The Age of eCommerce and Trends
The pandemic has changed everything in our lives with the slow implementation and acceptance of the new normal; people are slowly adapting to this change. However, the pandemic has shifted dramatically in e-commerce in 2020, and this shift will probably be the biggest one in history.
Traditional retailing has become a lot riskier to delve into because of the pandemic, which has caused it to have a dip in sales. In contrast, e-commerce has been having its heyday with over a 130% growth increase in Canada and the U.S.
With the age of e-commerce being in our midst, looking out for industry trends should be your top priority. With that said, here are some emerging e-commerce trends that you should keep an eye on for the future!
The Rise Of Personalized Commerce
If you look at all of the e-commerce companies currently dominating the scenes, they have one thing in common. These companies are utilizing personalization technology that makes the customer’s shopping experience unique to them.
Recommendations are important. Giving suggestions to your customers what they want based on the things they find interest in is a powerful tool that every e-commerce company should utilize!
Providing a personal experience and a human touch to e-commerce sites can be achieved through product recommendations, offers based on browsing behavior, and any other unique methods. Personalized commerce works because it makes the e-commerce site act as both a store and a salesperson at the same time.
The flaw that e-commerce sites have is that there isn’t a salesperson available for the customer to consult. However, with personalized e-commerce, it fixes up this flaw. Although it isn’t a perfect solution, it can lead to you gaining more sales because of the recommendations algorithm!
Social Commerce
Buying and selling items through social media has risen in popularity through the recent years. With sites such as Instagram shopping and Facebook marketplace available for everyone to utilize, there’s no surprise that social commerce will grow more and more popular as time goes on.
The key takeaways that you should consider when selling on social media are when your customers are most active. Another factor to consider is the time they’re likely to make a purchase. Make sure to find the right balance when to post and when to engage with your target market.
The importance of engagement is also something you should keep in mind if you want to market on social media. Keeping your customers connected and engaged is what will incentivize them to keep on buying your products.
Social commerce or e-commerce on social media will be big, especially when you consider the wide demographic that companies are going to get once they start using social media!
Using Influencers & Celebrity Endorsements
Celebrity endorsement is a trend that pairs perfectly with social commerce. Using online influencers to market your items through sponsorship is a surefire way to grab an increase in sales. Thousands, if not millions of individuals follow influencers. Getting them to endorse your product ensures that your products and services become known to their audience!
To make sure that you don’t fall behind, make sure you aren’t late to the party! Partner up with known celebrities or content creators for sponsored social media posts. One social media post about your product can make a drastic difference, and companies are even willing to invest millions of dollars a year for sponsorships alone.
Conversational Marketing
The e-commerce landscape is changing. Putting items up for sale and hoping that people buy it is no longer an optimal way to gain profit. Being more engaging is now the name of the game, and if you’re not willing to play it, you’ll get left behind!
Conversational marketing is utilizing real-time conversations, chatbots, or AI to make sure that your customers have the option to interact with you directly. 50% of customers are openly saying that they would prefer connecting with the company through live chat and if that won’t convince you to invest in the trend, we don’t know what will!
Hire an agency that can help you create a chatbot that caters to your needs. Creating a chatbot that can drive engagement and provide customer support will impact your company positively for sure.
Detailed Product Visuals
Lots of people are familiar with the “Expectations v.s Reality” narrative when it comes to buying items online. People are starting to get hesitant because they aren’t sure whether they’d get what they see on the site. This sparks hesitation and anxiety in the customer, and that can be enough for you to lose a customer.
Reviews aren’t reliable enough for customers to hit “add to cart” anymore. High-resolution images matter more than you think, but static images aren’t what people trust anymore. You have to provide your customers with interactive product visuals that show them the item in 360 degrees!
Every single angle of your product has to be available for the customers to view, just like how people can inspect products that they’re interested in when shopping in real life!
Utilizing Dynamic Pricing
A lot of companies run under the impression that the lower their prices are, the better. However, providing a lower price than your competition doesn’t provide anyone with a winning edge. Undercutting the competition only starts a race to the bottom that devalues your products and makes you lose out on profit.
Instead, start pricing your products based on context. Dynamic pricing essentially means that you should select a price that will guarantee people to choose you over the competition while not losing out on any profit. It’s also crucial to pick which products you should have a sale based on the year’s time and the demand!
Dynamic pricing keeps you on your toes and forces you to be aware of the trends. What products are most popular today, your competitors’ price tags, and what seasonal products will be in high demand are only some of the things that you should be aware of when personalizing your prices!