Ecommerce has been witnessing a steady rise around the globe. It accounts for nearly three-quarters of the overall growth in the retail industry. Some countries, such as China, India, and Indonesia, the world’s largest countries, are experiencing the fastest growth.
In the ecommerce space, Amazon remains the largest and most dominant force. Amazon surpassed Walmart in May 2019 to become the world’s most significant shopping space. Being aware of ongoing trends can assist critical business decisions that can decide your future growth.
Given below is a list of the most major ecommerce trends that are shaping the industry.
Customers Are Looking to Shop Internationally
Thanks to technological advancements, customers can now access a store halfway around the world from the comfort of their living room. Almost one-fifth of all e-commerce sales are cross-border sales. This means that any online retailer worth their salt needs to be looking to capitalize on the international market.
The technology that can help you manage and affect global sales already exists, and it is getting faster and cheaper to use. You can choose from a plethora of international payment systems to make the transaction, and your options for delivering your product internationally are several.
You may need to charge a higher delivery fee for someone who lives outside the country. One of the biggest obstacles to selling internationally is setting up your website to cater to multiple languages.
You will also need to provide customer service in numerous languages, and it might not be feasible for smaller retailers. However, using English as a language has the potential to attract most international customers.
You would also need to be familiar with the tax laws of your own country as well as the country you are shipping to and navigate both. If you’re looking to market your store internationally, now is a good time.
Retailers Are Increasingly Using AI to Analyze Consumer Behavior
Online retailers do not have the benefit of one-on-one interaction with customers to judge what they need and help guide them to suitable products. Customers are essentially stranded on your website, trolling through it to see if they can find something they need or like.
With the rise in the sophistication of artificial intelligence, online retailers are starting to use this technology to understand their customers better, and in turn, make helpful product recommendations.
The day is still far when you will have your own AI personal shopper, but as the available technology grows more advanced, we can expect the companies to start recommending products based on your mood.
You will see more product recommendations based on your shopping history with the online retailer.
Chatbots Are Being Used to Help Shoppers
Chatbots can be seen as a substitute for shopping attendants who would greet you and provide any clarifications that you may need about any product. The jury is still out on whether chatbots are helpful or if they are a simple waste of time and resources.
However, more and more online retailers are using chatbots to help guide online shoppers. This is thanks to the increasing sophistication of the technology behind chatbots.
It has been found that more shoppers prefer to speak to a chatbot instead of a real attendant. This may be because chatbots respond much faster than an actual human would. Having employees provide customer support to the thousands of customers every hour has become increasingly unfeasible.
In 2020 and beyond, you will see more of your favorite online stores adopt chatbots to help you with your simple queries. Even if they might not be as helpful as an actual human, they can solve a surprising number of questions and do it fast.
Subscription Programs
The number of online subscriptions to products has been growing exceedingly fast. Companies like Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh, and Birchbox have been capitalizing on it for a long time. This trend is not just relevant for FMCGs but is increasingly becoming a viable option for an extensive range of products.
Subscription models are an excellent way for brands to drive repeat business. If you have a subscription to a product that you like, then you may never look in the market for a rival product. A brand can increase the sales that each customer contributes by a large margin by offering subscriptions to their products.
These subscriptions can be marketed by offering products at discounted rates and with free shipping. Depending on your product, you may also consider offering free resources along with each subscription.
A subscription model offers a way for a company to sell 12 products rather than one product to each customer, and it looks like more and more brands are going to adopt this trend.
While subscription models may be on the rise, they also need to be customized for customer preferences. Customers want the ability to pause or cancel their subscription, along with being able to make changes to it.
Customers Are Looking for Environmentally Sustainable Products
Customers are increasingly becoming aware of how their behavior and purchasing decisions affect the environment. Brands are trying to source their products in more environmentally conscious ways and marketing them as such.
Industries like the fashion industry and the packaging industry are hot targets for environmentally conscious consumers. As consumers become more conscious, there are more new brands that are actively seeking to help the environment than ever before.
These brands are doing everything from responsible sourcing, friendly packaging, and corporate social responsibility. They are also finding new ways to market themselves to consumers who share their values.
Brands who are looking to improve their market capitalization may want to step up their sustainability game. Being environment-friendly is an excellent way for brands to endear themselves to customers and build brand loyalty.
Final Thoughts
Being aware of the latest trends is the first step to making the right decisions for your business. Customer behavior is constantly changing, and market competition in almost any sector is only getting stiffer.
You need to adapt quickly to changing market conditions. You may want to attend the eTail unite conference or check out the Klaviyo Bos review to find out more about what’s happening in the ecommerce industry.
