In this article, we've mentioned the twelve amazing ecommerce trends that are just around the corner that will dominate the sector in 2023.
2021 has been a great year for ecommerce, as many fresh and impressive additions were introduced to online businesses. And as 2023 approaches, the technology advancements are proceeding to greater levels.
As per stats, the worldwide revenue of ecommerce has crossed to more than 3.53 trillion USD. It is believed that it will cross 6.54 trillion by the end of 2023. These numbers clearly show the growth of global ecommerce.
In this article, we've mentioned the twelve amazing ecommerce trends that are just around the corner that will dominate the sector in 2023 as follows.
1. Big data and analytics are sharper than ever
Big data and analytics have transformed all industries and Omnichannel platforms to squeeze the best out of their endeavors. Accordingly, almost every action of the users can be turned into some data today; and those data will assist ecommerce sites in knowing more about their target base.
Both entities are set to assess customers’ demand, disseminate highly personalized customer experience, and optimize future pricing structures. The voluminous data pave a definitive path towards implementing varied digital marketing cultures relevant to their intentions.
Therefore, online marketers get to know where and when to deploy personalized marketing, segment marketing, native marketing, etc. And eventually, it also boosts the anticipative outcomes of the marketing endeavors.
2. Blockchain-enabled ecommerce will become a thing
The emergence of blockchain technology has already started impacting the eCommerce industry, and in the next few years, it will change the overall online shopping landscape. The technology will allow customers to get across directly to business firms, eliminating the middlemen.
Besides, it will enhance the transparency and security of the process. However, the system will involve specific obligations which need to be fulfilled. For instance, shoppers can forward the determined cost of the products they are willing to buy to the contract in cryptocurrency.
The seller, on the other side, forwards the proof of ownership, linking the smart contract to the firm transporting the product which is sold. The smart contract will transfer the funds to the seller’s wallet after the obligations are fulfilled.
Along with these trends, product tagging and extensive mobile shopping are expected to be other prominent aspects of the eCommerce circuit. By 2020, the eCommerce industry will likely hit as much as 50% annual growth.
It is necessary for the established players as well as the eCommerce startups to keep themselves tuned to the latest trends and integrate the necessary technologies on their platforms. You can accelerate this process by participating in one of the web3 blockchain boot camps offered by RareSkills, which will ensure you’re in a position able to handle this transition smoothly.
Online shopping has already started changing the global shopping paradigm, with more to come in the coming years once these mechanisms are implemented. You can approach the established platforms to integrate your platform with the technical edge.
3. The rise of a direct approach to a customer
Videos have a far greater visual impact than images or text. Integrating live videos is one of the best ways to steal customers’ attention. While you inform your existing customers through videos, you can create promotional campaigns for new customers.
Video calling and live chat, too, have cast a profound impact on the eCommerce business circuit. Integrating videos allows your customers to come up with their queries directly to your platform, enabling them to make quick purchases. Besides, it eliminates communication gaps in business.
Besides, chatbots are penetrating the business ambiance at a fast pace. With the chatbot market growing at 24.3% CAGR, communication mechanisms between companies and customers will likely become simplified. It comes up with an instantaneous and natural way of reaching out to customers.
You can get across to potential buyers with personalized marketing materials, suggest deals and special offers, and acquire important marketing insights from them using chatbots. Besides, dedicated messenger apps for eCommerce will likely make their presence conspicuous by 2018.
4. Mobile usage will contribute a lot more to the ecommerce
With the advent of advanced technologies, almost every person owns a smartphone or tablet. People predominantly initiate online research related to shopping and even purchase through these gadgets rather than desktops/laptops.
As evidence, more than 50% of ecommerce sales are now made via mobile platforms; it is expected to continually grow in the oncoming years, which will have a significant impact on online businesses.
The upsurge in the mobile market is going to be the trendiest vogue in 2018. According to Goldman Sachs, the global revenue share the mobile ecommerce would hold will roughly be approximately $626 billion.
5. Messenger apps and chatbots augments businesses
The global chatbot market has attained a whopping 24.3% of CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate); over 45% of the end-users consider chatbots the primary choice for customer service inquiries. Yes, we’re in the era of messengers and chatbots!
Chatbots provide ecommerce businesses the advantage of straightaway interfacing with a whole lot of customers, instantly and naturally. Further, online retailers can also use chatbots to:
Propel customers' personalized marketing content.
Suggest ideal purchase options and special coupons or deals to prospects.
Acquire valuable insights directly from the customers.
Native advertising is heightened tips with chatbots.
Moreover, their compatibility with messenger apps offers a refreshment against app fatigue. Hence, it’s evident that the chatbots, pinned-in with messenger apps, will play a massive role in ecommerce by 2023.
6. Supply chain management is more cognitive
Supply chain management plays a significant role in the ecommerce industry, which is also extensively delicate to handle. The sector is going through vast improvements, eventually posing the next big entity in the ecommerce trends.
There are basically three key factors that complement these perpetual refinements:
Automation - It’s all about automation, as far as supply chain management is concerned. Automation and process consolidation helps businesses to propagate a clear and unhindered product/information flow transition.
Data sharing - The data, such as the availability of stock details, shipping information, and customer details, are made relevantly available at all the supply chain stages.
Customer-Centricity - Knowing your customers’ aims, preferences, and tendencies is critical. Efficient supply chain management relies on all these to improve your operational efficiency.
7. Micro-moments marketing is already taking over
When customers research a product or look for instructions, certain most inclinable touch points are called “micro-moments.” Devised by Think with Google, the micro-moments are one of the hottest ecommerce trends that are going to rule in 2018.
Their raging needs for immediate gratification and the always-on access to information through smartphones fuels this behavior. Hence, moments such as I want to do; I want to buy; I want to go; I want to know; etc., can be traced through their smartphones.
In order to fulfill customer needs, ecommerce retailers reflexively take relevant actions based on their micro-moments. This helps to accurately anticipate customers’ actions and tendencies. Major brands are already catering their offers, leveraging these moments.
Thanks to the massive growth of smartphone technologies!
8. Consumers research through voice assistants
Voice assistants have gone through enormous growth in terms of popularity and desirability in recent times. Of course, people are ardently involved in using voice-activated digital assistants, like Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, etc., in their day-to-day lives.
Pertinently, they also put them into action just by speaking to accomplish various purchase-oriented tasks. Permissive to it, customers research the products they like to buy, make payments, and even check balances using voice assistants.
A recent analysis deduced that about 40% of millennials are already bumping into voice-assisted research whenever they want to shop for something. Thus, it is substantiated to be a compelling factor that will influence the ecommerce sectors.
Therefore, the keyboard/mouse will slowly phase out while the voice purchases make their way to greater prominence.
9. Artificial intelligence
Smart evaluation of data is one of the best advantages of integrating AI into your platform. AI-enabled operational mechanisms help in coming up with recommendations and dynamic pricing, which are based on the preferences of the customers.
With eCommerce firms focussing on personalized and customer-oriented services, 2018 will likely witness a large-scale integration of artificial intelligence in the business model.
According to experts, AI will be one of the dominating eCommerce trends that will make searches more customer-oriented. This will help business firms in targeting and retargeting prospective buyers.
Artificial intelligence enables marketers to come up with personalized marketing tactics. A few leading companies have already implemented this strategy. Take the instance of Good Tea Earth.
The company's online portal presents customers with a short quiz regarding their flavor preferences and related questions. Eventually, the customers receive highly tailored recommendations that suit their tastes.
10. Omni-channel platform
With increasing competition and the segmentation of customers, eCommerce companies are looking forward to establishing an omnichannel presence. This is a priority for these companies, as an omnichannel presence helps attract more customers. You may have noticed that customers receive advertisements enabled by cookies, and this is a popular marketing trend for business firms.
The eCommerce business started with desktops, and now the majority of customers have embraced smartphones. The point of saturation has already been reached, and business firms are looking forward to a possible way out of the stagnation.
This is one of the key reasons why business firms are going omnichannel. The range of devices used for browsing has also changed. Ecommerce companies are striving to make their websites compatible with these devices. Besides, it is important to integrate each of the channels of business to strengthen the online presence.
11. Better UI/UX for intensified ecommerce utility
The success of an ecommerce business obviously depends on, how well the products/services are showcased; and how easy it’s for the customers to comprehend them. User Interface (UI) and User Experience design aspects can address the two factors.
The UI/UX design has been improved so far, and we can expect to run through new updates with composite enhancements. This will greatly cut down the visual annoyance, inscribing responsive layouts. Owing to it, we’ll have to:
Heighten mobile-responsive design, as mobile devices are becoming the primary product research and purchase source.
Exhibit a clutter-free and SEO-friendly user interface with pertinent videos, animations, sidebars, and real-time photographs, to grab the customers’ attention.
Provide navigation links to compare products with the competitors to enunciate competence.
12. Post-paid or pay later will be a boom
Cart abandonment is one of the common reasons for loss of revenue for eCommerce firms. In 2015, eCommerce firms lost revenue worth $4.4 billion due to cart abandonment. Post-paid programs, or pay-later mechanisms, can effectively minimize these losses.
Most of the time, customers are interested in products but end up abandoning the cart due to a lack of confidence in the product quality. Many eCommerce firms are trying out the ‘purchase now pay later’ option, which enables customers to pay only after receiving the products. Once implemented on a large scale, this methodology can reduce friction in business to a large extent.
Another reason for cart abandonment is a failure at payment gateways. Pay-later program is a good proposition for eCommerce companies, as it can significantly minimize revenue loss. Besides, it is a strategic tool for customer acquisition.
Bottom Line
E-commerce trends are continually gearing up for better customer acquisition and retention over the years. Not coping with these trends will eventually result in a serious setback.
Hence, online businesses must update, reflect the new market trends, and develop innovative ideas to stay competitive. So pay attention to all the mentioned trends and stay a step ahead in the online business world.
Sawaram Suthar (Sam) is a Founding Director at Middleware. He has extensive experience in marketing, team building and operations. He is often seen working on various GTM practices and implementing the best ones to generate more demand. He has also founded a digital marketing blog - TheNextScoop.
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