Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- Top E-commerce Trends to Boost Sales
- The virtual and offline platforms will be more connected
- Social Commerce will become building blocks
- Value Exchange
- Use of SMS marketing
- Customers oriented programs
- Emotional loyalty will be a solid base
- Marketplace will grow at lower costs
- Creator-led commerce
- Subscriptions and memberships
- Tech stacks
- Conclusion
Introduction
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It’s important to adopt new e-commerce trends, platforms, tools, and technology to grow your business in a sustainable way. It helps in lead generation, boosts your e-commerce sales and enhances ROI.
Whether you’re starting a new e-commerce business or you already have an online store, staying on top of e-commerce trends and incorporating effective tactics to help respond to your consumers’ changing needs will help you in acquiring new customers, retaining them and converting them into paying customers.
So, what is the next big thing in e-commerce? You can use SMS marketing and social commerce, optimize your tech stack, connect your online and offline stores and much more…
Key Statistics:
- There Are 2.14 Billion Online Shoppers Worldwide
- Only 2.17% of E-commerce visits convert into purchases
- 52% of online shoppers are attracted to brands that share their values
- 49% of brands plan to invest more in social commerce in 2022
- 87% of online shoppers use social media while making shopping decision
- 75% of consumers say they favor companies that offer rewards
- 59% of brands have a strategy for collecting first-party customer data
- 85% of shoppers rely on reviews and research when deciding what to buy
With over 20 years of experience, PROS delivers reliable and secure end-to-end e-commerce solutions including migration, integration, marketing, design and development and more. Our highly skilled experts incorporate new e-commerce trends to provide data-driven results.
Top E-commerce Trends to Boost Sales
Here are the top e-commerce trends that both B2B and B2C brands should use to boost sales. These include shifting buying habits, customer preferences, and how merchants are using e-commerce technologies to remain ahead of the competition.
The virtual and offline platforms will be more connected
Consumers are using a strategy mix of both online and offline platforms.The e-commerce buyers will use retailer’s website and offline stores. Consumers try different things at different times. Therefore, businesses should plan to make their operations consistent both online and offline to cater to the demands of a variety of people. To make e-commerce online and offline platforms connected, merchants need to bring consistency.
Consistency
To be more engaging e-commerce merchants need to connect and coordinate their online and offline operations. Consumers expect their experience to be consistent on both the platforms. Therefore, to increase sales and boost revenues, companies need to bridge the differentiating gap between virtual and offline platforms through different loyalty programs.
Loyalty programs
These are an ideal way to reduce the differentiation between the two platforms. Loyalty programs are offered by e-commerce merchants to attract and retain customers. For example; discounts, rewards, and other incentives that attract buyers of a brand. Allowing customers to redeem loyalty perks help e-commerce companies in collecting relevant data from its customers. The loyalty e-commerce trends will be by leveraging online & offline strategies.
The perks will connect the experience and deliver more personalized experiences of the buyers. To make e-commerce platforms more personalized, let us look at social commerce trends.
Social Commerce will become building blocks
Shopping has become an increasing constant activity for almost all people. Users usually scroll the homepage of social networking channels, spot a nice dress by looking at an ad, or while checking on one of their favorite social media personalities. Save products and finally make a purchase. Some social networks examples are Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc.
Important tips to brands
Social commerce trends
Things have been much easier with shopping through social networking channels. Customers can easily make purchases with clicking on the tag items, and without closing the social media app they are using. Also, e-commerce companies will easily understand customers’ preferences. Social media commerce has added an increased revenue to e-commerce merchants.
Add reviews to their shops
By incorporating the review option on social media’s shopping app, customers shop easily and confidently. Online buyers will be able to shop from the company positively after reviewing the comments. This will help in exclusive events, customer spotlight features, engaging in brand communities, etc.
Social networking channels are a building block of e-commerce trends. The trend has increased revenue to many e-commerce companies. Value exchange is another unique trend for e-commerce.
Value Exchange
The laws regarding the privacy concern and the depreciation of the cookie from Apple and Google respectively. Made companies limit their data sharing, targeted ads, and reporting capabilities of many apps, etc. This led to restrictions on the personalized behavior of the platform and the privacy concern of the customers. Therefore, brands looked at an important trend;
Original value exchange.
E-commerce firms can look at several better ways of collecting data from first-party. Post-purchase experience, customer input, recommendations, advanced access, loyalty rewards, and word of mouth are some examples of the same. These are powerful, customized commerce solutions for businesses that generate higher value to the customer. All these trending ideas enhance an e-commerce firm’s performance.
Use of SMS marketing
E-commerce will continue to grow its investment in mobile channels. To increase the shopping experiences of their targeted customers, brands are working on SMS marketing. E-commerce industries are using SMS as an ideal way to know their customers. SMS marketing is supported at both ends as privacy policies are strict.
The key importance of SMS marketing:Â
Enhance marketing operations
Short Message Service marketing is one of the easiest ways to collect data about customers. The cost of SMS has also been reduced for the visitors. SMS marketing has created an easier and faster way of communication between the customers and the producers. SMS helps in campaigns, promotions, updates, news, and other essential data to keep the customers connected to the company. SMS generate useful information as they are a type of customer oriented program.
Customer oriented programs
The upcoming generation is a full pack of conscious customers that are willing to support the companies they are buying from. Before purchasing, customers look for companies that align with their values. Therefore, information like the origin of the brand, mission, impact, and focus adds value to consumers. Customers look for sustainable goals, vision of the company, brand value, etc.
Sustainability goals
Strategic campaigns related to sustainability goals are trending. Reward structure in terms of education and environment are two most important programs. Consumers can easily identify the sustainability efforts of the e-commerce business through its website, blogs, and posts. Therefore, customers oriented programs are important to connect customers with brand values.
A company should combine brand missions as well as sustainable actions undertaken by the company. Along with social loyalty, one should also keep up with emotional loyalty.
Emotional loyalty will be a solid base
According to research, customers are emotionally invested in their favorite brand or the brand they have been buying in the past. They expect more than a transactional connection. Therefore, it is important for a brand to build the same emotional prospects from its end. To continue the goodwill, e-commerce companies should provide relevant information to its customers.
Relevant information
A brand should provide relevant content to its customers. It should provide storylines, organic, honest, and deeper reasons as to why loyal customers should spend on its products. Share quizzes and puzzles to make the relationship interesting and fun. Information of new products launching, details of upcoming offers also play a key role in driving customers’ behavior toward their products.
Companies should try building the experiences of their customers and make their journey fun-loving.Along with providing information, an e-commerce merchant can even take help from a third-party platform.
Marketplace will grow at lower costs
A third-party marketplace grows an e-commerce brand. A new marketplace for example Amazon, eBay, Uber, and Luxe give customers a better understanding of a brand. Marketplaces increase brand exposure, better trust, and more leads. Whether small or big, a marketplace has increased the revenue of each company.
Key role of an e-commerce marketplace
Implementing product reviews and rating marketplaces online. For Example; Google Shopping has helped companies with up to a 24% increase in CTR. Brands on such platforms have an opportunity for customer acquisition, brand awareness, and increase revenue. Similar to e-commerce marketplaces, creator-led commerce also gives a greater platform for exposure.
Creator-led commerce
Creator-led is one of the most important e-commerce trends. According to Marketing Drive, marketers have a huge trust in influencers on social media. The creator-led commerce doesn’t have an end. Influencers are the third most trusted media. A company should not ignore the importance of influencers in marketing its brand. It has led to an increase in the ROI of many companies.
Brand membership with influencer
A brand partnership with an influencer means that the influencers trust and respect the brand and can easily represent the same to the public. The promotion technique through influencers increases consumers’ willingness for the products. Therefore, marketing through influencers has helped companies increase ROI.
Subscriptions and memberships
Subscriptions went mainstream in 2021. However, the trend graph has now bent over to memberships. In 2022, brands are focusing on delivering positive subscribers that can help them in differentiating themselves from their competitors. In simpler terms, subscriptions will be redefined to prioritize membership, which is a more emotional and strategic approach.
Difference between membership and subscription
A subscription is a billing decision for products or services. Whereas membership means to be a member of the store. A subscription requires a person to pay for a product or service. However, with membership one can share time, connections, experience, and other non-financial things too. Membership is a belonging decision. It helps in increasing members for the e-commerce website.
Increase members
E-commerce platforms can increase demand by increasing their methods. By giving more subscriptions to customers, e-commerce platforms can identify consumers’ buying habits, subscription schedules, and other important information. To have an edge over competitors, companies should be more ardent in making their customers members. As membership makes more personalized relations with the buyers.
Tech stacks
E-commerce brands are focussing on delivering the best possible shopper experience. This leads to adding heavy third-party technologies, DIY platform augmentations definitions, developing single-page apps, and more. Overall a more complex tech stack. To reduce technical errors and work faultlessly, e-commerce merchants should optimize their tech stack.
Optimizing the tech stack
E-commerce marketers should look at their operations more efficiently. Merchants should focus on effective tech solutions that work seamlessly with each other. This will lead to brands consolidating functionality around core tools that provide the most accessible consumer data. Therefore, more automation and new sales increasing.
Conclusion
E-commerce trends are designed to generate traffic and leads that ultimately lead to sales and an increased ROI. Keeping ahead of trends and implementing effective marketing and e-commerce techniques can help businesses stay ahead of competition. Integrating your offline store with your virtual store, taking full use of social media and content marketing, SMS marketing are some of the e-commerce trends that businesses require in order to stay upto date.
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.
