Table of Contents
- Increasing Growth in Online Sales
- The Future of Ecommerce after COVID-19
- Mobile Shopping is Growing
- The Evolving Role of Social Media in Ecommerce
- Visual Commerce is on the Rise
- Personalization is the Future
- Self-service Platforms will continue to be Popular
- The Rise of Social Commerce
- Omni-channel Sales will become the Norm
- Analytics will Flourish
The ecommerce market is growing at an alarming rate every year. Its value and importance are becoming more and more important. It has completely changed the retail industry and has evolved to meet people’s changing needs and make online shopping easier for modern customers.
Whether it’s customization, enhanced return policies, or improved integration, all these changes have taken the ecommerce world by storm. 2021 is here to further change the world of ecommerce.
- The ecommerce industry is growing by 23% year-on-year, but 46% of US small businesses still have no website. (www.statista.com)
- By 2040, it is estimated that 95% of all purchases will be made through ecommerce. (www.statista.com)
- 93.5% of global Internet users have purchased products online. (www.statista.com)
- On average, the sales of online stores with social media are 32% higher than those of stores without social media. (www.statista.com)
To take your ecommerce business to the next level in 2021, make sure to take advantage of these emerging trends in the ecommerce industry.
1. Increasing Growth in Online Sales
Ecommerce sales have been increasing, and this is for good reason. Online shopping is one of the most popular online activities.
In 2021, global e-commerce sales are expected to increase by 26.7% year-on-year to reach 4.891 trillion U.S. dollars (eMarketer, 2021).
That’s not all. Online sales are expected to continue to grow, reaching 6.388 trillion U.S. dollars, almost twice the total ecommerce sales in 2019. Although online shopping is one of the most popular online activities, its usage varies by region.
With the increasing popularity of ecommerce stores, more and more people are turning to online shopping. The increase in online shopping can be attributed to a variety of factors. It can be said that one of the main factors is the comfort level provided to online shoppers.
2. The Future of Ecommerce after COVID-19
It is undeniable that one of the biggest impacts (if not the biggest) on ecommerce trends in 2020 will be COVID-19.
As governments around the world have closed stores and imposed lockdowns to restrict social activities to fight the coronavirus for months, more and more people have begun to buy goods through online shopping.
Due to increased customer demand for Amazon products and services, Jeff Bezos of ecommerce giant Amazon has seen his wealth grow by nearly $24 billion.
3. Mobile Shopping is Growing
The growth of mobile commerce is particularly noticeable. In 2020, the total sales realized through mobile devices will be 2.66 trillion U.S. dollars. This number is expected to increase by 18.8% this year to 3.16 trillion US dollars, and then further rise to 3.79 trillion US dollars in 2022 (Payvision, 2020).
These figures cannot be ignored. Improving the ecommerce experience of mobile customers is a huge opportunity for companies.
One of the reasons for the growth of ecommerce is the increase in the use of mobile devices. This is because consumers not only check out online, they also use their mobile devices to browse or research before deciding to buy.
As trust in online shopping increases, consumers are starting to shop on mobile devices more than ever.
4. The Evolving role of Social Media in Ecommerce
The number of social shoppers is also increasing rapidly. Social media is playing an important role in ecommerce. It has changed the way we live, including the way we buy things. This is a great opportunity for brands to start thinking about how to improve their position on social media, which is an excellent platform for brands to be discovered.
5. Visual commerce is on the Rise
One of the many difficulties in running an ecommerce store is that you must sell your products to consumers who have no chance to physically interact with your products. This is where the visual business comes into play.
Visual commerce is the next generation of ordinary static visual effects. It takes marketing to a whole new level, instead of simply using product photos to market your business, visual commerce integrates other types of visual effects, such as consumer-generated media, interactive content, engaging videos, and the like As mentioned, augmented reality.
6. Personalization is the Future
A personalized online shopping experience is the key to customer satisfaction.
More than 50% of shoppers say that a personalized online experience is important (Bazaarvoice, 2018). In addition, 74% of marketers believe that personalization has a “strong” or “extreme” impact on advancing customer relationships (Evergage, 2018).
People who shop online want to help them find the products they need, and they value a more personalized experience. Due to poor product recommendations, online shoppers may avoid certain stores altogether.
7. Self-service Platforms will continue to be Popular
Getting online used to be a long and arduous process. However, 2020 has changed the narrative and showed us how quickly small businesses and individual entrepreneurs can achieve the digital transformation of their businesses.
“The trend in 2021 will facilitate the rapid deployment and sale of platforms online without the need for a small number of developers and consultants,”
8. The Rise of Social Commerce
Social commerce is taking the market by storm. It is estimated that by 2021, the global social commerce market will grow by approximately 34%.
In 2021, the use of video formats on social media sites will increase, and this trend will continue this year. Features such as interactive video, Instagram Reels, and live streaming on TikTok will help brands attract a wider audience and promote products and services in an engaging format.
9. Omni-channel Sales will become the Norm
“Omnichannel sales will become the new normal. As public cloud platforms use tools such as Amazon Personalize and Pinpoint to enter the field, we really see this. This can be disruptive in an interesting way, but the bottom line is omni-channel sales, and these features will be cheaper and easier to get. 2021 will be the year that shifts from what some people are doing to what most people are doing.”
10. Analytics will Flourish
Customer data will continue to gain value in the field of e-commerce. Many brands focus on providing them with basic but important metrics, such as click-through rates for specific campaigns and conversion metrics that indicate where a lot of traffic and sales are coming from.
Conclusion
These ecommerce trends will prove to you that ecommerce is not only growing rapidly, but will continue to exist. You can also incorporate these ecommerce developments into your business to ensure the steady growth of your online store.
As technology advances and consumer behavior changes, you need to pay close attention to these e-commerce trends in 2021. No matter which e-commerce trend you decide to adopt, aim to improve the shopping experience of your customers and build long-term relationships with them.
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.
