Online selling is getting bigger. The pandemic has contributed to the growth of eCommerce, with overall online retail sales likely to reach more than 5 billion dollars by 2022. In the coming years, more and more businesses will switch over to online stores, writes Nick Brogden.
Hence, there would be increased online competition. For companies looking to keep ahead of their closest rivals, keeping updated on the trends will hold the key. Therefore, understanding the top eCommerce trends will allow online shopping companies to acquire, nurture, and retain more customers.
Here are the eCommerce trends you need to know
1. More eCommerce businesses will start using augmented reality (AR)
Virtual reality has the power to transform eCommerce. It’s no wonder that the VR market is expected to reach $27 billion by 2027. Both AR and VR would be used to improve the personalized shopping experiences offered to consumers.
One of the biggest challenges that eCommerce companies face is cart abandonment. Over 72% of consumers abandon their cart before making a purchase. VR as technology will help online stores to offer a realistic shopping experience to their customers, leading to fewer cart abandonments and higher sales.
For instance, the Italian cosmetics brand, WeMakeUp created an AR filter on Facebook to try their new lipstick shades. People were able to try different shades of liquid lipstick using a face filter to find a perfect match and then make a purchase.
Combined with the power of Facebook ads, the VR technology helped WeMaleUp achieve a 53% higher CTR leading to a greater ROAS.
2. Touchless payments will continue to see growth
Contactless payments increased during the pandemic because this mode of payment is best to endorse a germ-free environment. In fact, a study by Payments Journal suggests that around 30% of consumers started using touchless payments during COVID-19, and this growth will continue in 2021, and beyond.
Tap to pay, quick response (QR) code, biometric fingerprint cards are some of the top technologies to initiate secured eCommerce payments. Mastercard has already witnessed a 40% jump in their contactless payment services in 2020.
Touchless payments are a more accessible option that offers quicker transactions and keeps both businesses and consumers safe from fraudulent purchases. Besides providing better operational efficiency, touchless payments also offer an improved user experience, which is crucial for higher customer loyalty.
3. Mobile commerce will drive the maximum sales for eCommerce companies
Mobile commerce or m-commerce refers to any monetary transaction made using a mobile device. Nowadays, mobile shopping is possible via eCommerce websites, apps, and social media platforms.
Mobile commerce will grab a share of over 72% by 2021, and smartphone retail m-commerce sales will reach more than 432 billion by 2022. Therefore, eCommerce stores need to maintain a mobile-optimized website that is easy to access. Browsing different products and making payments should be a breeze for mobile users.
Most of the eCommerce companies are already using mobile commerce specific payment gateways on their site and making it easier for the users to complete their payments secured and faster.
4. Voice search will be crucial
Voice search allows customers to browse and shop products using voice commands. Around one in every four online shoppers prefer using voice assistants for shopping. For eCommerce companies, voice search will be crucial in the coming years.
More than 72% of people are already using voice assistants daily. Besides, the number of voice shoppers will increase by 55% by 2022. For example, people can order items from Amazon using Alexa. If your company sells products on Amazon, it would be beneficial to list your products in the top 3 search results for queries related to your products. This is why Amazon SEO will increase in importance.
Besides, people have already started using a combination of voice search queries like conversational searches to research, select, and buy the product of their choice. Voice search queries are longer than traditional text-based searches. Hence, eCommerce companies need to optimize for conversational long-tail searches.
According to PWC, the top purchases made using voice assistants are food, groceries, books, electronics, homecare items, and clothing. If your eCommerce business falls in any of these categories, you should start taking voice search and SEO seriously.
5. Artificial intelligence for personalised product recommendations will rise
People love personalized product recommendations, and it is one of the best ways to improve retention rates, reduce churn rates, and increase the number of orders. In fact, 74% of customers feel frustrated when site content is not personalized.
Artificial intelligence coupled with machine learning helps to acquire specific data on the buying behaviour of every user. Based on the gathered data, personalized drip email campaigns can be run to increase the order flow.
There are three types of data that can be gathered like aggregated data (product views or add to cart data), user-specific data (products that customers viewed), and static product data (product attributes, brand, price, and availability). AI technologies use different algorithms to identify the best products that should be recommended to the users to maximize the chances of selling.
For instance, there are tools like Zeta Global, which helps to analyze customer data from every touchpoint. The platform leverages AI to collect data from mobile apps, websites, and email campaigns. The insights gathered via the tool can be used to make suitable product recommendations for every client.
Moreover, chatbots will empower more than 80% of customer interactions. Whether it’s email marketing, influencer marketing, chatbots, or customer service, AI will be the key for eCommerce businesses.
Final thoughts
2022 will see unprecedented eCommerce growth, and technologies such as artificial intelligence, touchless payment, voice search, mobile commerce, and augmented reality will play a vital role in improving user experience.
Lastly, if you are planning to launch an online store this year, then now could be a good time to do so as the eCommerce space is growing at an unprecedented rate.
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