E-Commerce Trends

Time is changing and the year 2020 was a time of phenomenal changes. COVID-19 was the name of the game. You name any segment of the economy and for that matter life as a whole, and you can notice the visible change. Consumer behavior is no exception. The compulsion of social distancing redirected the customer towards e-commerce. Online shopping witnessed a surge as never before. Every passing day is setting new standards in E-Commerce. It is the right time to analyze emerging E-Commerce Trends.

Amazon is an unquestioned leader in setting the E-Commerce trends followed by the Chinese giant Alibaba. Covid compulsions have simply made it a lifestyle. Still, there are some issues with the timely delivery of quality products. The ever-increasing competition helps in improving the quality standards and efficiency among the E-Commerce players. It is only the start. Smartphones have enabled anybody to place orders on the going with some simple clicks. Sales data analysis of leading E-Commerce players sets clear signs of future growth of E-Commerce.

Consumer-centric E-Commerce

Consumers are fast adopting online shopping behavior as the unprecedented growth of e-commerce testify it. If the customers can attune themselves to the needs of time why brands and businesses should not? Most of the brands are already aware of the need. They are making necessary arrangements, data management, and automating systems to offer a seamless online shopping experience through their websites as well as mobile apps

It is another important frontier for the competition where only the best performer will take the lead. The customer not only needs a product but a safe, seamless, contactless channel for delivery at home. The year 2021 asks for a clear and straight approach to optimize the customer experience. Following are trends expected to emerge from efforts in this direction:

Touchless Technology

The biggest trend of 2020 is social distancing. It has been taken as the key to safety and health. Consumers are no more willing to roam in shopping malls and stores to buy products. They even avoid visiting markets for window shopping as well. Online buying is bringing new trends like, pick up in-store (BOPIS); reserve online, and pick up in-store (ROPIS). These and other similar buying options will keep on trending in 20221. Retailers have to ensure personalized solutions to keep customers coming back. 

Virtual Customer Service

Online shopping needs virtual customer support and guidance. Once the customer visits a store for on-the-counter shopping, the counter staff is there to satisfy his queries. An online customer still has questions that he needs to ask before selecting a product. E-Commerce companies are now realizing the need for quality customer service. They have launched systems to keep the customer in the loop from product delivery to post-delivery feedback and inform them about future sale events.

A portal-based online chat and virtual help is the reply to satisfy him. Brands and businesses have to provide real-time online call centers, chat apps, and support options available to reply to their customers. They need to heavily invest in touchless technologies. With just a few strokes on your smartphone, you can check specifications, select products, place orders, and make a secure payment. You can make money transfers, pay utility bills, order groceries and the list of online facilities is endless, yet ever-growing.

Digital Voice Assistants

Voice technology is ever-growing and making its place across the market. Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) is providing the desired chat functionality. The voice assistants can better engage the customer by giving him a feel of attendance by a real person. Supporting the business databases with voice assistance technology is another trend to prevail through 2021. 

Digital Voice assistant is helping to use your smartphone the voice command. The same is the case with smart home assistants like Alexa. Soon self-drive cars will flood the market making it possible for you to sit in the back seat and control your car through your voice commands or pre-feed destination.

Personalized Suggestions

Technology is making it possible to record and remember customer visits and buying. Personalized suggestions to the customer on every new visit to the website or app can help increase sales. It is much easy to suggest customer what he likes to buy, based on his previous invoices. For some items such as groceries, customers will only like to repeat the whole invoice with just one click.

It saves the customer time and increases the sale of the business in friction of the time. The trend of buying new equipment and developing relevant data points is here to stay in 2021. It surely will help retailers to build customer experiences tailored to individual consumers. It surely will win customer loyalty.

 Integration

The omnichannel approach helps in offering a unified customer experience. It simply means integrating all available digital channels to work in coordination. The purpose is to serve the customer in techno advanced environment to achieve total satisfaction. It enables the customer to use options of shopping online from his PC, tablet, or mobile phone or to visit a brick-and-mortar outlet. The year 2021 is expected to witness a new hype in the digital buying experience as it saves time and resources. 

The future is going to change the customer experience. It is a new dawn of ease of shopping. You can shop while at the dining table, in the office, or on the go. Retailers and brands have to find new ways to connect with customers. The competition is going to get tougher and tougher leaving space for only the fittest to survive. 

Image by kalhh from Pixaba

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Urza Omar
  • Urza Omar
  • The writer has a proven track as a mentor, motivational trainer, blogger, and social activist. She is the founder of mindclassic.com a blog intended for avid readers.