eCommerce trends and things to expect in coming days
Last weekend I visited a shopping mall and believe me the feeling was nowhere less than landing on some other planet. Let us accept that shopping amidst the crowd, listening to a range of voices, and standing in a queue to pay, feels outdated now.
The traditional brick and mortar model of buying and selling might not have completely vanished (and won’t probably). But we cannot sideline the fact that the online stores haven’t just become a need, but are continuously gaining more popularity.
We can find brands with just the online portal for their products/services, but finding a brand with just a physical outlet could be a tough run.
Facts speak loud and clear
Forbes recently shared that B2B e-commerce market is expected to surpass the mark of $ 2 trillion by the end of 2017. While another report predicts the retail e-commerce market to reach $ 4 trillion by 2020.
Well, the predictions didn’t come out of blue. Statistics say that during the year 2016 global e-commerce sales amounted to 1.86 trillion US dollar, which is $ 0.31 trillion higher than its preceding year.
Finding a boulevard
One thing is for sure that there’s no way e-commerce market will fade in coming years.
Going with the words of experts, “The primary reason behind this constant boom is that e-commerce has something for everyone. While people relish ease of buying, the sellers can keep a real-time track on sales and can reach a wider market.” Says Mr. Hiren Modi, CEO of Commerce Pundit.
However, amidst this entire hustle, there are entrepreneurs struggling to find a space and sustain in the market.
Keeping in mind the same section, we have listed few trends here that will be on peak in the coming years. Having a grip over these can indeed help you to lead the e-commerce race.
They are:
1- Winter is coming: Before we start, just to let you know this has nothing to do with Game of Thrones. The month of November is soaked in major shopping events like Black Friday, Singles Day, and Cyber Monday. It is believed that the first and last of the mentioned days will soon merge into the online shopping festivals. In fact, if we look at 2016 sales figures during the tenure, online sales on these days have crossed all limits. Not only this but also the retailers began preparing themselves for the days in advance last year.
2- Mobility has become a need: E-commerce's younger sibling m-commerce has made an invincible space in the market. It not only allows ease of access to the users but also lets the seller keep a track remotely. Apart from this, quick and secure measures of mobile payment and loyalty apps will also be on a hike. One good example of this can be Starbucks, where 22% customers pay through the application, and eventually, this has helped them increase their revenue by 12%.
3- Faster shipping: We can’t say by when we’ll have drone delivering packages to our homes or offices, but yes the primary reason behind the rise in e-commerce market is that users want goods and services quicker and at their ease. In the coming time, they’ll prefer shopping from retailers who avail faster shipping and against lesser/no delivery charges. To sustain in the competition, it’ll be vital for participants to look for profitable ways to avail free and faster delivery.
4- Customer is the king: Though the phrase has its roots since decades, just like the online commerce industry, it gained more importance today. Customer engagement will become a crucial ingredient to keep them coming back. You need to ensure that your customers get a prompt response, irrespective of the channel they contact upon. Apart from this, you can also try UGC (User Generated Content) as a means to crack customer satisfaction.
5- Voice Search: Amidst the entire race of saving time and efforts, voice search is making its place. According to e-commerce experts, conversational commerce is a rapidly rising trend in the industry. The concept behind this rising trend is to eradicate shopping hassles and make purchasing a more convenient and time-saving operandi. Though the facility is currently being used for small queries and weather search, it is believed that the e-commerce industry will soon add the blend of it.
Conclusion
Looking at the above points and the views shared by the experts, we can understand the pace with which e-commerce industry is growing. Undoubtedly it is faster than what we expected it at the initial stage.
Whether you have an existing e-commerce store or if you are planning to grab the opportunities attached to it in future, I would suggest having a consultation with an experienced team. That won’t just empower you with a productive decision, but will also consistently guide you about the changes and inclusions you need to make in order to grow your market.
