The eCommerce industry has experienced immense growth for the past few years. Of course, the concept of eCommerce had long existed, even before the pandemic changed people’s lives. Even so, many customers at the time still opted to do their shopping through physical retail stores.
With the pandemic plunging the world into a new standard, businesses either needed to go digital or face going out of business. At this point, consumer and business behaviors have changed, and eCommerce has begun to outshine its brick-and-mortar counterpart.
There’s no denying that eCommerce will continue its upward trajectory and is expected to grow further in future years. While the pandemic had a hand in it due to the lockdowns and lifestyle changes, the industry’s momentum remains strong today. With a steady rise in demand, competition is inevitable.
To keep up with the industry’s changing tendencies, businesses should stay up to date on the latest trends in eCommerce.
What are the Best Upcoming Trends in eCommerce?
eCommerce has come a long way since its beginnings. It has become a hub where people easily make purchases and payments on the go. Technological advancements have also contributed to the success of eCommerce, allowing the industry to consistently provide an accessible, convenient, and seamless customer experience.
Along with the start of a new year is the emergence of new trends in the eCommerce industry. Some of these trends can be an enhanced version of the ones we’ve observed in previous years, or they can be completely different and are expected to shape a new eCommerce landscape. Here are some developments you should look out for this 2023:
- More personalization
Traditional stores often have one layout of their offerings, which changes monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually. This limitation found in brick-and-mortar stores is easily removed when migrating operations online.
Most online stores offer users a personalized selection of their products and offerings, depending on the user’s search activity and history. Your business creates a customer profile based on their preferences, and the site's interface gives them tailored picks and recommendations.
- Better AI integration
Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) within your online business greatly improves the customer experience. Chatbots work around the clock so that customers expect an answer to their inquiries or concerns whenever and wherever.Utilize AI for different parts of your organization. Examples include inventory management, fraud prevention, and chat boxes. Use AI within your online store and provide recommendations unique to each client.
AI highly improves operations, regardless of whether it’s facing customers or doing backend work. In an industry with a fast-paced environment, it helps businesses become better and adapt faster to keep up with the competitive landscape.
- Environmental eCommerce initiatives
As sustainability continues to be a hot topic of conversation, individuals and businesses are growing more environmentally conscious regarding their products and services. It includes firms taking the initiative to limit their carbon footprint and encourage fair trade and local sourcing of goods, services, and materials.
Because eCommerce is a big retail industry worldwide, it has caused a great environmental impact. From the excessive use of plastic to irresponsible disposal practices, eCommerce has negatively contributed to the environment.
To remedy the industry’s carbon footprint, more businesses are beginning to assess their products and operation processes. This change paved the way for eco-friendly products that use biodegradable materials like paper, cardboard, and cork.
Packaging concepts have also changed, with plastic and Styrofoam peanuts being replaced with more environmentally friendly alternatives, like bamboo, sugar cane, and corrugated packaging.
- Sustainable shopping
Sustainable shopping is the practice of being environmentally mindful when shopping or buying goods. Aside from the product, sustainable shopping also considers the materials and the processes used to create it. More buyers are becoming sustainable shoppers, impacting the industry’s consumer behavior trends.
As a trend, customers will often think about how the product they buy will impact the environment, urging businesses to go green or show any attempt at going eco-friendly. - Visual commerce
Operating online means you have opportunities that might need to be fully replicated in brick-and-mortar stores. You need to have better utilization of engaging and dynamic visual content.
While static photos used to fulfill the same purpose before, consumers no longer rely on one picture of a product before buying it. Instead, offering your customers interactive content, like videos or a 360-degree view option of a product, increases your chances of making a sale.
This marketing tactic has many benefits, like increasing site engagement and improving customer experience. Through video marketing or offering visual commerce, customers are more aware of a product and can have a detailed look at them before purchasing. Modern technology has introduced various best AI video generators to streamline the process of creating compelling videos. Video content for a product also improves trust between your brand and the customer.
- Social media
Social media plays a vital role in online shoppers’ daily lives. In recent years, product marketing has made its way into social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Through this marketing practice, around 68% of social media consumers have purchased products displayed on these sites as ads.The future of this trend remains bright due to its effectiveness in bringing customers and increasing revenue sales. Social media shopping is expected to continue rising in the coming years, making it a prime opportunity for eCommerce and online shopping platforms. By 2025, social shopping is set to become a $1.2 trillion channel.
- More alternative payment solutions
Popular online shopping platforms in the country, like Lazada and Shopee, already offer their users a large selection of payment methods. These typically include giving you the option of paying via credit cards, GCash, and digital wallets local to each app. With eCommerce prioritizing convenience, expect more alternative payment solutions this 2023.
As eCommerce continues to be driven by technological advancements and innovation, it won’t be long before more payment solutions are added to online businesses. It includes adding in PayPal or Maya for an even more convenient shopping experience.
Ways to Help Businesses Adapt to the Trends
A successful eCommerce business is no easy feat and doesn’t happen overnight. To ensure you keep up with the eCommerce trends this 2023, you must research current trends and adapt to them.
You’ve been introduced to some of the industry's expected trends this year, but now what? For starters, incorporate the above trends into your business strategy through the following methods:
- Turn your customer experience into a more personal one
Your business has a higher chance of retaining customers if they feel their relationship with your brand is personal. A positive customer experience is a great way to compete against other industry brands since these satisfied clients add to your company’s brand awareness initiatives.
Offering a personalized experience to your customer paves the way for long-term loyalty since customers feel more secure with your brand. Once they feel this way, why should they look for a new brand to do business with?
By utilizing AI in your platforms or maximizing the data and insights you gather from your customers, you can tailor an online experience that best suits them. For example, someone frequently uses your clothing store but only checks for tops and blouses with a specific style. This data helps you create a customized home page with these items.
- Empower mobile eCommerce
Most people do their online shopping through their phones. In 2021, time spent on mobile shopping apps has shown an 18% year-on-year growth. It translates to the global mobile commerce market spending 100 billion hours on shopping apps. Fashion and social media shopping apps were two of the most popular categories.As such, optimizing your services for mobile usage is a must if you want to take advantage of the platform’s market. While it’s becoming popular with consumers, you still need to consider the size of the average phone. For example, you can optimize your site to avoid texts, links, or photos that are too small for a mobile interface.
- Improve environmental-friendly practices in your products
Consumer behavior is shifting to a more environmentally friendly trend. With this, sustainability is becoming a deciding factor in whether or not a customer buys your product. Since 2016, the interest in sustainable goods and products has increased by more than 70% globally.Regardless of how big your business is, any small change to your processes and products impacts how people see your brand. For example, you can transition from plastic to paper, cork, or bamboo. Consider and rethink your supply chain for sustainable opportunities, like sourcing materials responsibly or reducing products that emit carbon emissions.
- Customize your packaging
To create meaningful relationships with customers and be more sustainable, businesses can tackle both trends through customized packaging solutions.
Packaging materials in eCommerce are usually made up of plastic or Styrofoam. Removing and replacing these with more biodegradable and eco-friendly alternatives improves your brand’s appeal to consumers and elevate your overall packaging aesthetic.
Additionally, 72% of American shoppers admitted that package design plays a role when purchasing. Aside from emphasizing its sustainability, highlight a package’s appearance and durability. Even having a personalized note in the box makes a big difference.
- Always include different forms of digital media and content
eCommerce is expanding rapidly, so competition is expected to rise similarly. To help your business stand out, you must have a wide variety of content to post on your site. And yes, this means having more than just static photos.Advertisements, videos, reels, and blogs are all excellent ways to keep your customers engaged and interested in your business. In addition, offer a 360-degree view of links to specific products, so customers have a more convenient experience examining the product.
- Invest in social media advertising
Social media is one of the fastest ways to get business exposure today. In 2021, the marketing practice was expected to surpass $47.9 billion, equivalent to about 20% of the total expected advertising spend by North American businesses.
The ad spending increase has been gradually climbing since 2019, clearly indicating how impactful this practice is.
The online space is vast, and it’s easy for your business to get lost in the internet void. Avoid this fate entirely with proper investment in ads and SEOs. Adding initial investment to social media advertising gives your business markets to tap into, resulting in long-term growth and increasing brand awareness
- Offer different payment solutions
Although offering GCash and credit card options satisfies most consumers in the country, it’s still good to consider adding other payment options, like PayPal, mobile payments, or electronic bank transfers. Limiting your payment solutions risks losing a potential sale.
Many payment methods boost conversion rates on mobile devices, the most used device for online shopping. It offers your shoppers a convenient experience despite the limited-screen real estate, making the checkout process faster and easier.
eCommerce is Still on the Rise
With the pandemic now under control, the momentum of the eCommerce industry is still strong. Technological advancements and growing trends also contribute to why this sector isn’t slowing down any time soon.
If you’re looking to give your business an eCommerce platform or take on the expected trends effectively this year, find the perfect partner in RUSH’s eStore, an all-in-one eCommerce solution offering businesses endless avenues to improve their brand. Don’t wait any longer, and book a demo today!
