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Latest eCommerce Trends to Follow

eCommerce is an industry that has recently enjoyed explosive growth. To put it into perspective, global eCommerce sales grew by 27.6% in 2020 alone.

That raises the question, why? Besides the pandemic in 2020, there are also macro-scale trends to consider.

 

For example, eCommerce platforms can usually offer more competitive prices than their rivals (like brick-and-mortar retail stores) since the overhead costs are lower.

There is also the consideration of convenience, with many consumers these days opting for the simplicity of online shopping. These are big factors when it comes to eCommerce sales

 

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Whatever the reasons for the current trends in eCommerce, the result is clear. Consumers now have a choice between millions of shopping websites.

In this ever-evolving landscape, standing out from the crowd is a challenging task.

 

Despite this challenge, eCommerce platforms are constantly asking themselves: what does it mean to scale a business? What technologies should be adopted? How can the customer experience be improved? What eCommerce trends should be capitalized on or ignored?

Well, this article will cover 9 of the biggest trends in online shopping in 2022. We will explain each trend in detail and how it can help boost your online store’s performance and add value to an eCommerce business.

 

Top 9 Latest eCommerce Trends

 

Chatbot customer service

Online customer service is not easy to get right. Businesses are now looking to provide greater customer experience by using CRM cloud center software to handle customer queries   

But something particularly challenging is that it’s very tough to convey emotions over digital communication. Your customer service reps can come across as ‘cold’ when speaking to a customer through these channels.

 

That is not to mention the long waits until an employee becomes available to speak while the customer stares at a blank screen. All these factors combine to create an often-frustrating experience for the end user.  

An alternative to this system, and one of several upcoming new trends in ecommerce, is to let the customer become their own customer service.

 

You can do this by integrating a chatbot into your website.

The bot should be easily accessible (appearing as a website popup) and should contain information to diagnose a customer’s concerns.

 

This means that customers can remedy their problems much faster, increasing your store’s conversion rates. The chatbot approach may be integrated alongside a human customer service team for more complex inquiries.

The bot can be programmed to direct customers as necessary, allowing for speedier outcomes. 

 

Image sourced from happyfox.com

 

Voice search

We mentioned convenience, and no eCommerce technology trends make online shopping more convenient than voice search.

This is especially true for elderly customers who might struggle to type or navigate their way around your website. Now, with the press of a button and a simple voice command, the hard part is completed for them. 

 

Of course, you will want to integrate this eCommerce trend into a website structure that is already well-optimized. One way you might do this is through backlinks that connect related topics.

Not only does this help with ease of access, but it will also help your website’s SEO, pushing it up search engine results pages.

 

Highly personalized customer experience

Every customer wants a shopping experience that is personalized to them. It shows them that you care about their commerce. And, it helps them find products and deals without having to search for them manually.

It can also benefit your business since showing relevant recommendations to individual customers will likely result in higher conversion rates.

 

In line with eCommerce trends, advancements in Artificial Intelligence tech have created programs that are now exceptionally specialized to their purpose.

One such example is using AI to learn about the shoppers on your site. By collecting customer segmentation data, the program can learn about the identity, interests, and moods of your customers. 

 

If executed effectively, this can deliver an automated and highly personalized customer experience. For instance, it might know how to use inclusive language such as referring to ‘you,’ the shopper by your preferred pronouns.

Image sourced from proxzar.ai 

 

Pay-after-delivery payment options

Buyer’s remorse is a powerful psychological concept. This reaction can be so strong that it may put customers off purchasing items.

A chosen product could make it as far as their basket, only for thoughts like “what if it’s poor quality?” to creep in.

 

One new trend in eCommerce that can reduce the stress of buyer’s remorse is offering your customers a ‘pay-after-delivery’ payment model.

It will boost your checkout completion rate and build your brand image as an accommodating platform. 

 

One should also note the drawbacks of such a model, such as the risk of being unable to recoup funds from AWOL customers.

Luckily, services such as PayPal have already integrated this payment option with processes for fraud mitigation. 

 

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Drone delivery shipping options 

Customers often focus on your site’s delivery info page before finalizing a purchase. The reason for this is due to a sense of urgency.

Unlike in-person shopping, online customers must wait days before they get to see their purchased item. It can add to the growing list of doubts that influence the buying process.

 

In response, online retailers started adding options for next-day or same-day delivery. Over time, customers came to expect these options as a necessity rather than a privilege.

As such, tech innovations must rise to meet these expectations once again.

 

A possible new eCommerce trend that could develop is the use of drones. Drone delivery appears to be a popular solution for faster delivery services. They don’t have to wait in traffic or weave around city blocks to reach their destination.

They are fast, autonomous, and pretty cheap. While state regulations continue to block progress in this area, you should certainly watch this space for developments.  

 

 

Subscription models

The importance of customer retention was known long before eCommerce was invented. The idea is that by fostering positive relationships with clients, they will become loyal patrons of your business.

Today, this is a current trend in eCommerce as many online businesses offer incentives for their new customers to become returning customers.

 

It might be done with the introduction of a subscription model. One classic example is Amazon Prime, which offers unlimited free next-day delivery to all Prime members.

Their low-cost subscription pricing strategy makes the service widely available while encouraging a high customer retention rate.

 

It is beneficial to customers for the convenience aspect, centralizing their online shopping with one trusted website. As for the eCommerce store?

It provides an additional income stream and it helps with marketing efforts and inventory planning.

 

Augmented reality shopping

The eCommerce industry has been fast to introduce new eCommerce trends that rely on new technologies that deliver legitimate solutions for their customers.

One exciting tech that is on the precipice of mainstream integration is augmented reality shopping.

 

What is augmented reality exactly? It’s a way of digitally presenting objects in the real world through the user’s smartphone or headset. A use case for this in eCommerce is product visualization.

This would allow a customer to select an item and see a 3D model of that product in front of their own eyes. This tiny boost in consumer satisfaction may just be the nudge required to finalize a payment decision.

 

As VR and AR headsets become more affordable and mainstream, this technology will only grow in popularity. This trend in the eCommerce industry might be one to pay attention to before it takes off.

 

 Image sourced from Later.com

 

Blockchain integration

Blockchain and Web 3.0 are concepts that have seen massive interest in recent years. Behind the buzzwords is a technology that could have real implications for how the Internet operates.

While the space is highly speculative, some areas provide a glimmer of what may turn out to be one of several new trends in online shopping

 

Notably, blockchain transactions may be used as receipts of purchase, enhancing transparency and provenance in supply chains.

Another idea is for customers to receive an NFT alongside their purchased item, proving to review websites that they are a ‘verified customer’.

 

Finally, websites may consider accepting cryptocurrency as payment, allowing for instantaneous cross-border transactions.

 

Social commerce

Ever seen an advert for an eCommerce store on social media? Often, these ads are shown based on your customer segmentation data, such as your age, gender, and habits.

Their effectiveness comes from their integration into social media, which we associate with friends and family.

There are also a number of services designed to facilitate Instagram growth.

 

The next step beyond social media advertising is to integrate payments directly into social platforms. Just look at platforms like Meta and TikTok that have caught onto this trend and offer checkouts of their own.

It’s certainly one of the more interesting trends in the eCommerce industry and one online stores may want to explore. 

 

Businesses looking to reach out to social media platforms for product listings should use a B2B commercial proposal template.

These platforms are inundated with requests from eCommerce stores, meaning you will need to add a little flair to your proposal to stand out.  

 

 

Stay Up-to-date on eCommerce trends to Maximize Your Business’ Potential!

This article aims to have covered some of the most exciting and relevant new trends in eCommerce today. By now, you should have a good idea of the role emerging technologies will play in delivering solutions in this space.

Ultimately, the success of a trend is driven by its mainstream adoption.

You may want to observe how the market responds to the latest trends in eCommerce listed above for insight into its future performance.

About the author

Grace Lau is the Director of Growth Content at Dialpad, a contact center as a service solutions provider for better and easier team collaboration. She has over 10 years of experience in content writing and strategy. Currently, she is responsible for leading branded and editorial content strategies, partnering with SEO and Ops teams to build and nurture content. Grace Lau also published articles for domains such as Agency Vista and IoT For All. Here is her LinkedIn.