Emerging Ecommerce Trends: The 2020 Vision

Just like everything else in the world, eCommerce has changed its face many times since its beginning. What once was an industry with limited scope, is today an industry with endless possibilities and scope. It might be hard for us to keep track of how many changes have happened in the e-commerce industry, but we all know that whatever changes have happened, they are all aimed at improving user experience. 

Just like the fashion industry, the eCommerce industry is also changed by the various technological trends that make waves in the tech world. Whether it is the rise of smartphones or Artificial intelligence, almost every new technology and internet trend has affected the eCommerce industry. And with this article, we are going to check out the top ten emerging technology trends that are going to change the eCommerce industry. 

Top Ecommerce Trends You Should Look Out For

Whether you are just another eCommerce startup in the over-saturated market or a big enterprise, you have to play catch up with the emerging trends if you want to stay ahead of your competition. And that’s why we have compiled this list of top trends that are going to change the eCommerce industry. 

• More Personalization

According to a study conducted by Gartner, eCommerce organizations that focus on personalizing the user experience will have increased their revenue by 16%. Amazon had been the first-ever eCommerce organization to leverage the benefits by personalizing user’s buying experience on their platform, and now all the other eCommerce organization is going to follow. 

Source: https://www.gartner.com/en/executive-guidance/personalization

Besides increasing benefits, personalizing the user experience is also going to help the eCommerce enterprises to connect well with the customers with offers that are tailored for them. Utilizing technologies such as AI, the eCommerce industry can make the entire purchasing experience even more efficient for the users, provide better information for the users as well as save their time. As an eCommerce enterprise, if you want to make the best of the market, then you should definitely choose to personalize the user experience. 

• Smart Shopping With Smartphones

Smartphones have advanced beyond our imagination, and almost everyone today owns a smartphone. With the latest handsets, it is possible for the users to perform almost every kind of task, even shop online. 

Source: Photo by Elly Brian on Unsplash

Even though the popularity of smartphones has reached sky high, the conversion rates among shoppers using smartphones stay woefully low. And in order to remedy this, the eCommerce industry not only has to recognize the sheer buying power the smartphone users hold but also has to optimize their platforms for different kinds of smartphones in the market. 

Whether you choose a native approach or go for a progressive web application, ensure that your website is available for both desktops and smartphone users. Otherwise, you will be losing a huge chunk of the market to your competitors. Make sure that the eCommerce website development company you hire for your business is well experienced in making eCommerce websites mobile-friendly. 

• Vocal Shopping With Voice Search

Voice search happens to be one of the most preferred ways of searching for anything on the internet. According to stats, more than 60% of users in 2019 used voice search options to search for something online. And as voice assistants like Google Assistant and Siri become even more popular, eCommerce organizations would have to optimize their online platforms for increasing demands of voice search. 

Source: Photo by John Tekeridis from Pexels

We are definitely heading towards a future where most of the online shopping is going to be conducted by voice-controlled devices and smartphones. So if you want to stay ahead of the trend and competitors, ensure that you optimize your website during the eCommerce web development process to accommodate this emerging trend of voice search. 

• Social Media Shopping

Around 35 billion people around the world used social media platforms in 2019, which is 45% of the entire global population. Keeping that in mind, the eCommerce industry is going to move towards integrated shopping on social media platforms. 

Source: Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash

The popularity of various social media platforms ensures that users would much rather surf through the platform than get out of there to shop from an individual website or an app. And that’s why it’ll become more important for the eCommerce platforms to integrate social media shopping so that the users can shop directly from their social media pages. 

• Use of AR and VR

Online shopping has always come with its own share of ambiguity. Since the users can’t exactly check out the product on themselves, there are chances they will return it after purchasing, since it doesn’t exactly go with their style. And that’s why the growing technology of Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality is going to be more important for the eCommerce industry. 

Source: https://sephoravirtualartist.com/landing_5.0.php?country=US&lang=en&x=&skintone=&currentModel=

Websites like Sephora have already started to use this technology to help the users to check how the makeup looks before they buy it. Adopting this technology will improve the user experience as well as reduce the product return rate of your platform. 

• Product Videos for eCommerce

According to a study conducted by Brightcove, 74% of users stated that they make their purchasing decision based on the availability of product video. A product video works better than static images in order for the users to understand how the product looks and works. 

Source: Photo by Szabo Viktor on Unsplash

With a product video the user gets a better understanding of the product, its purpose, and quality. Added to this, a video works better to increase the user’s trust on your platform rather than a simple product image. 

With videos, you can increase the interactivity of your platform. And that is why you should ensure the integration of product videos on your website during the eCommerce web design process. 

• Rise of Niche Stores

When it comes to shopping online, users today are less likely to prefer the jack of all trades and more often end up choosing niche stores. Rather than going for all-in-one stores, customers are more prone to choosing online stores that only sell one specific type of product. 

Source:https://starthreesixty.com/

Whether it is shoes, clothing or furniture, more users are choosing to go with niche websites and eCommerce enterprises rather than the all in one store. The main reason for this is that niche stores offer a higher quality as well as a level of expertise in the making of the specific product they are selling. 

If you are thinking about starting an eCommerce platform then going for a niche approach can help you focus better on a specific group of customers. This way you will be able to drive better revenue and reputation for your eCommerce enterprise. 

• Chatbot Integration

Chatbots have been around for a while now. However, today chatbots are using AI-powered Natural Language Processing techniques for a better conversation with the customers, helping with their shopping process.

Source: https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background

Leading eCommerce organizations are utilizing the chatbot technology to guide their clients through the process of shopping on their website, alongside offering 24/7 customer support. Chatbots help in increasing communication between eCommerce organizations and customers, therefore improving the client-retailer relationship. In order to keep your website updated with the latest technology, make sure that the eCommerce web development services you hire are familiar with the integration of chatbot on eCommerce websites. 

• Blockchain in eCommerce

Blockchain is still one of the growing technologies not yet at its peak. However, that is not going to stop the eCommerce industry from making the best of it.

Blockchain is basically a growing list of encrypted records that contains transaction data. One of the best features of blockchain is the fact that it is immutable, meaning you can see the data on the block but can not change it. 

Source: Photo by André François McKenzie on Unsplash

The security and efficiency of the decentralized blockchain technology make a perfect companion for the eCommerce industry. Many eCommerce websites have already started integrating the blockchain system on their platform in order to keep track of every transaction that happens on their website as well as introduce it as another option of payment for the users. 

• A Better Approach to Data Security

As technology advances so do the cybercriminals who are arming themselves with the technological weapons to steal the user data from various eCommerce platforms and make ill-use of them. And to prevent this from happening as well as give your customers a safer experience on the platform, you have to ensure you take the proper data security measures during the development of your eCommerce platform. 

Source: Photo by Shahadat Rahman on Unsplash

Besides securing your website with an SSL certificate, you also need to make sure that the data on your eCommerce website is backed up regularly. There are many security plugins you can integrate during the development process to ensure the safety of your eCommerce website. You should also update the software on a regular basis to make sure that there are no holes in the security of the website. 

Final Words On Emerging Ecommerce Trends

The emerging trends in the eCommerce industry are aimed at enhancing every aspect of user experience on an eCommerce platform. In order to stay ahead in the competitive market, eCommerce organizations have to keep up with these trends integrate them on the websites to provide the best possible service to the users. There’s no doubt that these next-generation eCommerce trends are going to take the eCommerce industry to the next level.