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Ecommerce has really changed since the pioneer online shops were set up back in the 1990s. The most recognizable trend to date is still how rapidly the sector has grown. Today, the e-commerce industry is valued at almost $3 trillion. The retail industry has never been as profitable and lucrative as it is today. The first item that was ordered online was via Amazon in 1995. Now, the sector has become a trillion-dollar industry and there’s no looking back.

The retail sector has been revolutionized by e-commerce. The industry has transformed and evolved to meet the ever-changing needs of the consumer and to help make it easier for the modern-day person to shop online. Ecommerce had fairly limited capabilities in the beginning, however, not anymore. Whether it’s improved integration, enhanced return policies or customization, all these numerous changes have taken the e-commerce space by storm.

There’s a lot of competition in today’s e-commerce world and if one intends on staying ahead then they’ll have to constantly monitor e-commerce trends. Yes, you might have a mature e-commerce shop right now but if you don’t stay up-to-date with the trends, then you might risk falling behind. To ensure future success you need to always be looking forward.

Let’s take a look at the top 10 future e-commerce trends you need to keep an eye out for.

1. Omnichannel Selling

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Why is time to start embracing multichannel selling? For starters, modern-day customers have been shopping online from different stores including eBay, Amazon and even Facebook for quite a while. Multichannel selling online is expected to become very popular among ecommerce Development Company soon. However, at the moment, many of them are still shy of adopting this business model. Their reluctance in doing so is because of how hard managing multichannel selling can be.

Anyway, this is an inevitable trend because e-commerce entities will grow and that growth will bring with it the need for inventory integration. The push into new markets by online sellers will also increase the need for development as they search for how to get the attention of their new audiences.

46.7% of the searches done online begin with marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon and Etsy, basically half of all online searches. Furthermore, 37% of the people that use social media use it to research brands and products.

2. Rise of Voice Commerce

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More and more Internet users are getting accustomed to using voice to do their online shopping. 13% of all the smartphone owners in the U.S were voice shopping by the end of the year 2017. OC&C Strategy Consultants then predicted that by 2022 this number will have risen to about 55%.

This e-commerce trend is rapidly growing in popularity and has done so largely because of the Echo smart speaker Amazon launched in 2014. While online shopping using voice is still somewhat at a premature stage, the statistics highlighted above show that it is soon going to become very popular in the near future.

3. Use of Artificial Intelligence

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More and more companies have turned to AI to help them improve both their processes and workflow. Ecommerce entities are no exception. Retailers are some of the first people who figured out how beneficial it can be to introduce artificial intelligence into existing tech systems. In fact, online spenders are expected to spend over $7 billion on artificial intelligence systems by 2022.

What’s pushing this increase is the drive retailers have to provide customers with personalized experiences. These spending developments on AI show how willing sellers and retailers are to make investments that’ll help them better the services they provide.

4. The Role of Augmented Reality

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Over 120,000 stores by the year 2022 are expected to have integrated certain types of Augmented Reality tech to help them offer a better online shopping experience. AR tech in the e-commerce space will be pushed forward by online shoppers and the retail workforce.

One of the common concerns modern-day customers share when online shopping is their inability to see, firsthand, the product(s) they’re considering. Augmented Reality will help bridge this gap, in turn, helping enable shoppers get better visuals of the product they’re considering.

Some e-commerce companies have already started incorporating certain AR technologies into their systems.

5. Customized Packaging

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Most customers look at packaging as if it were the brand itself. The better looking the packaging, the more likely it’ll be purchased. It’s also a well-known fact that most customers get more excited the more unique the packaging. This strategy is almost like a no brainer to many online sellers because they know doing so could help them stand out from the crowd.

Those of you considering customized packaging might want to focus on different packaging aspects. You can highlight aesthetics, packaging durability and even tell your customers that you use eco-friendly packaging materials. Doing so often further aids in building brand. When retailers focus on the unique attributes of their product they eventually start designing better packaging.

6. Social Media in Online Shopping

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Social media has changed a lot since its inception into the society at large. It’s no longer solely used as a channel to connect people with each other. It has become a fully-fledged marketing tool, by all means, helping companies expand their target audiences. Platforms such as Facebook and Instagram now have “buy button” features, which are designed to help retailers sell directly on the platform.

Many social media platforms are starting to put a lot of focus on how they can cater to online shoppers. More importantly, though, social media has evolved into a channel that allows brands to get optimal exposure. Social media has become a tool that’s used to bring about brand awareness and the more people use it the more it becomes a good idea for ecommerce entities to develop social media marketing strategies.

7. The Continued Rapid Growth of Online Selling

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There are many good reasons why e-commerce sales have been steadily growing. Online shopping happens to be a very, if not the most, popular online activity. By 2022, sales have been projected to go well over 4 trillion dollars. A humongous figure.

With e-commerce stores becoming more and more popular by the day, a rising number of consumers are looking to shop online. One of the main reasons why this is so is because of how comfortable, convenient and easy online shopping generally is.

8. Better Payment Processing

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Payment processing is a vital part of a customer’s journey. It’s also a critical part of the conversion process because customers can cancel their purchases at any time. Simply put, a deal is not done until the bell on your cash register rings. So, it does not matter whether you’re good at converting leads into sales because if your payment processes are found wanting then these potential conversions can still be scrapped.

9. Increased Desire for Personalization

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Over 50% of all online shoppers feel that personalized online experiences are important. Additionally, almost 75% of all marketers believe that personalized experiences tend to help advance customer relationships. Personalized shopping experiences is what will help keep consumers satisfied in the future. Online shoppers want help finding the products they’re looking for and put great value on the more personalized experiences.

10. Rise of Mobile Shopping

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The last noteworthy e-commerce trend on the list is the rapid rise of mobile shopping. Mobile commerce sales are expected to increase by almost 15% by the beginning of 2022. Furthermore, sales through mobile shopping will account for slightly over 70% of all the sales made in the e-commerce sector. These stats alone show how important mobile commerce will be in the coming years and most e-commerce companies have started taking note.

Wrapping Up

The e-commerce space is still growing rapidly and things don’t look like they’ll be slowing down anytime soon. With the changes in consumer behavior and advancements in tech, one may really need to keep their eyes peeled for these e-commerce trends, and the like, if they intend on staying ahead of the game. These 10 trends are to help paint a picture of what online selling will look like in the coming future. Based on the overall numbers being registered, things are looking up in the e-commerce space. With that said, nothing is for certain. However, when one big idea, device or channel becomes obsolete, you can bet on the emergence of another to take its place.

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