As more and more customers choose to do their shopping online, the e-commerce sector has become a focal point for millions of sellers around the world. The value of this sector is likely to grow from 4.28 trillion US dollars, as measured in 2020, to 5.4 trillion US dollars in 2022. To succeed in this rapidly developing area, you need to be aware of the trends that will dominate the e-commerce market in the years to come. What is the future of e-commerce? In this article, we discuss the most important e-commerce trends and technologies that are most likely to grow in the years to come.
1. Omnichannel
The ever-growing significance of omnichannel is undoubtedly the result of the ongoing pandemic. In 2021, many sellers decided to employ the omnichannel strategy to reach new customers and offer them comprehensive services, which in turn helped the sellers boost their profits. Omnichannel has been continually gaining more and more popularity because, among other things, it successfully contributes to business growth. To fully benefit from omnichannel sales, we recommend using systems that make it easier to efficiently manage your prices, product listings and stock levels.
2. Marketplaces
Expanding online sales models by adding new channels has been yet another distinct trend of the last couple of months. Nowadays, if you limit your business to only brick-and-mortar or online stores, it leads to stagnation which, considering keen competition, may turn out to be fatal for many sellers. A great way to expand the reach of your products is to list them on marketplaces. Amazon offers easy access to 8 European markets and over 340 million customers. Needless to say, the platform shows an enormous growth potential for almost every line of business. Nethansa’s proven solutions make it even easier for international companies to boost their profits on global markets. Want to learn more about our services and solutions? Contact us!
3. Artificial Intelligence
AI solutions have been driving the e-commerce market for several years now. Amongst other things, AI is used for creating recommendations, reaching more customers, automating sales processes, conducting sales operations and personalising ads. In the years to come, AI is likely to dominate e-commerce to an even greater extent by replacing standard interactions between customers and sellers. Both parties involved will enjoy the many benefits of such a replacement – sellers will have more time due to the automation of their processes, and customers will be able to access products more easily and use chatbots for a 24/7 support.
4. Augmented reality
AR technologies play a crucial role in e-commerce. They are meant to present a given product to the consumer, enabling them to interact with it in the somewhat unfavourable online conditions. The augmented reality makes it possible to personally rate the product and gives customers access to an alternative and attractive shopping experience. Many sellers have already implemented AR solutions in their processes and this trend is likely to keep growing in 2022. Consumers should then expect even more convenient online shopping solutions.
5. Mobile shopping
In the recent years, more and more customers have been shopping on their mobile devices. It should come as no surprise, as a growing number of e-stores and online sales platforms now offer convenient apps with user-friendly interfaces that allow for intuitive purchases, easy payment and direct access to special discounts and bonuses for users who buy products on their phones.
6. ReCommerce
What does this term mean? Simply put, reCommerce is the second-hand branch of e-commerce or, in other words, the trade of used and previously owned products. It is a strong trend rooted in the consumers’ concern for the environment and the popularity of the “zero waste” philosophy. It is also the result of the ever-growing awareness of the need for sustainability. E-commerce specialists claim that this trend is likely to be followed by even more buyers who are eager to give “another life” to their clothes, accessories, electronic devices and luxury items.
7. Ecology and responsibility
With that, we can swiftly move to another trend. More and more consumers have been taking the pro-environmental attitude in their lives – also during shopping. In turn, many e-commerce companies have decided to adopt eco-friendly solutions. Most frequently, such solutions involve the packaging – both its material and the filler. Numerous e-stores have gone even further and begun using labels made of biodegradable materials, replacing paper invoices and receipts with electronic ones, as well as using electricity from renewable sources. The entire world – the e-commerce market included – is becoming more aware of the need to protect our planet. In 2022, one of the main tasks of online stores will be to adapt their businesses to eco-friendly solutions. Key aspects will include environment protection, eco-development and fair trade. Those factors are expected to influence the customers’ decision-making process.
8. Security
The dynamic development of e-commerce, the prevalence of online shopping and payments, as well as the popularity of home office entail an increase in the number of cyberattacks. Customer data leaks have become a common problem for online stores and companies providing various services. Security is, therefore, one of the most important challenges that e-commerce has to take on and a key investment area for the upcoming year. Sellers will have to face challenges related to technological progress and give consumers access to solutions that could guarantee the safety of shopping processes. The most important task is to find a safe way to gather, store and manage data.
9. Voice shopping
The popularity of voice searching and shopping is very likely to grow in the years to come. There are more users who use voice assistants, such as Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, than ever before – and the popularity of AI-powered virtual assistants has been dynamically growing. The expansion of smart speakers is continually convincing e‑stores to perceive voice shopping as an opportunity for further growth in the area of e‑commerce. Therefore, it may be assumed that the ability to purchase products with voice commands will soon become more prevalent on various platforms and stores.
10. Personalisation
The e-commerce sector has been displaying a strong tendency to create individually crafted shopping experiences for quite some time now. This personalisation trend is especially visible in customer-tailored recommendations, offers, ads, emails and social media activities. Research in the area of shopping preferences suggests that this trend is here to stay, since more and more consumers are willing to make a purchase when the offer is tailored to their expectations.
