Companies embracing online marketing strategies are growing rapidly. In 2017, there were 1.66 billion online shoppers. This number is expected to rise sharply to $2.14 billion by 2021.
Prepare for the exciting future of e-commerce by implementing the new trends of 2019.
1. PERSONALIZATION AND CUSTOMER COMMITMENT
Compared to traditional retail stores, e-commerce stores lack personal face-to-face interaction. Online stores do not have retail clerks who can recommend products based on your interests, tastes and preferences.
To mimic this experience, e-commerce companies are exploiting customization opportunities throughout the purchasing process. Somewhat as online course providers replace the need for in-person instruction, e-commerce replaces the need for in-store retail experiences.
By using online personal data, such as search requests, page visits and purchase history, brands are transforming their online stores to best meet the needs and interests of customers. For example, log into your Amazon account. You will find recommended products based on your past purchases, ads tailored to your search history and a marketing copy that speaks directly to you. Expect more brands to follow as personalization technology becomes easier to integrate into e-commerce sites.
Just as personalized emails generate 6x higher transaction rates and convert better than cold emails, consumers spend 48% more when their experience is personalized. At a time when privacy is essential, studies have also shown that 57 percent of online shoppers are comfortable providing personal information to a brand, as long as it directly benefits their shopping experience.
Connecting your online store to a CRM like HubSpot will allow you to use your customer's buying behavior and website to customize your marketing, emails and even pages for promoting abandoned baskets, as well as incentive campaigns.
2. AI, ASSISTANTS AND CHATBOTS
In 2019, robots will invade e-commerce stores. Well, robots such as chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI) designed to improve a customer's overall shopping experience.
Artificial intelligence assistants can manage a number of tasks generally assigned to a human, such as inventory management or information request management. These PDAs run various processes, allowing you to focus more on other aspects of business management.
For example, chatbots can meet a number of customer service needs, whether it is answering questions about a product or discussing a complaint. Artificial intelligence and chatbots also draw from their customers' conversations and evolve to provide users with a personalized e-commerce experience.
Image source: Chatbots Magazine.
As reported in a 2017 Statista Study, 34 percent of respondents said they would be comfortable getting answers to their questions from AI, such as a chatbot or virtual assistant, when making purchases. You can easily start yourself. Many tools like Hubbot Chatbot Builder allow you to create your own bot for free.
3. B2B ECOMMERCE EXPLODES
Who said that e-commerce was reserved for B2C brands? B2B companies also benefit from future e-commerce trends. It has even been projected that B2B online sales are expected to increase worldwide to $6.6 trillion by 2020.
Image source: BigCommerce.
In a survey of 500 B2B organizations, BigCommerce revealed that 80% accepted orders and payments via its website, which once again proves the growth of the market. E-commerce in B2B industries advance.
4. INTERACTIVE VISUALIZATION OF THE PRODUCT
We have all hesitated to press the "Buy" button when shopping online. Before you enter your payment information, you start to wonder:
"Will this product be exactly what I need?"
"Is it a quality product?”
Therefore, we have a great need to interact with a product before we commit to a purchase. Online criticism and influence trends are not enough. We want to see the product, feel it, hold it in our hands and remove any feelings of doubt before we buy it.
While we were once satisfied with high quality product images, current technology allows us to use virtual reality, 3D imaging, augmented reality, and more to interact with a product from the comfort of our laptop or smartphone.
Even videos of e-commerce products have evolved to become more attractive. What was once a cheese advertorial has been transformed into an immersive 360 degree online shopping experience.
Interactive product visualization technology aims to offer online consumers the tangible in-store experience and dispel their hesitations before buying.
Kravet (industry leader in to the trade home furnishings industry), for example, offers customers the opportunity to see the product 360°. During this process, users can imagine the product at home and build their own design by turning, turning and zooming in on the product.
Before submitting their order, customers have full confidence in the manufacture of the product they want thanks to the interactive nature of the process.
5. MORE ONLINE-OFFLINE INTEGRATION EXPERIENCES
Did you think that e-commerce was destroying brick and mortar stores? If so, think again.
Although many big box stores are bankrupt, retail experiences will not disappear - they simply adapt to a new reality. Do you remember the experience of the physical product in person that we just mentioned? While interactive product technology, personalization and chatbots all reproduce this online feeling, no technology can truly replace all the details of a store experience.
In this spirit, brands create immersive retail experiences to further stimulate sales, hire more representatives and develop lasting customer relationships. For example, Amazon is launching stores, called "4-Star," across the United States. In these stores, you can interact with Amazon's devices and best products in person. Other brands taking advantage of this new reality are brick and click stores, which combine a unified retail and e-commerce experience. These brands open retail stores with less square footage and fewer employees, but a more personalized and interactive in-store experience.
With many hosting providers to choose from and e-commerce platforms on the rise, companies are creating e-commerce experiences in a retail store via digital kiosks. When a user contacts the kiosk, it can perform a number of functions, including providing personalized product suggestions or displaying interactive information about the product in question.
2020 will transform the future of e-commerce as we know it
Whatever trend in 2020 e-commerce you choose to pursue, do so with the intention of providing a transparent and attractive shopping experience for your customers.