that they already know. Customer retention optimization is an eCommerce marketing strategy that we will be seeing more of.
Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence to Enhance the Shopping Experience
Artificial intelligence (AI), a broad term that covers intelligent technologies, is the umbrella term for artificial intelligence. This technology is used by eCommerce companies in many ways. These include personalized product recommendations, automated sales, and shopping patterns prediction. AR, on the other hand, refers to the technology that overlays digital content such as images and sound over a real world environment.
Retailers can improve the customer experience (UX), by integrating AI/AR in their eCommerce growth strategies. These are just a few examples of their potential.
- 47 percent of consumers would purchase items through a chatbot, an AI-based technology (HubSpot 2017).
- AI usage by businesses has increased to $2.9 trillion (Semrush 2021).
- Seventy-one per cent of consumers believe they would shop more frequently if AR was used (ThinkMobiles 2021).
- Conversion rates for AR ads are in the 20-80 percent range according to AdWeek 2018, 2018.
The future of eCommerce is changing with the advent of AR and AI. How well you integrate technological advances into your eCommerce growth strategies will determine how successful eCommerce is.
Multiple payment methods
Online payments have been around since the beginning of the 1990s. However, the eCommerce industry’s recent growth has made it easier and more accessible to make payment online. While debit and credit cards are still the most popular methods of payment, digital wallets like Venmo, Apple Pay, and PayPal are quickly gaining popularity (Sale cycle).
Increase cart abandonment rates by offering more payment options and maximising the channels for transactions. Shopify allows you to incorporate multiple payment options into your marketing strategy. This will increase conversion rates and sales.
Mobile Shopping
More than 1.2 billion people around the world access the internet through their smartphones. And more than half of them use their phones to buy products online (Oberloo). Many eCommerce UX experts believe mobile shopping will be the future of ecommerce.
Businesses should invest in mobile optimization of their websites. According to eCommerce website designers, the following are best practices for mobile web page design:
* Responsive web design: A responsive design allows your website to adjust its layout automatically based on screen size. This provides seamless browsing.
* Stop pop-ups. Pop-ups can be a problem for mobile eCommerce customers. Mobile screens are smaller than desktops, so pop-up close buttons tend to be small and therefore more difficult to use. It is more common for users to abandon your website than to close the popup.
* Speed up your site: According to Search Engine Journal 53 percent of mobile users will abandon a site that takes longer than three seconds to load. Slow loading speeds can also be detrimental to search engine optimization (SEO), and negatively impact your search engine results pages (SERP). Slow loading speeds can be solved by simplifying your design, compressing images, and avoiding flashy features.
Mobile usage is integral to our daily lives, so online shoppers expect websites that meet their needs. Businesses should adopt the best mobile shopping practices to enhance their eCommerce customer experience.
An eCommerce SEO agency will help you create responsive web pages optimized for mobile and conversions. These eCommerce UX experts will create custom eCommerce solutions that will help your business Proximate Solutions. However, they can also provide you with Etsy SEO tips if your business is on the Etsy shop.
Fast and Free Delivery
Amazon and Shopify are well-known for their fast and free shipping. Sixty percent expect free shipping from retailers (NRF). Additionally, 84 per cent of online customers purchased specifically because shipping was free (Forbes).
Online shoppers want their orders to arrive as quickly as possible, according to research. Flexe Omnichannel Consumer 2020 survey found that 85 percent of online shoppers search for alternatives when delivery times are slow. A delay in delivery can actually reduce your conversion rates.
Businesses should pay attention to the new trends in online shopping, such as free and fast shipping. The eCommerce market is competitive and businesses must adapt to customer demands. This will result in missed sales opportunities and lost leads.
Dynamic Pricing
Dynamic pricing is an eCommerce marketing strategy which adjusts the price of products based on real-time demand and supply. Bots manage the adjustments by collecting data and using algorithms that modify pricing based on customer location, demand level, and even pricing of your competitors.
This trend is proving to be a huge benefit for many businesses as it gives them greater control over pricing strategies. Although dynamic pricing can sometimes be error-prone, it is possible to manage it easily with the right software. Aside from that, price adjustments are more accurate thanks to advances in AI technology, which is the technology used in bots.
Conclusion
To stay competitive in an increasingly competitive online shopping market, businesses must keep up with the latest trends and serve customers better. All eCommerce trends present and future share the same common denominator: a better user experience.
You can create a positive experience for your customers, increase sales and encourage more orders.
Proximate Solutions is an eCommerce SEO agency that can help you create custom eCommerce solutions to grow your business. Proximate Solutions’ highly skilled eCommerce UX specialists and eCommerce website designers will help you upgrade your business to keep up with current eCommerce trends.
