Based on an analysis conducted by RJMetrics back in 2014, over 110,000 e-commerce businesses have generated significant profit. But this analysis was done 3 years ago. Indeed, that number has exponentially gone up. The e-commerce industry, which is tied up with technology, has been predicted to see some changes that would disrupt e-commerce business standards and traditional practices.
In 2017, an average shopper spends about $1,800 annually through e-commerce businesses. Thus, if you are part of this lucrative business, then you can’t miss out on this growing source of revenue by failing to keep up with global trends.
The following are trends that will appear or are already appearing in the e-commerce industry:
- The Age of Artificial Intelligence. Artificial intelligence (A.I.) has been among the most noteworthy developments enabling the improved performance, intuitivity and functionality of e-commerce stores. A.I. allows companies to come up with strategies using metadata that allows them to understand the target audience wants and needs based on analytical trends.
A.I can be used to analyse which products most site visitors and customers prefer to view, and then you create an ad for this particular product to persuade customers to purchase it, especially those who are second-guessing.
A.I. can also be used to analyse metadata in developing demographic-specific advertising trends. For example, your business wants to sell outdoor items, so you create an ad targeting 25- to 30-year-old customers who are particularly specific with outdoor activities.
By utilising A.I. and the vast array of metadata available, you can easily custom-build your ad and product base for the particular target customer to maximise chances of making a sale and thus to profit from your e-commerce business.
- Ubiquitous Chatbots. A.I. isn’t the only trend that’s gaining traction in 2017. Chatbots are a thing of the future, but currently the present. These e-commerce assistant chatbots are also A.I.-run. They are programmed to offer creative ways to guide customers in mobile shopping, particularly for those who have a hard time figuring out the ins and outs of e-commerce shopping.
These assistant chatbots provide vital customer service. These services range from helping customers in finding products, helping customers to understand navigating a business, helping customers understand business policies and helping customers in completing a purchase.
Chatbots, however, must be regularly updated so that they can provide updated information to customers. They also respond to customer inquiries and conversations.
- Mobile shoppers are mostly prioritised. Mobile users generate more than 50% of all web traffic, and they drive approximately more than 42% of e-commerce traffic. It is still predicted that this number will exponentially expand in the years to come, especially that today’s trend is geared toward mobile devices that allow for easy and convenient web navigation.
This led e-commerce business owners to find solutions and catch up with this current trend. Yet some businesses have failed to provide mobile-friendly sites to their extensive customer base. These types of business have significantly lost a now primary source of revenue. They have also in a way discourage their buyers by not offering mobile-friendly versions of their site, especially those belonging to generation X, Y and Z, from developing a customer/brand relationship with their business.
Going mobile allows many users to shop just about anywhere, anytime as long as they have a connection. For the shop owners, by offering mobile-friendly sites, they enable accessing a greater customer base for a longer time during the day.
You can stay on top of your competition by developing e-commerce sites that have luxury web designs that take advantage of the growing trend to keep on attracting your customers.
