E-commerce trends 2023: What can we expect?

E-commerce has become a major player in the market in recent years and nothing suggests that this trend will decline. More and more people use the Internet, and retailers can’t complain about the lack of interest in their products. However, it doesn’t mean that they can rest on their laurels and enjoy the profits. Following trends is the only way to stay ahead and reach customers. Check out what the coming year will bring and what aspects are worth paying attention to. Read on.

E-commerce trends 2023 – table of contents:

1. Why is following trends so important?
2. 9 e-commerce trends that you need to know
3. Summary

Why is following trends so important?

Business owners who know the trends and start implementing innovations in advance can get ahead of the competition and become industry leaders. What is more, they will be able to meet the customers’ needs and expectations, and preparing for change will let them stay calm in the face of it. The current competition in the market is so fierce that it is the details that determine the choice of a particular company. By following the trends, you can also discover new opportunities and development paths.

9 e-commerce trends that you need to know

Once you know why following trends is so important, it’s time to take a look at them. On the basis of past customer experience and the speculations by people in the industry, we’ve compiled a list of the 9 most important trends for the coming year. You can consider this a to-do list and a guide for your own business.

Omnichannel

Shopping via mobile devices is so convenient that most people, when going to a regular store for a particular product, use their phone to search for it. To improve the customer shopping experience, business owners should make the same or similar products available regardless of the way people shop. Customers want a similar assortment in the online store as in the stationary store and use both alternately. This also applies to customer service, which should be consistent.

Apart from these two popular forms of shopping, it is worthwhile to include the opportunity to shop via social media in the coming year. We have already written about how to do this on each platform (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest) in separate articles. Regardless of the platform you choose, customers browsing your profile want to purchase products directly on it.

So it’s worth ensuring that customers can move freely between the online and offline store, having access to the same assortment, no matter where they choose to complete their purchase.

Social media

The reach of social media, and the influence it exerts on customers’ purchasing decisions, continues to grow. More than half of the world’s population uses the available social media platforms and decides to purchase a product after reading its reviews. Social media generate huge sales, and their importance will continue to grow. The most popular social media platforms influencing e-commerce include:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• TikTok
• Pinterest
• Twitter
• Snapchat

Conducting marketing activities on these channels can significantly increase sales and contribute to a better bottom line next year. In addition, it’s also a chance to reach new customers and boost brand recognition. Individual platforms also offer the possibility of releasing paid, personalized advertising materials, which increases the chance of reaching target customers. If your company has not run its own social media profile so far, it’s high time to start!

When learning social media marketing, keep in mind a few key rules. First of all, the users of each platform are quite different, so an important step is to identify your target customer. Also, provide your customers with interesting and high-quality content. Get them interested in your brand, show them its value and the special features that set it apart from the competition.

Customer service

Customers want customer service that not only listens to them and helps them with their purchasing decision, but also answers their questions quickly. So not only quality is important, but also responsiveness. Instant messaging or social media are definitely better in this regard than regular emails. Chat rooms allow you to respond instantly and keep your correspondence in one place, as well as send necessary files or links.

Larger companies more and more often decide to introduce chatbots that can solve at least some of their customers’ problems, providing them with 24/7 service. A positive customer service experience makes customers more willing to put up with any inconvenience, and decide to make another purchase.

Personalization

Whether it’s a shopping recommendation or a notification of the latest promotional campaign, customers are always more likely to respond to such messages when they feel they are directed specifically to them. That’s why it’s important to make sure your marketing efforts are personalized.

Personalization is beneficial to both sides. When a business owner sends customers offers that are created on the basis of their profile data, they are more likely to make a purchase. The customers, in turn, are more likely to receive information about promotions that really interest them and that they are looking forward to.

Rising inflation

When talking about the upcoming trends, they cannot be discussed in isolation from the current economic situation. Undoubtedly, rising inflation is exerting a negative impact on sales. Customers have less savings, and purchasing luxury goods or products that are not considered necessities goes to the background.

You can’t defend against it, but you can put solutions in place to somewhat mitigate the effects of inflation. These days, returning customers are the highest value. Therefore, apart from the personalized promotional campaigns, it is important to have a proper returns policy, visible on the store’s website. Also, make sure that the return process itself is as simple as possible for the customer.

Payment methods

By analyzing the above advice, we can draw one conclusion. Above all, customers want their shopping experience to be effortless. Nothing is more annoying than a difficult registration process after adding products to the shopping cart or the lack of the favorite payment method. Unfortunately, such seemingly minor details can make the customer abandon the shopping cart and leave our site.

So it is worth analyzing your customers’ needs beforehand and introducing the payment methods they expect. The most popular include:

• digital wallets
• buy now pay later
• card payment
• fast transfers
• internet banking

Sustainable development and environmental protection

This is a trend that has been prevailing for several years now and has become firmly rooted in the buyers’ minds. Nothing suggests that this will change in the coming years. The environment has become an important element that influences purchasing decisions. Customers try to choose companies that are eco-friendly or carry out activities aimed at reducing their negative impact on the environment. Various cyclical campaigns such as tree planting are also appreciated. Companies that care about protecting the environment can count on loyal customers.

Mobile commerce

It might seem like nothing new, as everyone has probably already heard about mobile shopping and is prepared for it. Well, that’s not exactly the case. Many websites are still not fully or at least partially responsive. This is one of the elements that extremely irritates customers when shopping online. It is worth ensuring that your online store has a mobile version as well.

Shopping safety

With the rise of e-commerce, online crimes have also increased. Fraudsters use a variety of methods, and their targets are not only users’ bank accounts, but also their personal information. This is information that is extremely valuable and can be used in various ways.

Clients are afraid of being scammed, so they often resign from shopping on sites that look suspicious or those that don’t have appropriate safeguards. Make sure that your site looks professional and has the necessary security features such as an SSL certificate. Its absence can result in losing many customers.

E-commerce trends 2023 – summary

Trends change and so does the digital world. We can’t prepare for everything that lies ahead. Previous years, which were dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, clearly showed this. No one was ready for such changes. Therefore, the most important quality nowadays is the ability to adapt quickly, as well as to constantly follow trends and set a business strategy based on them.

However, in the race for leadership, you should remember that the customer is the most important. All efforts should be centered around customer service and have an impact on improving the customer shopping experience. In this way, you will definitely achieve success in e-commerce in 2023.

You’ve just read about e-commerce trends 2023. Read also: How to start dropshipping on Amazon?

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