What Is the Future of Ecommerce in 2020?

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Since the time the concept of online shopping first came out, the e-commerce industry is booming at the fastest pace. As per Statista’ report, in 2019, around 2.05 billion people made an online purchase. The data clearly shows that the industry is not going to slow down in the near future.

Since every merchant is entering the growing e-commerce industry, the competition has increased a lot. To stay ahead in the game, you need to be aware of the ways to keep your products/services in front of the eyes of the customers.

One of the best ways to do that is by keeping yourself updated with the latest e-commerce trends. Although there is always a certain amount of risk involved in trying a new trend, that doesn’t mean you should stop experimenting with new things. After all, business is all about taking calculated risks. If you do not take risks, you will not be able to grow your business. When it comes to experimenting with trends, it’s crucial to make sure that whatever changes you make, you always make it for the betterment of your customers.

In this blog, we will discuss some significant trends, some of which are currently ruling, and some are expected to rule the e-commerce industry in the near future. Let’s take a look!

Native Social-Selling:

In 2017, Hubspot ran an experiment to check if the Facebook audience prefers native content or non-native content. And guess what the results were! They found that their Facebook audience preferred native video content 160X more than the non-native video content. The same preference is true with e-commerce. Nowadays, there are a lot of visual platforms that are being used by millions of people. Why not give them the option to shop within these platforms. A great example of native-social selling is Instagram. You must have seen ‘shoppable posts' in your daily feeds. This feature allows users to shop while remaining on the same platform. Currently, there are only a few brands that are following this trend, but by the end of 2020, we will see more brands moving in this direction.

Voice Searching:

Voice search has already shown its capabilities. From Amazon to Google, every tech mammoth aims to attract customers with their voice assistants and voice-based search solutions. Soon, this trend will continue to rule the e-commerce industry. According to the latest statistics, by 2022, voice shopping is expected to grow to 40 billion. A lot of e-commerce companies have started integrating the voice-search feature in their apps and website. If you want to integrate this feature in your business, here are a few tips:

In a voice search, people don’t speak the way they type keywords in text-based search. For example, where is an Italian restaurant near me? (voice search), an Italian restaurant near me (text search).Therefore, you need to optimize your website for questions that people generally used to ask.

Optimize your website for long-tail keywords

Make sure you appear locally as well as on Google as voice search is 3x times more likely to be local due to instant shopping needs.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR):

Although AR and VR are not a new concept, they are two of the biggest technologies that are going to rule in 2020 and beyond. VR technology gives customers a more realistic experience. When a customer puts a VR gadget on their face, it makes them feel like they are shopping by standing in the physical store. AR, on the other hand, lets customers see the product video with some added virtual elements. Both technologies enhance the customer’s visualization of the product. And product visualization boosts sales and reduces returns. According to Deloitte, 90% of the companies with yearly sales of $100 million to $1 billion are taking advantage of AR or VR technology.

Product Customization:

Nowadays, customers want to add their imagination to the products they wish to buy. From clothing, jewelry to furniture, they want to design their products according to their personal requirement. This rising demand has motivated companies like PrintShop by Designhill to come up with a platform where customers can design everything – from phone cases, clothing to home & living. Product customization enhances the user experience, builds customer loyalty and helps in getting more sales.

Same-Day Delivery:

It is another trend that is going to rule in the e-commerce industry. Although it is a challenging service, in today’s fast-paced environment and with several options, consumers don’t have the patience to wait. They want their orders to be delivered as soon as possible. In fact, 61% of shoppers are ready to pay extra for same-day delivery service. By considering this behavior pattern, companies have started opting for ‘same-day delivery’ by using the latest technology.

New Payment Options:

When it comes to online shopping, the modes of payments can have a huge impact on customers’ buying decisions. No matter how great your product is and how well you have done the branding of your business, if your customers are not comfortable with the payment options, then they will not buy anything from your website. Although many new methods like Amazon Pay, PayPal, Google Pay, etc. have taken full control, in 2020 and coming years ‘cryptocurrency’ is going to trend in e-commerce platforms.

Visual Search:

Just imagine that you are in a store and see a beautiful couch. But because of the price, you may not feel like buying it from the store. So, you take a picture and use eBay’s image search feature to find the same product on their website at a better deal. Companies, nowadays, have started giving an option of visual search, where customers can upload the picture of the product from their photo gallery and search it on their websites. Since this trend allows customers to buy a product at the best price, therefore it drives them to shop online even if they are standing at the physical store.

Conclusion:

So, folks, these are the trends that are redefining the online shopping experience. If you want to grow your e-commerce business into something big then it’s time to start implementing them at the earliest. 

Good Luck!


Author Bio

Anne Carton is a small business consultant, designer and an enthusiast blogger working with PrintShop by Designhill owned by Designhill, is a creative print-on-demand marketplace where you can discover & buy 50+ unique products, gifts & artwork created by artists around the world.

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