How 5G Is Changing E-Commerce For A More Vivid Buyer Experience
Numerous latest devices from smartphones to smart appliances are connected to the internet by the fifth-generation (5G) wireless technology. Right now, the technology is open to a few mobile users in many countries, including the United States, China, and Turkey, with furthermore countries embracing it rapidly.
5G offers many advantages, from quicker data speeds, reduced latency, to greater connection density, and many more, which will influence many industries particularly e-commerce. In the coming years alone, 5G is going to drive huge revenue to mobile commerce, improving sales and opportunities for growth in the space.
Mobile Commerce
One of the major and evident trends after the rise of smartphones is the surge in mobile browsing and buying in the e-commerce sector. It is seen that an impressive percentage of all internet traffic comes from a mobile device. Due to this, merchants have begun to shift to optimizing their online stores and checkout experiences for smartphones making them as fast and easy.
5G has taken things to a new level. Mobile load times have become virtually instantaneous, which will instantly gratify short attention spans users. Customers can get whatever they want from websites and Instagram ads and there won’t be lengthy and irritating load times.
Studies have revealed that a good percentage of customers abandon their carts because of site errors or early e-store crashes. These are some of the many reasons why 5G is a realistic option for e-commerce. Websites must be optimized by entrepreneurs for mobile use, faster, more dependable load times, and buyer conversion.
Market Confluence
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are transforming how things are done. As far as e-commerce is concerned, both technologies can help revolutionize the online purchasing process. VR and AR, allows you to view products in 3D, switch their position, expand or contract them, and more. In other words, these technologies let you share the virtual space with the product you want to buy.
Implementing 3D-interactive technology can help merchants increase the conversion rates about two-and-a-half times. VR and AR will encounter slight latency and lag time due to 5G, so much so that it’ll probably go unnoticed by a human. Platforms like Amazon can be used by a customer instantly to buy furniture, while at the same time viewing how the pieces would appear in his or her own place.
Some of the companies have already launched their own AR toolkit for small, product-pushing businesses. These types of technologies will only be further improved benefiting both the customer and the merchant.
AI Assistance
Customer satisfaction will also be enhanced with AI along with the customer’s shopping experience. The power of AI with the speed of 5G will make it easier for ecommerce businesses to assist their customers with online intelligence.
Some companies are doing it really well by having chatbots that can reply to common questions of customers and even recommend apparel for them. The algorithm is, in some ways, superior to using a personal shopper.
Large Applications
Phones will work faster with 5G and it’ll also increase the speed of many other devices. For instance, wearables will be getting high-speed data quicker and those who buy these devices are interested in other products and the latest innovations.
The online sellers can get in touch with more involved people rapidly than ever, considering e-commerce viewpoint, the increasing number of wearables bought the openness of their users and the speed at which the technology can function with 5G.
In addition to phones and wearables, various other systems will influence ecommerce when they shift to 5G. An increase in the usage of smart devices will allow people to do things such as shopping and buying groceries from the screen of a smart fridge.
Unknown Glitches
Customers could shop from a phone screen like they would from a laptop using 4G, however a lag during paying is not uncommon. This lag diminishes the trust of a customer on a website which leads to cart abandonment.
5G allows shoppers to experience zero friction during shopping which means better user experiences for ecommerce merchants. The dip that was associated with 4G will not be in 5G, in fact, 5G will its exceptional traits will change how ecommerce is done.
Improved Media
The majority of the information that reaches humans comes from whatever they visualize. Hence brands need to be more visual to cater to this occurrence. Even though high-resolution photos and videos play an important role in the success of the companies, but providing these kinds of media can be challenging.
5G will allow brands to offer quality videos and images, hence better viewing experience and increased traffic.
The Switch Is Underway
Those who resist change perish. Ecommerce is changing due to 5G and this change is happening whether the industry is or isn’t ready. Customers are shifting from 4G to 5G and so should the brands. Better mobile connectivity will means better online sales.
Deepak Wadhwani has over 20 years experience in software/wireless technologies. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies including Intuit, ESRI, Qualcomm, Sprint, Verizon, Vodafone, Nortel, Microsoft and Oracle in over 60 countries. Deepak has worked on Internet marketing projects in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange Country, Denver, Nashville, Kansas City, New York, San Francisco and Huntsville. Deepak has been a founder of technology Startups for one of the first Cityguides, yellow pages online and web based enterprise solutions. He is an internet marketing and technology expert & co-founder for a San Diego Internet marketing company.
