Are you looking for ways to grow your business? These top 5 e-commerce trends are your answer. From using Social Media shops to Ethical E-commerce. These consumer trends are your ticket to success.
As a business, you need to keep updated with consumer trends. Today, significant amounts of consumers tend to make their purchases online. With service providers offering convenient access to the internet, like Cox bundle deals, and businessesmaking the most of e-commerce platforms, worldwide revenue amounted to almost 2.29 Trillion USD in 2018. Statista predicts that revenues generated from e-commerce platforms will reach an estimated 4.88 Trillion USD by 2021.
In order to tap into this huge market, businesses will need to start using e-commerce platforms and keep up with their trends. Consumer trends in e-commerce are constantly evolving, and it is good business to evolve with them.
Here are some of the top e-commerce trends you need to follow.
5 E-commerce Trends Your Business Needs to Follow
Before you start following a trend, it is best to do some research. Some things that look like trends are fads. While fads fade away, trends stay for longer and are worth investing in. If you identify a trend, there is no point in waiting to see how it turns out. Jump on the wagon before it’s too late. There are things you should consider when trying to differentiate a fad from a trend. Consider how and what consumers make purchases and react to marketing tactics.
Here are five trends you need to adopt for the growth of your business:
1. Social Media Shops
There is a rise in the number of businesses offering their products for sale on social media. So far, social media is a tool used by businesses to promote their products and services. Now, social media platforms allow businesses to sell to their customers from the platform itself. According to a study conducted in China, 25 percent of businesses are reportedly selling on Facebook Shop. The same study showed that 55 percent of social media app users reported purchasing the social app. Social media is likely to stay strong over the next five years, so it becomes feasible for you to invest in your social media shops.
2. Progressive Web Apps
Progressive Web Apps, or PWAs, are hybrids of websites and mobile apps. They are quickly becoming the new standard in web development. PWAs combine the advantages of websites with apps. They are 2 to 10 times faster to load than traditional websites and have offline capabilities. They allow push notifications and create a compelling mobile experience.
The technology works by transferring the website’s workload away from the server. Instead of the mobile device relying on the website server to load the page, PWA pages rely on the device to load the page. These PWAs work efficiently with any device, any browser, and any connection. Investing in developing a PWA can yield long-term results for your business.
3. Omni-channel Availability
There are many e-commerce platforms available for businesses today. Please don’t limit yourself to one or two of them. Using e-commerce has made browsing easy for consumers. Most try to find the best deals by browsing multiple platforms. This means that you have a better chance of making a sale if your product is listed on many platforms. While some like to browse through various platforms, others are more comfortable using one. This means that there is a consumer base you are missing out on because it is not available on that platform.
4. Purchase Personalization
A new trend is emerging: creating customer loyalty. That is, personalizing the purchase experience of customers.
Many businesses are adopting this practice and coming up with innovative ways to offer personalized service. They do this first by offering a unique sales experience to the customer. Next, they focus on customer support. Instead of sending automated emails to inform the customer, some businesses get in touch directly. The third and perhaps the most important is the packaging. Packaging has always been important for businesses, but now, there is a growing trend for customized packages. Businesses have come up with innovative delivery strategies.
To make their products more appealing to customers, some even add personalized notes. Thanking the customer for their business or offering coupons for future business is a good way to promote loyalty.
5. Ethical E-commerce
In general, people today are more socially active than ever before. They are actively concerned about things. It could be the environment, animals, equal rights, or even reducing their carbon footprint. Some consumers feel so strongly towards their cause that they prefer to buy products from select companies, usually those that share their beliefs. This is ethical e-commerce. It is becoming increasingly important for businesses to actively work towards a social cause. Please do so to save many companies’ businesses.
There are other trends in technology that businesses can use to improve their business. Implementing AI for customer support and marketing strategies is on the rise. Many businesses have successfully implemented AI to improve their customer relations. Service providers, like the Cox Customer Support, are usually first to implement new technology to improve experiences. It is also advisable to regularly observe service provider practices to judge consumer trends better.