5 E-commerce Trends By Ecomz That You Need to Know in 2020

Around 20 years later, the e-commerce industry has made over 2 trillion US dollars in sales worldwide. There’s no looking back now.

E-commerce has revolutionized retail. It has evolved to meet the changing needs of people and to make online shopping easier for the modern-day customer. When it started, e-commerce was fairly limited in its capabilities. But not anymore. Whether it’s customization, enhanced return policies, or improved integration, all of these changes (among countless others) have taken the world of e-commerce by storm. And 2020 is here to further transform the world of e-commerce.

■ Why Are E-commerce Trends so Important?

The e-commerce world is becoming increasingly competitive. To stay ahead of the competition, e-commerce trends need to be constantly monitored. No matter how mature your e-commerce store is right now, if you don’t keep up with e-commerce trends, you’ll risk falling drastically behind. 

■ Top E-commerce Trends 2020:

Are you wondering what the future of e-commerce looks like? Do you want to look into what trends will shape the success of your online store? Ecomz will recommend to you the top 5 trends you need to know!! 

1. Online Sales Growth is Unstoppable

E-commerce sales have been growing constantly and for good reason. Online shopping is one of the most popular online activities. The sales are projected to increase from 1.3 trillion in 2014 to 4.5 trillion in 2021 (Statista, 2019). That’s a massive figure. It would mean a threefold growth over a 7-year span.

Even though online shopping is one of the most popular online activities, the usage varies by region. With the increasing popularity of e-commerce stores, a rising number of people are turning to online shopping. This increase in online shopping can be attributed to a number of factors. One of the main ones is arguably the level of comfort that is provided to online shoppers. There is also an increase in trust that online buyers have when they are purchasing online, as well as an improved website experience. At one point, people used to be hesitant to buy things online, but that’s no longer the case. Websites have been made more customer-friendly. With all the comfort that is provided, there’s no surprise that online sales growth is becoming unstoppable.

2. The Future of E-commerce After COVID-19

Undeniably, one of the biggest impacts—if not the biggest—on e-commerce trends in 2020 will be COVID-19. 

With governments worldwide shutting stores and implementing lockdowns to restrict social movement for months on end in a bid to combat the coronavirus, more and more people are resorting to online shopping to purchase items.

market analysts say that the e-commerce industry will be the biggest beneficiaries of the coronavirus pandemic. Penetration rates, which are currently at 15 percent, are expected to increase to 25 percent by 2025 (MarketWatch, 2020). That marks a 67 percent increase in five years.

The positive COVID-19 impact on e-commerce, unfortunately, spells a heavy loss for brick-and-mortar stores. As many as 100,000 are forecast to shut over the next five years.

3. Role of Artificial Intelligence

Global retailer spending on Artificial Intelligence (AI) will reach $7.3 billion per annum by 2022, up from an estimated $2 billion in 2018 (BusinessWire, 2018). This happens as retailers target new avenues to increase the personalization of the customer experience. This research shows us that retailers are willing to heavily invest in tools that will help them to improve their services to customers and give them a competitive advantage.

The role of AI will become stronger in the coming years, as retailers invest in improving areas such as customer service where AI can be useful to understand the reactions of customers to the product or service purchased. This will play a big role in solving how retailers can improve customer experience. In order to stay competitive, it’s important that retailers invest in this e-commerce trend.

4. Personalization is the Future

More than 50% of shoppers say that personalized online experience is important (Bazaarvoice, 2018). Adding to that, 74% of marketers believe personalization has a “strong” or “extreme” impact on advancing customer relationships (Evergage, 2018).

Personalizing the online shopping experience is the key to keeping customers satisfied. People shopping online want help to find the products that they need, and they value a more personalized experience. As a result of poor product recommendations, online shoppers might avoid certain stores altogether.

E-commerce sites are onboard with this trend and are investing in personalization tactics to make the online shopping experience a better one. By offering personalized customer communications, providing relevant discounts, and engaging with customers through, for instance, video content, will help deliver a better shopping experience and strengthen the bond with your customers.

5. Visual Commerce is on the Rise

One of the many difficulties of running an e-commerce store is having to sell your product to consumers who have no chance of physical interaction with your product. That’s where visual commerce comes into play.

In short, visual commerce is the next generation of normal static visuals. It takes marketing to a whole other level as instead of simply using product photos to market your business, visual commerce takes it one step further by incorporating other types of visuals such as consumer-generated media, interactive content, engaging videos, and as previously mentioned, augmented reality.

■ Conclusion:

With the advancement in technology and changes in consumer behavior, you need to keep an eye out for these e-commerce trends in 2020. Whichever e-commerce trend you decide to adopt, do it with the aim of improving the shopping experience for your customers, and building a long-lasting relationship with them. Take your e-commerce evolution to the next level, by evolving with it side-by-side, and taking advantage of these e-commerce trends.

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