With no apparent signs of slowing down, the ecommerce industry is continuing to explode. In today’s society, stores cannot compete if they do not offer ecommerce experiences that go above the rest – and digital commerce is the most important. If you are not reaching your customers online, you could lose up to half of your potential revenue. In order to help you stay ahead and reap all potential benefits of ecommerce this year, let’s look at some of the most common trends thus far and what we might be able to expect in the future.
Pop-up Shops: This may be one of the few things keeping retail alive. Essentially, pop-up shops are temporary retail spaces that sell merchandise – or showcase it to be ordered. They usually last between 3 days and a few months and can be found in heavily trafficked areas. This is essentially redesigning the retail experience to keep up with the big-name retailers. (Consider Target and Walmart’s curbside pickup and delivery services). Pop-ups are definitely something to pay attention to.
Voice Shopping: The power of using your voice to order items is increasingly on the rise. Voice assistants such as Amazon Echo and Google Home are allowing brands to connect with the consumer. According to a study done through Hubspot, 40% of millennials are already using voice search before making an online purchase. Voice activated shopping is also much more likely to connect with local shops and provide local goods so keeping your business updated on Google is essential in order to reach the local searchers.
Virtual and Augmented Reality: One of the latest trends in ecommerce is the use of virtual and augmented reality to make purchases. Basically, this allows the customer to view an item in their home before purchasing. A major player in this game is IKEA. They offer an AR app that allows you to place 3D products in your home, true-to-scale before committing to any purchases. According to Houzz, a home design and interior decorator company, AR made their customers 11x more likely to go through with a purchase of a product.
Even Faster Delivery: In 2017, Amazon opened a lot of shipping centers close to major cities in order to promise dame-day delivery to Prime customers. It has been reported that Google will launch a competitor called “Google Shopping Express.” This would offer same-day delivery from stores such as Walmart and Target. With more of the big-name ecommerce sites offering same-day delivery, customers are going to start migrating towards convenience. It has been noted that customers are willing to pay extra for this convenience offering smaller ecommerce companies to option of considering ways to implement this option.
