Chaos! What could be the first thing that comes to the retailer’s mind when they hear about e-commerce in 2023? Well, that is not the case. The future of e-commerce is sunny and bright! The merchants need to observe the diversions of customers’ shopping behaviors and expectations. Post-covid shoppers have started approaching brick-and-mortar stores as things are returning to routine. But still, online shopping remains to soar! According to experts, global retail e-commerce sales will be over 8 trillion dollars by 2026. Based on user experience and expectations, what could be the future of e-commerce? This article leads you to the trends shaping online shopping in the coming years.
Let’s begin!
The trends and tac-ticks!
What do retailers need to provide a stellar shopping experience in 2023? Of course, based on your commerce platforms, the store must fulfill the commerce need following the entire purchase path. Yet, as we say, “Customers are king,” Nothing can be deviated from fulfilling their needs and surpassing their expectations. Eventually, it leads to loyalty! Customer loyalty is a bonus, especially when economic uncertainty and recession are going on.
The entire shift from “only e-commerce” in Covid times to a “hybrid” shopping experience, below is the list that gauges e-commerce trends and how they will shape the future of shopping:
Table of Contents
Let’s get into each of these ones by one and understand why they are taking the buzz and being shining stars in 2023!
Omnichannel
You hear this word being said by the commerce heroes over the professional network. As they say, Omnichannel is the future of commerce and helps to gain a seamless shopping experience in and off stores. And they are absolutely correct! Why does it start to get attention? Post-covid scenarios, as everything is getting back to school kind of scenarios, shoppers are again going for in-person shopping! Considering brick-and-mortar stores too! Even loosen restrictions on Covide guidelines, shoppers are taking time to purchase.
Customers are becoming cautious and doing a lot of research before buying products. Shopping journeys don’t start from the homepage of your e-commerce store but via several channels. So, merchants have to be there where their customers are and provide them an omnichannel experience through all the channels, via flexible fulfilments, 360-degree customer view to the team, and well-managed inventory through all channels.
Mobile Shopping
It’s an acceptance! Yes, let us share the results first: Based on Statica, Mobile devices drive 71% of the retail traffic and generate 61% of online shopping. Of course, we cannot miss Gen Z, who are addicted to their cell phones and drive the communication on them. Gone are the days when smartphones were meant to be for calling and messaging. Instead, m-commerce is gradually growing, and shoppers seeking the experience on mobiles must be similar to the big screens!
Convenience and time, these two aspects put more weightage while using mobile for your online shopping as you dn;t have an entire day you sit against those big despot screens! Your store must be ready for mobile commerce and support multiple mobile and tablet devices with different browsers! Take a mobile-first approach and make compatible all the connected services in a responsive manner.
Social Commerce
We are all socially connected via several platforms. We know how the influencers get you to see the product benefits, shares reviews, and all. In a very thin line, this is called Social Commerce. Global sales through social media platforms were estimated at 992 billion USD in 2022, and projections suggest that social commerce sales will reach around 2.9 trillion USD by 2026.
The numbers are huge! When we talk about social media, Gen Z and the entire race are connected! As said, being there where your shoppers are, leads you to understand their needs, their expectations and surpass them all. If merchants on niche don’t want to sell socially, or the business of nature is not where you can have a social selling, have your presence there. Trust us; it helps a lot.
Subscription Services
We are all doing this with OTG platforms, as it is a daily or weekly consumption of services we have. Similarly, it implies the same feature to hold on to services or products. What will happen once the purchase is completed? Your marketing team leads the control to get the customers to return to the store for more purchases. Merchants get only a single chance to get the shoppers in.
On the Flipside, shoppers love the ease and convenience of ordering! If they know the number of times they need to purchase the products and are your loyal ones, they sign up for the subscriptions. The vital thing about it is the elimination of manual ordering and delivery processes!
BOPIS
Many points need to be considered when we say “Buy-online-pickup-in-store.” Shoppers are not willing to be the cost-concerns only! It is the top trait in every shopper’s persona but not only one. They are more inclined to be delighted and loyal when they have flexibility.
BOPIS allows customers to shop online and schedule their pick-up in-store at their convenience! Regarding emerging trends, such as cautious buying behavior, flexibility, delivery convenience, and lack of 3PL delivery providers’ lack of transparency. This naive trend will set the bar in the future with furthermore addition to it like ROPIS: Reserve Online and purchase in-stores, BORIS: Buy online, and Return in-store.
Customer Services
An ultimate reason your customers return to your store is “How you have treated them.” Yes, it is an ongoing and most important of all the future commerce trends that help retailers to grow. Whether from finding a product of their choice to letting them know the correct tracking information to how easy returns are, they want to be treated well, and all the actions need to be QUICK!
Chat boats are gearing up with customer services. Make a more personalized shopping experience so your customers can rejoice when shopping from your stores. Treat them well, and word-of-mouth can do magic!
Flexibility in Payments
The cart abandonment reason one to take note of is the challenging Payment process. When asked customers who leave the stores at cart-page, the answers are “Hard to find the payment options and complex process.” Not all shoppers are aware of digital payments.
For cost-cautious shoppers and younger ones, flexible finance terms, wallet payments, and flexible payment options will be at the top in 2023. Even, Governments are willing to have cashless transactions with a simple touch, literate your audience with this.
Transparent Deliveries
It’s not about pinky promises you used to make with your child when they become demanding! On-time deliveries, last-mile deliveries, returns, everything must be open. Customers want the exact date of their product to get delivered, period. Never bluff them on this; they have paid you, and the waiting part, if it goes longer than expected, the fuzziness increases.
Once the payment is made, the actual customer experience starts. Shoppers want transparency in every transit of the products. If the development gets delayed or broken, your brand is in jeopardy! Delivery is a touchpoint that counts in delighting your customers and is a way to go more in 2023.
Personalization
A decisive factor when it comes to brand loyalty! Yes, personalization shows how well you know your shoppers and treat them with the best things you offer. From product recommendations to live sales assistance to emails, it shows you care for them. If done right, customers are willing to pay more for your brand.
To manage it well, make the most of your data and reports! One of the most potent to note here is creating personalized content. Engaging your shoppers, supporting them, and making them take the desired action in all their preferred channels leads to brand loyalty.
UGC: User-Generated Content
Down the lane, User-generated content is what the shoppers can connect themselves to. Even Google loves that too. Driving a campaign with what your stakeholders or brand associate says is more important than what the users say. Content such as Reviews, testimonials, and videos leads shoppers to gain trust. It is easy to get first-time shoppers rather than create trust in e-commerce.
UGC helps retailers to get customer engagement and build trust towards the brand. It is an old-school technique if compared to Word-of-mouth.
Remember
To conclude the article and put it in a nutshell, you are the one who drives e-commerce, and none understand the business better than you. But as you grow and be in the market, these are the proven things that will undoubtedly shape the future of eCommerce. We have witnessed many things during Covid and post-covid scenarios and adopted the change!
In a successive year of commerce, retailers should think beyond the standard purchasing process of shoppers that add and enhance their value towards the brand! We at Navigate always listen to our customers and help them cultivate their businesses in consultative ways! If you are looking for one, say Hello!
