Ecommerce has exploded since the pandemic forced people to shop online. Its popularity shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. If you are looking to start an ecommerce business, it’s important you stay up to date with the evolving ecommerce trends and opportunities. Ecommerce business owners are facing more competition as more people are looking to get into ecommerce. Being on top of ecommerce trends will equip you with the tools you need to be successful.
Immediate Communication Options
Online shopping can be a very impersonal experience. A downside of this is that it becomes harder for customers to contact ecommerce business owners and/or employees. At a physical store, a customer can have their question answered immediately. It may take hours or even days before they can get into contact with an ecommerce business. This can be a deterrent for potential customers which may result in you losing a sale. Thus, an ecommerce trend for 2022 is having more contact options for customers that can provide an immediate response. Two trends becoming popular are live-chat boxes and voice/ video calls.
Live-Chat Boxes
Live-chat boxes provide buyers with instant access to assistance. Live-chat boxes don’t include chat boxes that are powered by bots. With a live-chat box, customers are chatting with a human employee of an ecommerce business. Ecommerce sites with live-chat boxes available can see an increase in orders between 100% to 300%. Being able to respond to customer questions increases the likelihood that they will not only purchase the product but that they will come back and shop again.
Video/ Voice Assistance
Video/voice assistance is less common than live-chat boxes. However, with ecommerce trends continuing to develop, some ecommerce sites have begun to offer them as customer assistance options. Voice and video chat are particularly beneficial to consumers who prefer to physically speak to and hear from a customer service representative. It can also have advantages over live- chat boxes because some questions may be difficult to communicate via text.
Offering various communication methods for customers increases their satisfaction with your ecommerce business. The growing ecommerce trend allows customers to have the reassurance that they have easy access to customer service when needed. If you’re looking to start an ecommerce business, offering real-time assistance options for your customers can help you see an increase in both orders and customer retention.
Diverse Payment Options
Offering diverse payment methods is an ecommerce trend that will influence an increase in the number of ecommerce customers. According to a survey done by Ryan Sandler and Stefano Sciolli, fewer consumers are using credit cards when shopping online. Instead, two popular payment options nowadays include “buy now, pay later,” as well as digital wallets.
Buy Now, Pay Later
Ecommerce shoppers are using buy now, pay later options more frequently when shopping online nowadays. This payment method allows buyers to buy things they can’t afford to pay off in full right away and instead they pay small amounts over a set period of time. Ecommerce businesses that sell products on the higher end of the price spectrum are more likely to benefit from offering buy now, pay later options. People are more likely to purchase an expensive product when they have the option to spread out payments over a period of time.
Digital Wallet
In addition to buy now, pay later, more consumers are shopping by using a digital wallet. A digital wallet stores a user’s payment information which allows them to easily shop online using their mobile device. Digital wallets can also store loyalty information and coupons that are automatically applied when shopping. Digital wallets don’t require users to link bank information and are more inclusive of unbanked and underbanked consumers. Accepting digital wallet payments allows ecommerce businesses to offer their products to a larger consumer audience.
Providing diverse payment options is an ecommerce trend that is meant to be more financially inclusive. If you’re just about to start an ecommerce business, offering a variety of payment options provides your business with the opportunity to attract a larger number of customers.
Mobile App
With online shopping becoming more popular and more consumers using digital wallets to shop, mobile application shopping is an ecommerce trend you should anticipate. It is expected that by 2025, mobile spending will total about $728 billion globally. This statistic is supported by the fact that people aren’t buying desktops at the same pace that they are buying phones. In fact, 15% of US adults only own a mobile device and not a desktop. Despite the prevalence of mobile phone shoppers, most ecommerce sites are not user-friendly. 90% of users have found that it is difficult to navigate websites on a mobile device. This can make shopping frustrating and can result in you losing potential customers. Thus, developing a user-friendly mobile application can elevate your ecommerce business because customers will have an easier time navigating the application in comparison to your competition.
Social Media Presence
We live in the age of social media so if you’re going to start an ecommerce business, you have to consider the role that social media can play in your ecommerce sales. Statista found that in 2020, there were around 80 million social buyers just in the US. The numbers are expected to grow even more every year. Social media facilitates a consumer-focused marketing approach. Ecommerce businesses with a social media presence can have better interactions with customers and they can expose their brand to a larger consumer audience. Your social media platform represents your ecommerce business and should be run professionally.
Loyalty Programs
Every customer wants to save money when shopping. Loyalty programs are an ecommerce trend that rewards the customer for shopping with you by providing them with money-saving options for when they shop with you again. Ecommerce customers have lots of ecommerce options to choose from when shopping and loyalty programs offer an incentive that will keep customers coming back to you. Loyalty programs can offer rewards from birthday discounts to coupons that are awarded when a customer spends a certain amount of money. Customer retention is financially important for any ecommerce business because it’s more expensive to acquire new customers than it is to retain them. By offering an incentive that keeps customers coming back, you’re able to build trust with your customer and you raise the likelihood that your customer will recommend your business to other potential customers.
Conclusion
As ecommerce continues to grow, ecommerce trends will evolve. If you want to start an ecommerce business, it’s important to be aware of the changing ecommerce trends. Ecommerce trends prioritize the customer and their shopping demands. Being on top of trends allows you to meet these demands and stay ahead of your competition.
