As the year 2023 ended, it is true that some are yet to find it easy to adjust with the changes that showed up in the year. However, the ability to adjust and keep up with changes is a key factor in determining the future of a business.
The conditions of things round the year had made tuning to a digital platform a need. No wonder that, more than ever before, online shopping becomes more widespread.
The truth is that it may be easy to start an online business and very rewarding to have a running online shop but time will only tell if you will survive high competition that is found in the ecommerce sphere.
While it is a fact that technology innovations are major factors in ecommerce, the rate at which the behaviors of customers change should also be considered as they determine the trends in shopping online.
Interestingly in this article, there are trends of ecommerce for 2024 that accommodates the changes the world at large is experiencing.
Ecommerce that is subscription based:
We may define a subscription based ecommerce as that type in which customers are subscribed to certain product or service running on recurring basis and where payments are done regularly.
ShoeDazzle and Graze are typical examples of subscription based ecommerce that is witnessing reasonable growth.
Customers are interested in this form of ecommerce because it makes things look convenient, personalized, and often times cheaper. Also the joy of receiving a ‘gift’ box’ at your doorstep at times can be incomparable to shopping at a mall. Since it is usually difficult to get new customers, this business model makes it easier for you to retain existing ones while you keep looking for others.
In 2021, this model can be useful for you to keep and retain customers.
Note:
- About 15% of shoppers online have either signed up to one subscription or the other.
- If you want to effectively retain your customer, subscription based ecommerce is the way out.
- Some of the famous categories of subscription based ecommerce are apparel, beauty products, and food.
Green Consumerism:
What is Green Consumerism? This is the concept of making decision to purchase certain product based on environmental factors. It is on this definition that we can infer that in 2024, most consumers will be more interested in sustenance and environmental factors when purchasing products.
About half of consumers admitted that concerns for environment affect their decisions to purchase something or not. As a result, it is safe to say that in 2024, ecommerce owners that employs sustainable practices in their businesses will attract more customers to themselves especially customers that are eco-conscious.
Green consumerism or being eco-conscious triumph beyond just about the product. It encompasses recycling, packaging etc.
Note:
- 50% of online shoppers agreed that concerns for environment affects their decision to buy a product or not.
- In 2024, there more than likely will be an increase in green consumerism due to the fact that more and more people are becoming more concerned about their health.
Shoppable TV:
Sometimes while watching a TV show or program, you may notice a product that interests you and feel like getting it for yourself. The problem of getting it lingers as you don’t know how to get it or from who to purchase it. This problem is now been resolved as TV shows will now allow viewers to be able to purchase products they can see on their TV shows come 2021. This concept is known as Shoppable TV.
This kind of marketing idea came to limelight when NBC Universal begins their shoppable TV advertisement which allows viewers from home to scan the QR codes on their screen and get directed to where they can get the product. With what result? They reported that it resulted in conversion rate that is about 30% more than that of an average conversion rate of an ecommerce industry.
This statistics tends toward becoming higher in 2021 as more and more people are having more time to sit before TV to watch their favorite shows.
Note:
- Since more persons are turning to watching TV, there will be increased purchase through shoppable TV in 2021.
Resale/Second-hand commerce/Recommerce:
From its name, Second-hand commerce, is an ecommerce trend that entails the selling and buying of second handed products via the ecommerce platform.
While it is true that it is not a new idea, yet it is becoming more popular because many now have a changed orientation as regards second handed products. The millennial now have a mindset that is in contrast with the older generation. They believe it is more economical to buy used product than buying new ones.
It is however predicted that there will be about 200% rise in the market of second hand product sales come next five years.
Note:
- There will be rise in the second hand sale market 2021 as people will likely want to save more when buying products and become more careful of how they spend.
- It is believed that there will be x2 of the current second hand market by the next few years.
Social media commerce:
Although everything was transforming in 2020, social media remain unwavered. Many people stick to their social media due to the lockdown, which came with the pandemic spending more than usual. It would not only be easy but also interesting to buy things from any of the social media.
One big bonus of the social media is that you can easily attract customers who initially might not have the intention of patronizing you. It is so effective that, according to a report, those influenced by social media have 4x likelihood of making purchases.
It is true that you will witness more sales if you take opportunity of the social media but that is not all. Social media helps to increase engagements with customers as well as build and improve awareness of your brand. Hence, in 2021 social media will still be a valuable tool that help drives business to success.
Note:
- There is 4x likelihood of social media induced customers to make a purchase.
- Some 73% marketers agreed that the effort of social media marketing is worth it as it can be seen as an effective method of reaching more audience and increasing sales.
Voice Assistant Commerce:
The Amazon’s launching of “Echo”, a smart speaker, in 2014 triggers the trend of using voice for commerce. Effects of voice cannot be under emphasize as it vital roles in getting valuable information of either entertainment or commercial.
Increasingly, about 20% of owners of smart speaker based in the United States make use of such smart speakers for the purpose of shopping. They use them to monitor and track product deliveries, place order for products, and for conducting researches. As the use continues to gain popularity, it is hoped that in the next couple of years it will get to some 55%.
Note:
- There is going to be a rise, more than twice the current percentage, in the rate at which US smart speaker owners use it for the purpose of commerce.
- Some of the famous categories for voice assistant commerce are cost effective electronics, foods, and housewares.
- More and more investors are looking into making huge investment into voice assistance in the coming year.
Artificial Intelligence:
One other very important aspect that would never be overlooked in this article is AI. The fact that AI makes virtual experience looks physical and real makes it stand out among trends that will be popular in 2021.
Many ecommerce businesses have started employing it use to foster their growth by using it to offer recommendations of products, providing real-time assistance to customers.
We should then expect that by next year AI will become more useful for online businesses. This is seen as suggested by Global E-commerce Society that there is a likelihood of companies spending some around 7 billion on AI in 2022.
Note:
- By 2022, companies will spend huge on AI.
- AI can help improve customers’ experience making them feel the same way as when shopping physically.
Crypto Payments:
No business transaction is complete without payment. That is why when you offer several payment gateways for your customers, you can expect to see an increased conversion rate. In recent times Crypto have become a payment method most especially the most popular of the coins, Bitcoin as people now agree to use it to make or receive payments.
People are easily inclined to use BTC because of the fast and easy transaction it offers, low charges as well as the high level of security it offers. Another interesting thing about spenders of BTC is that they fall in the young people categories with ages between 25 and 44.
Note:
- Most people who prefer to use crypto for payments are young and we expect that more and more people of different ages will join by 2021.
- Crypto payments have come to limelight receiving international recognition.
International ecommerce (cross border) and localization:
Due to the increase in the globalization of the world, ecommerce is no longer border dependent. This means that we should expect more of cross border ecommerce in 2021.
While it is true that there are many benefits to selling across borders, it needs more than just translating your business website to attract different customers from different backgrounds. Though translation is needed and in fact the first step, yet without proper localization it is a mere joke.
When we say localization, we mean adapting or aligning the translation of your contents such that it communicates and conveys the intended message of your brand in the appropriate manner, tone, style and/or its overall concept. It includes manipulating Images, videos, graphics, currencies, time and date format, unit of measurements such that they are legally and culturally acceptable to the audience they are meant for.
Note:
- Before you can reach a reasonable number of customers from different locations around the world, translation and localization are important concept you can’t do without.
- By 2021, you should expect that cross border ecommerce will continue to witness more growth due to the fact that the world has become a very ‘tiny’ village.
Now is the best time to make use of the opportunities of the trends mentioned in this article and most especially start your cross border ecommerce right away. You can easily translate and localize your website with ConveyThis with just a singular click and sit back to watch your ecommerce grow exponentially!