This year, eCommerce has shown its true potential — it is not just a tool for small and medium-sized business owners to boost their selling capacity outside the limits of the physical store. It is actually much more than that. Lately, it has also proven it can actually be quite handy for survival during tough times, like a world-wide lockdown during a pandemic.As a matter of fact, the restrictions on circulation have boosted online sales in every country. Many of those who felt online shopping was difficult, complicated, or even insecure, are now better educated and will probably continue to use eCommerce platforms to acquire all kinds of goods and services in the future.As we adapt to ever-changing circumstances,
eCommerce keeps evolving and providing new opportunities for buyers and sellers. To keep up with it, it’s key to get a grasp on the factors that impact eCommerce and how shopping behavior is being shaped by the introduction of new technologies. Here we analyze them:
Augmented Reality
Perhaps, one of the biggest disadvantages of online shopping, especially when buying products such as shoes or clothes, is the fact that there isn’t a fitting room where to try them. But not for so long! Artificial Intelligence has already helped develop on-store features that allow customers to visualize themselves while wearing a specific piece of clothing or check how their kitchen wall will look after applying a certain palette of colors.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBrskBwURMk
Voice Search
Voice search & commands is another functionality that has been propelled by Artificial Intelligence and that is becoming more and more popular. As the percentage of households equipped with smart devices grows,
people rely more on voice assistants to perform a variety of tasks that spans from lighting up the living room to searching for a cooking recipe. In the world of eCommerce, this certainly opens up a myriad of possibilities
as Amazon Alexa or Google Home are making it increasingly easier to use voice search to look for products and services in online stores.
Video Reviews
It’s no secret!
Videos can help you explain and showcase your products better than images or text. That’s the reason why product review videos have become another growing trend among e-commerce sites.They help engage your audience through dynamic video content by showcasing your product’s selling features, developing trust among potential customers, and ultimately increasing your conversion rates. Streaming video on your homepage can also be an eye-catching way of grabbing customers’ attention.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXndis-y_Mg
Subscriptions
Subscription plans have a number of advantages for retailers because they make it easier to predict fulfillment needs and allow you to retain customers for greater long term value.For a long period of time, only software as service companies (the likes of Adobe, Zoom, or Spotify) were the only ones profiting from this business model. That has certainly changed! Now even product companies have tuned-up their offering to make sure they can also enjoy the benefits of recurring sales.
Look this great example of Lumi Skin Club
Environmentally Friendly
When it comes to shopping online not everything boils down to price or quality. As people become more conscious about our impact on the environment, many are looking to shop products and services exclusively from companies that consider their ecological footprint.This trend presents opportunities not just in terms of the goods you can sell (organic and natural are growing rapidly), but also on other aspects such as packaging materials and shipping methods.
Second-hand e-Commerce
Second-hand shopping is certainly not a new concept. From charity shops to eBay, consumers have always been keen to bag a bargain. Call it second-hand e-commerce or re-commerce,
the fact is the online market for used products has never been bigger.How can you benefit from this trend? Succeeding requires balancing value and profit, which means being able to sell quality second-hand products at a price that makes sense to both your customers and your business.
Rebelle is a good example of second-hand shopping
How to keep yourself updated?
Whether you own your online store or work in eCommerce, it is always vital to keep up with the latest trends and technologies.
The faster you discover what’s new, the more advantage you will have over your competitors.How can you stay updated? Perhaps the best way is to subscribe to eCommerce blogs or forums and make you check them weekly. But don’t expect to find ready-made solutions to your problems in every single article. Instead, take them as inspiration and imagine how you could apply them in new, original ways.
Where to get started?
Advice To Keep In Mind
Before rushing into anything new, do proper research, and see whether it fits your business. Some trends can be of huge value, but they might also be very expensive to implement.
Always ask yourself, am I going to see the return in investment?Last but not least, remember that not every great idea comes from the outside. Understanding your own customer’s behavior is essential as well:
Pay attention to your customers’ feedback, analyze what they buy, what pages they visit, and for how long. There are numerous tools that provide metrics and insights on the way customers interact with your store.Only by understanding what fits your target audience, you will be able to use the trends to your advantage.
About the Author
José Bellorín is a highly talented Front-end Developer with a passion for designing and implementing creative websites, innovative features, and customized modules. Dedicated worker and creative, independent thinker.
