Current E-Commerce Trends
COVID-19 changed the world, and it has had a lot of impact on the economy globally. During the lockdown or movement restrictions, many retail businesses found a way to thrive even while hoping an end to the pandemic would come. While physical stores were closed, companies began to look at e-commerce alternatives. They were able to adapt to a new way of doing business.
Now, e-commerce has experienced an unprecedented increase in the last two years. Online sales have tripled and continue to rise. E-commerce has made a remarkable impact on today’s economy and will play a huge role in the future. We will be looking at some of the e-commerce business trends practiced this year, and what we should expect in 2022.
What Is Trending in E-Commerce Marketing?
With more businesses transitioning to e-commerce, new ideas and strategies were tried to improve sales. Many of which became a trend among thousands of companies around the globe. Here is the current trend we observed businesses adapt to in e-commerce this year.
1. Mobile Shopping
2021 saw the growth of mobile commerce as there were more engagements online. Study shows that over half of the internet usage or traffic is from mobile devices. M-commerce is a crucial part of e-commerce, and it is a trend many businesses have adopted. Many companies invested in mobile apps and web technology to make their products and services accessible to customers globally. As the internet has a broad reach, mobile shopping also has massive patronage.
2. Social Commerce
Another major trend observed in 2021 was social commerce. This involves trading via social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and others. Businesses saw the opportunity to tap into the market on social media platforms. It accounts for a potential revenue increase in e-commerce. Facebook and TikTok have the most extensive engagements online and have become a place for new shopping trends. There is even a Facebook shop that allows firms to create a unique page for their business. Users can purchase products and make payments through their Facebook and Instagram apps.
3. Personalised Online Shopping
The purpose of personalised shopping in e-commerce is to give customers a personal experience while shopping online. This is done by marketing channels such as product recommendation, content marketing, and product offers based on the user’s browsing or purchase history. This is one way to attract potential customers, and thanks to AI technology, e-commerce can deliver a personalised shopping experience to customers.
4. Multiple Payment Gateways
One of the solutions brought about by e-commerce is the emergence of multiple payment options, especially contactless payments. While people shop online, they now have countless ways to pay for goods. E-commerce has been able to cater to the needs of customers through multi-financing options. Apart from the regular debit and credit card methods, people could pay for goods online via their smartphones. Through digital wallets like Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, and others, payments online have become accessible.
5. Omnichannel Retail
It is not a new concept for businesses to have multiple selling points. However, integrating online and offline stores is a new type of sales strategy that has been adopted in e-commerce. With omnichannel, customers have multiple options when shopping online. This way, one is not replacing the brick and mortar experience but fusing the two to get diverse options. Even though many customers have formed an online shopping habit, many people still like the idea of physical stores. Omnichannel offers both choices and has long-term potential for the growth of businesses.
6. Video Marketing
Video marketing is another strategy that has gained popularity in e-commerce. It is a tool developed to increase engagement and drive sales for businesses. According to recent studies, 86% of companies use video marketing tools which is a significant increase compared to 2016, which only witnessed an engagement of 64%. Social media is one of the reasons for this growth, as many social media users are interested in watching short and engaging video content. So, businesses have utilised this new trend to drive more sales.
What Are Some of the Future E-Commerce Trends
One of the practices of successful businesses is finding new trends that will drive sales. It is good to project and consider what your customers expect from your company and how you can keep your business afloat in a very competitive market. Here are some of the future e-commerce trends with considerable profit potential.
1. Voice Search for Online Shopping
Now, people can shop from any location with their voice-enabled devices. This is what we see today in Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Voice Assistant, and Apple’s Siri. Many people now have voice-enabled devices installed in their homes, and according to statistics, there will be significant growth of 55% of voice shoppers by 2022. It is a trend that will hit the market in the near future. Businesses should tap into this opportunity by employing voice search optimisation, keyword ranking, and other keyword phrases that will fit into the voice search.
2. Chatbots
Both medium and large-scale e-commerce businesses today make use of customer service chatbots. The purpose of these chatbots is to bring answers to customers’ inquiries. So, enterprises hire customer service representatives to handle this. Chatbots have helped businesses, and they can have many functions. It can be used to gather customer feedback to improve services, answer frequently asked questions, and make product suggestions or recommendations to customers. You can use your chatbots also to offer information about ongoing sales, and this will bring about a personalised customer experience.
3. Augmented and Virtual Reality
One of the reasons why people still prefer physical stores is because they get to see what they are buying, and there are no unwanted surprises. However, with the introduction of augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR), it gives customers that same experience. It bridges the gap between online and offline sales so customers can gain trust in the goods they buy. According to statistics, it is estimated that in 2022, over 120,000 stores will be adopting AR. It will be a successful trend as AR and VR offer a better online shopping experience.
Newest E-Commerce Trends
New ideas are formed all the time, but not all of them succeed. However, some strategies produce tremendous results and drive massive sales for businesses. This eventually becomes a trend because it has been proven and tested to work in various companies. It is essential to keep up to date with industry research to run a successful business. There are usually lots of changes that take place due to current global business circumstances. Here are things to consider when adopting new trends:
Analyse Data
Analysing data, reports, and up-to-date research will keep you abreast of working trends in e-commerce. Luckily, research has been made easy with the help of digital tools and analytics. These tools help evaluate if an e-commerce trend will be suitable for your business. It is always advisable to use more than one tool to get accurate data to impact your business. This way, you can quickly determine how the new trends will affect your customers and how they connect with your business.
Get Customer Feedback
Another effective method when adopting the newest e-commerce trends is receiving customer feedback. Even when you start a new trend, it is wise to listen to your customers to know how it impacts your business. Customer feedback should be done regularly, and then you can work to improve or make adjustments to the trends you adopt.
Study Your Competition
It is important you look at others who are in the same line of your business. You can see how their trends affect their business and customer relationship. If it is good or they are struggling to grow after adopting a new trend. It is not always a good choice to launch into new trends immediately because it can go downhill. A careful analysis will help you determine if it is the right thing to do so you don’t make the same mistake as others. When you see a trend that has a positive impact on your business niche, you shouldn’t hesitate to put it into practice.
Final Thoughts
Now, you may wonder what e-commerce trends to go with this new year, especially now that you know the latest trends we mentioned in this article. It is crucial that you discover which of them is worth investing in as a lot of them are quite expensive and may not fit your business model. Remember to analyse the trends and determine how they will impact your business. You can significantly improve your business growth with the right e-commerce trend. As the world is turning virtual and more people are engaging on the internet, e-commerce will likely take over the global market with huge profit potentials.