E-Commerce is an ever-changing industry due to the nature of innovation that influences it. Each eCommerce trend has to be analyzed in deep and adopted in due if it’s truly going to drive your brand forward. If not, you could be missing out on the . projected 6.54 trillion US dollars in 2022 In the coming years, we must expect to see continued growth with more online brands joining the market. Continuing growth translates to more competition, too. This is why you have to be well versed with the latest that are often a result of advancements in technology and changes in customer interests and behavior. eCommerce trends Why are eCommerce Trends Significant? The eCommerce industry is becoming increasingly competitive. To beat the competition, you must constantly monitor and follow the trends. No matter how young or mature your online store is now if you don’t keep up with the current industry drifts, you will risk falling behind. You must constantly keep looking ahead to ensure future success in the industry. That is why it is important to analyze and adapt eCommerce trends in a timely manner. By doing so, you can drive your eCommerce brand to heights and stay ahead of the competition. Online shopping is one of the most popular online activities, and a rising number of people are turning to it with each year passing by. The increase in online shopping can be attributed to a number of factors, and eCommerce trends arguably are one of the major ones. If you own an eCommerce store, you can’t repeat the old strategies you followed last time to survive in the market. New eCommerce businesses are budding every day with brand new marketing tactics and access to tools which makes selling online easy and effortless. For the same reason, every eCommerce store that wants to survive the fierce competition must work harder. In this era of technological advancements, you are not just expected to sell products online, you must focus on creating experiences. To build a suitable and successful online store, you must adopt the latest eCommerce trends, learn from your mistakes and bring in the changes along the way. Every year, new trends emerge and transform the way eCommerce stores operate. Here, we will discuss the top trends in eCommerce you must follow in 2019 to beat the competition and to grow your brand. Augmented Reality Will Rule Augmented reality shows a computer-generated 3D sensory in the real world. This virtual experience is even better than the real in-person experience as it offers convenience and enhances the shopping experience. Among the emerging technologies, AR is driving the eCommerce industry to a wide horizon and results in increasing overall participation levels. Augmented reality helps in providing users with an in-store shopping experience that makes it easy to choose the right product. It helps your users to deal with the imagination gap and lack of confidence in taking risks while shopping online. For instance, IKEA combines augmented reality to bridge the imagination gap by potentially taking you into a fully 3D world so that you can clearly see how the furniture looks once it is placed in your living space. Not just IKEA, Sephora’s virtual artist app and Kylie Jenner’s app allow you to try out different lip colors, eyeshadow, and cheek colors virtually. AR is a totally new way to shop online by overcoming challenges and experience more of real shopping. Evolving Role of Social Media in Ecommerce Social media has changed the way we live, and that includes the way we shop as well. With the introduction of Instagram checkout and buy button on Facebook, social media is playing a direct role in the eCommerce world. Refer to the example shown below where @colourpopcosmetics allow Instagram checkout making it easy for customers to shop. 2019 is a great opportunity for businesses to start thinking about how to improve their presence on social media. With customers spending more time on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, an eCommerce business can leverage the possibilities of social media to get discussed by the target audience. Additionally, leveraging eCommerce software, brands can link their online shops with social media platforms so that customers can purchase from stores directly through social media platforms. Machine Learning, AI, and Chatbots Soon we will see more eCommerce brands using chatbots to bring in sales and close deals. Businesses can use chatbots to instantly connect with customers and solve their issues on multiple platforms like an online store or social media. These bots use artificial intelligence to understand customer preference and offer a valuable and personalized shopping experience. For instance, Sephora Virtual Artist app offers chatbots not justto answer customer queries, but to offer smart product suggestions as well. With that said, in 2019, you will see more eCommerce software integrating chatbot plugins. Many Facebook-based online stores use chatbots to facilitate transactions or answer FAQs. Machine learning allows Chatbots to get a better understanding of the common questions asked frequently. They can parse user data to customize the support experience to each customer. If you haven’t already, it’s a good time to invest in a chatbot now so that you can drive better engagement, customer support, and sales. Voice Search Will Continue to Grow Voice search has become popular with the invention of personal assistant devices like Alexa and Siri. While just 20% of search queries are made with voice now, it is expected to cross over 50% by 2020. It is a big opportunity for eCommerce as more customers are making more purchases using personal assistance devices. These devices allow you to play music, browse the web, make online purchases, etc. It is rather easy to say instead of taking up your phone and order it yourself. It can even read out the product descriptions on your online store, so it is recommended to optimizeVyour product pages for voice search. “Okay, Google, order a cup of coffee” If you ask why voice search is so important to eCommerce, users don’t remember the products, they remember the brands. You don’t order a coffee, you order Starbucks. Likewise, you buy Elizabeth Arden, Nike Calvin Klein, and Ford. Voice search is still in its infant stage, but it is expected to transform your shopping experience very soon. Product Videos We all have hesitated at least once before hitting the “Buy” button when shopping online. It is because you doubt whether it will be a quality product or if it’s going to be exactly as it is shown. If users are given an opportunity to interact with the product before making a purchase, they are more likely to buy. Online reviews and influence trends aren’t just enough to establish trust among customers. That is when interactive product visualization through detailed pictures and videos help to make a better decision. ASOS add product videos in every product page so that customers can clearly visualize products before purchasing. Most eCommerce brands seek the help of technology and facilitate product visualization through videos. Interactive product visualization is a popular eCommerce trend that is expected to stay in the future. Videos considerably increase the chance that a customer will actually purchase a product from your store. Even eCommerce product videos have evolved so much from a cheesy infomercial to a 360-degree shopping experience. Product demo videos are also an excellent eCommerce tool where you can show how a product works in a single video in an engaging way. For example, Amazon offers product videos for almost every category to give customers a better perception of the products. 2019 Will Transform the Future of eCommerce With the advent of machine learning and AI, eCommerce is making its shift towards personalization and creating a new user experience for customers. What do you think this year will bring to the eCommerce world? If you are an eCommerce brand, these trends will get you more business this year. Choose a trend that suits your niche and put it into action. However, if you are a new business looking to make your mark with your new store, it will be worth to look into these trends and apply it. No matter which eCommerce trend you choose to follow in 2019, do it with the intent of offering an engaging shopping experience to your customers.
