The aspirations to start an ecommerce business are quite understandable, given how much money one can potentially make.Â
At the same time, it is worth noting how many challenges are in the way of creating a successful ecommerce venture. Overcoming obstacles is not easy, particularly when you do not have that much money to give you an advantage.
It is common to look for ways to gain an edge. Keeping up with the latest ecommerce trends is a good example of a potential way to have an advantage. Businesses that fail to adopt innovations are left behind the competitors.Â
This article will cover some of the most prominent ecommerce trends that businesses should not ignore.
Table of Contents
Product Quality
Sometimes, it is hard to determine whether a product’s quality is good enough, especially when shopping online. You cannot try the goods in person, and trusting prior customer reviews is not always that reliable.
Let’s say that you are looking for uniforms for your baseball team. Even if you are in an amateur team, the season can be quite long, so it makes sense to get a durable uniform.
If there are multiple suppliers that offer to manufacture, the odds are that most people will prioritize quality so long as the price makes sense.
As an aspiring business owner, you might find it difficult to find a balance between selling quality goods and still making enough sales to profit. Nevertheless, lackluster quality only leads to poor reviews and ultimately snowballs, causing losses.
Voice Search
Voice search is an interesting trend that should not come as a surprise. Ever since the popularity of Alexa and other voice assistants, it was only a matter of time before some of the biggest ecommerce platforms started to invest in voice shopping.
The comfort of ordering goods online via voice commands is not to be underestimated. Not to mention that voice search also benefits people with disabilities.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is another example of an innovation that affects multiple industries, including ecommerce.
For one, chatbots that respond to customer queries immediately and are available 24/7 offer a superior option compared to real humans in customer support. At least efficiency-wise.
Data processing also becomes less of a hassle when you have intelligent computers that can do most of the work for you. And in some cases, even vast amounts of data get processed almost instantly.
Mobile Shopping
It is already common to see online stores using mobile-friendly themes to accommodate customers who shop using smartphones and tablets.Â
According to Statista, roughly 50 percent of all online shoppers are on mobile devices, and the projections for the future indicate that this number will grow.Â
Besides having a mobile-friendly website theme, you might also want to consider hiring a developer for iOS and Android apps.Â
Even if a website is mobile-friendly, it is still often bothersome browsing through it when you want to shop. On the other hand, if there is a dedicated mobile app, the shopping experience becomes that much better.
Social Media Marketplaces
Social media platforms are as popular as ever. If anything, there are more and more people joining them, particularly when talking about more recent sites, such as TikTok.Â
Marketing campaigns often revolve around finding and targeting the right demographics on social media.Â
Right now, though, it is clear that the biggest social media platforms are trying to skip the step where they work as a middleman. Instead of having brands ask users to reach landing pages via provided links, social media sites are incorporating marketplaces that let one sell goods directly on the platform.
It might take a while to set up the store directly on Facebook or another SM site, but missing out on such an opportunity would be a waste.
Live Events
Live events were forgotten during the pandemic. Aspiring business owners could not meet people in person and grow their network.
Thankfully, the situation has improved, and now we see a sudden desire among people to participate in various events. This desire opens doors for potential opportunities to generate leads, find partners, and benefit in other ways as an online business owner.
That is not to say that live events were not a trend before. It is just that the recent pandemic kind of restarted the idea, encouraging live events.
eWallet Technology
It would not be a stretch to say that most people make purchases using their credit cards. A small portion also sticks to services like PayPal, Stripe, and Payoneer.
As a whole, eWallet technology is often underestimated by less experienced eCommerce business owners.Â
One of the leading causes of abandoned shopping carts is the lack of different payment methods. If a shopper is about to complete the transaction but discovers that the store lacks a certain payment option.
As a rule of thumb, it is necessary to implement as many payment gateways as possible so that the store has fewer abandoned shopping carts.