n 1995, the first item ever was ordered online on Amazon – a book.
Around 20 years later, the ecommerce industry has made over 2 trillion US dollars in sales worldwide. There’s no looking back now.
Ecommerce has revolutionized retail. It has evolved to meet the changing needs of people, and to make online shopping easier for the modern day customer. When it started, ecommerce was fairly limited in its capabilities. But not anymore. Whether it’s customization, enhanced return policies, or improved integration, all of these changes (among countless others) have taken the world of ecommerce by storm. And 2020 is here to further transform the world of ecommerce.
related blog: 10 ecommerce trends you can expect in 2020 -https://www.auditax.com.au/
Why Are Ecommerce Trends so Important?
The ecommerce world is becoming increasingly competitive. To stay ahead of the competition, ecommerce trends need to be constantly monitored. No matter how mature your ecommerce store is right now, if you don’t keep up with ecommerce trends, you’ll risk falling drastically behind. You need to keep looking ahead to ensure future success. As we move into 2020, you need to know these trends in order to take advantage of them. That’s why it’s so important that ecommerce trends are analyzed and adopted in a timely manner. By doing this you can drive your ecommerce brand forward, and stay ahead of your competition.
Top Ecommerce Trends 2020:
Are you wondering what the future of ecommerce looks like? Do you want to look into what trends will shape the success of your online store? Here are the top 10 ecommerce trends for 2020 that you need to look out for.
1. Online Sales Growth is Unstoppable
Ecommerce sales have been growing constantly and for good reason. Online shopping is one of the most popular online activities. The sales are projected to increase from 1.3 trillion in 2014 to 4.5 trillion in 2021 (Statista, 2019). That’s a massive figure. It would mean a threefold growth over a 7-year span.
Even though online shopping is one of the most popular online activities, the usage varies by region. With the increasing popularity of ecommerce stores, a rising number of people are turning to online shopping. This increase in online shopping can be attributed to a number of factors. One of the main ones is arguably the level of comfort that is provided to online shoppers.
2. The Future of Ecommerce After COVID-19
Undeniably, one of the biggest impacts—if not the biggest—on ecommerce trends in 2020 will be COVID-19.
With governments worldwide shutting stores and implementing lockdowns to restrict social movement for months on end in a bid to combat the coronavirus, more and more people are resorting to online shopping to purchase items.
Already, ecommerce giant Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has seen his fortune grow by nearly $24 billion thanks to increased customer demand for Amazon’s products and services.
3. Mobile Shopping is Growing
The growth of mobile commerce has been noteworthy. Since 2016, sales made via mobile devices increased by 15%. By the end of 2021, 73% of ecommerce sales will take place on a mobile device (Statista, 2019). These figures can’t be ignored. Improving the ecommerce experience for mobile customers can be a huge opportunity for businesses to tap into.
Ecommerce growth has been driven in part by the increase in usage of mobile devices. People don’t just shop online, they also use their mobile devices to browse or research before making their mind up about their purchase.
4. Rise of Voice Commerce
Voice shopping is growing among Internet users. 13% of U.S. smart speaker owners say that they were making purchases by voice at the end of 2017. That number is predicted to grow to 55% by 2022 (OC&C Strategy Consultants, 2018). The total spend on voice shopping has also gone up in the UK.
This ecommerce trend has grown in popularity mainly since 2014 when Amazon launched their smart speaker – Echo. While voice shopping is still in its early stages, this statistic shows us that it will become increasingly popular in the coming years.
5. Evolving Role of Social Media in Ecommerce
The number of social shoppers is also rapidly increasing. With the introduction of the “Buy” button on Facebook, and Instagram Checkout, social media is playing a significant role in the world of ecommerce.
Social media has changed the way we live our daily lives, including the way we buy things. This is a great opportunity for brands to start thinking about how to improve their position on social media, which is a great platform for brands to get discovered. With consumers spending more time on different types of social media, ecommerce businesses can get help from Instagram influencers to increase their chances of getting discovered by their target audience.
6. Environmental Topics Influence Buyers
Green consumerism is on the rise, and brands need to take action. Half of digital consumers say that environmental concerns impact their purchasing decisions. Ecommerce businesses should strive for creating more sustainable practices. People are now becoming more conscious of the environment than ever before, and for the right reasons. Online businesses need to step in and make sure that their practices are environmentally friendly. This includes practices of sourcing products from fair-trade organizations to help create a greener ecommerce environment.
Millennials are paving the way forward to greener consumerism habits. Whether it’s free-range meat or vegan skincare products, there is an increasing demand for taking care of our environment. Consumers feel more responsible for the planet, which in turn increases the responsibility for brands to cater to the eco-friendly needs of customers.
7. Role of Artificial Intelligence
Global retailer spending on Artificial Intelligence (AI) will reach $7.3 billion per annum by 2022, up from an estimated $2 billion in 2018 (BusinessWire, 2018). This happens as retailers target new avenues to increase personalization of the customer experience.
This research shows us that retailers are willing to heavily invest in tools that will help them to improve their services to customers and give them a competitive advantage. These AI tools range from automated marketing platforms that are equipped to generate timely offers, to chatbots that respond to customer queries instantly. Other areas where AI will be helpful for retailers include AI-optimized pricing and discounting, as well as demand forecasting.
8. Augmented Reality Transforms How We Shop
By 2022 over 120,000 stores will be using Augmented Reality (AR) technologies, offering a much richer buying experience (Prnewswire, 2018). AR uptake in the sector will be driven by the retail workforce and online shoppers.
One of the main concerns that people have when shopping online is the inability to see the product firsthand. AR technology helps bridge this gap and enable online shoppers to better visualize the products that they are interested in.
9. Personalization is the Future
More than 50% of shoppers say that a personalized online experience is important (Bazaarvoice, 2018). Adding to that, 74% of marketers believe personalization has a “strong” or “extreme” impact on advancing customer relationships (Evergage, 2018).
Personalizing the online shopping experience is the key to keeping customers satisfied. People shopping online want help to find the products that they need, and they value a more personalized experience. As a result of poor product recommendations, online shoppers might avoid certain stores altogether.
10. Visual Commerce Is on the Rise
One of the many difficulties of running an ecommerce store is having to sell your product to consumers who have no chance of physical interaction with your product. That’s where visual commerce comes into play.
In short, visual commerce is the next generation of normal static visuals. It takes marketing to a whole other level as instead of simply using product photos to market your business, visual commerce takes it one step further by incorporating other types of visuals such as consumer-generated media, interactive content, engaging videos, and as previously mentioned, augmented reality.
