The future of e-commerce websites is bright due to the fact that it is an industry that is fitted and essential to these times. The pandemic has opened more opportunities for e-commerce to thrive and for technology to improve and support the industry.
Statistics
Studies have shown that e-commerce worldwide is anticipated to grow by 265% from $1.4 trillion in 2014 to $4.9 trillion in 2021. This shows an upward trend without showing any decline.
E-commerce will account for 17.5% of global retail sales in 2021. This is not a small chunk of the global market and this means that there would be more opportunities in the future. Businesses must now strive to include an online infrastructure and those who already have one should further elevate and improve their online presence or brand.
Omnichannel Shopping
Omnichannel shopping means understanding where, what, when, how, and why customers purchase products from a particular channel. A customer may research or canvas through ads for a certain need then order online.
Shoppers now have many device options and many more e-commerce websites to make an order.
Knowing how customers behave is important. A business will be well-informed on how to promote products and services and what channel would be best. Be sure to integrate offline and online attributes into a single, coherent multi-channel shopping strategy. Make it easy for customers to research online and purchase offline. The click and collect method is an effective means to achieve this.
Social Shopping
Social media platforms allow clients easy capabilities to buy products and avail services. Facebook, Tiktok, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube are social media channels that now have “buy” or “purchase” buttons. They made improvements in their social selling opportunities.
When a prospective customer clicks on a product post or sticker, they normally will see:
- The product image
- Description of the product
- Product cost
- A link on how they can purchase
This e-commerce trend saves time and effort for customers to make their purchases on social media, making the shopping experience more productive. Businesses should set creative ways to use social platforms for more branding and product promotion.
Cross-border Shopping
Since the internet crosses borders, shoppers now look for products online outside their home country. It has been revealed that 57% of shoppers have made purchases from overseas in the last six months of the year.
This growing trend is due to the recommendation of e-commerce websites to go global. The website technologies and infrastructure must help to adapt to overseas buyers. Foreign currency conversion calculators would be helpful.
Better Payment Options
The payment facility for any e-commerce website is vital. Customers would expect flexible payment options from digital wallets to credit cards, Google Pay, Paypal, Apple, or Samsung Pay are widely implemented on most e-commerce websites.
Cryptocurrency is another payment option currently used for large transactions. There are moves to make this available for online purchases in the future. ShapeShift was recently tapped by Overstock to accept cryptocurrencies as payment for online purchases.
The need for payment options has pushed some e-commerce platforms to create their payment gateway to assure that customers can make a purchase. Shopify, ShopBase, Paypal, and Stripe are among other platforms that are implemented.
The Future
E-commerce websites need to keep up with the requirements in our expanding world. Global commerce, the rise of social media, and the continuing improvements in technology and infrastructure are just a few elements to keep in mind. Online businesses should pay close attention to global trends for e-commerce.
