Today, online stores thrive as they have never been before. E-commerce businesses are continually looking for new ways to attract online shoppers and grow sales. One of many keys to success lies in following current market trends. That’s why, in this article, we will take a closer look at five major e-commerce trends.
What springs to your mind when you think about shopping? Do you visualize staying in a long line, paying in cash, and dealing with all sorts of customers and shop assistants? As dreadful as it may sound, 40 years ago, that was the only shopping reality. Since the late 1990s, we have been able to comfortably lean back on our armchairs, scroll through thousands of products and buy them with just one click. That’s what online shopping is all about.
Online shopping has become so natural for us; we buy clothes, furniture, and even food on the Internet, and it’s all being conveniently delivered to our homes. The popularity of e-commerce business nowadays is undeniable. But what is there in electronic commerce that made it so irreplaceable?
What should you know about the e-commerce business?
The most important thing to recognize about the e-commerce business is that it never stops. Along with technical developments and customer expectations, online shopping is constantly changing and growing. When Jeff Bezos opened Amazon in 1994, it started as a digital bookstore. Moreover, not many people owned computers in their households at that time. Fast forward to 2022, and Amazon is one of the largest online stores (or rather marketplaces) with a variety of different products, shipping worldwide. There is no time to waste in the e-commerce business.
More and more companies and businesses open online stores to meet their customers’ expectations, which changed significantly in the last 30 years. Just a few people now are willing to physically visit the store and spend their free time waiting in lines, dealing with crowds, noise and smells. Rather, they prefer to conduct a purchase in their own homes peacefully. Therefore, e-commerce stores face more and more challenging demands.
Despite the difficulties the e-commerce business has to overcome every day, it has become a huge success worldwide. One might think there is a secret ingredient hidden; the key, however, is consistency and constant development. Sounds well-worn? It works with e-commerce just fine!
- Consistency is needed for the customers’ feeling of safety and reliability. Having seen the advertisement of your services, the customers want to see similarities and familiar elements once they decide to visit your online store. It is extremely important in building good customer experiences.
- There is no other way in the modern, ever-evolving technological world than development. E-commerce faces changes every day, be it personalized content, different SEO expectations, or mobile-friendliness. However, it can successfully fulfill these demands because of the awareness of the modern market.
The e-commerce business implements multiple techniques to satisfy online shoppers and increase revenue. For some time now, we’ve been able to spot specific e-commerce trends that shape this market. What is becoming most desirable in 2022? Let’s find out!
Top 5 e-commerce trends
AR
Augmented reality (AR) has already been used by a few companies, for example, the creators of the Pokemon Go game. It changes the game of online shopping significantly, especially when we think about products that we would rather see, touch, or measure in real life. AR makes it possible to “introduce” these products into reality without leaving your home.
PERSONALIZATION
Customers want to be noticed by their favorite brands; that is why it is extremely important to take care of personalized content. It is created on the basis of information collected by machine learning algorithms, and it provides messages aligned perfectly with the particular customer and their needs and interests.
CHATBOTS
Even though some of us may not fancy talking to shop assistants, it is important for customers to quickly and conveniently find the product they are looking for. If this process lasts too long during online shopping, customers may get frustrated. Chatbots are a way out of this situation; programmed and automated, they provide great customer support. Moreover, thanks to personalization and AI, chatbots are becoming more intuitive and able to provide well-tailored content.
VOICE SEARCH
Devices like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant gained their popularity quite a while ago; customers have discovered the convenience of voice searching. More and more people are in possession of smart speakers, but even a smartphone is frequently used for this function. This is a crucial message to the e-commerce business as the content accuracy and keywords will be at stake here.
AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the most widely-used technology in any kind of online business. Personalization, product recommendations, chatbots, advertisements – all of these, and many more, start with AI. E-commerce businesses make use of it mostly in terms of customers’ preferences, activities, and tendencies to create a more engaging online shopping experience. There is no doubt that AI has changed the reality of e-commerce, and along with its development, it will remain a key factor.