E-commerce Trends to Watch: Staying Ahead of the Curve in the World of Online Retail
With recent changes in trends, the way we used to shop has changed a lot. A huge chunk of the population and a number of businesses are shifting their attention from traditional ways to more modern digital ways. eCommerce has made shopping more convenient and easy for both buyers and sellers. Even in eCommerce itself, there are various growing branches. New trends like Voice shopping, Dropshipping, S-commerce, and many more are introduced in recent times.
Being the topic of today’s discussion, in this article we will learn about new digital commerce terms and practices being carried out in the market. Starting off with:
Mobile shopping
According to research, around 50% of the population has shifted their shopping needs to online methods. This makes a huge number considering the huge population of consumers all over the world which sums up to around 4 billion people in total.
On top of that, online sellers get the advantage of a worldwide selling option as any person from any corner of the world can make a purchase from their store. While in the traditional method, only the people living in the respective locality become customers of their business.
Social media commerce (S-commerce)
As you can guess by the name, social media commerce is when the business processes like sales, purchases, or advertisements are done through social media. This method is gaining popularity with the increasing population of social media users. For example, Facebook is getting very active as an online C2C market. Users post their stuff online where they can meet possible buyers. Similarly, brands are getting more active on Instagram to find new potential customers.
Voice Shopping
The new virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home have led to a new form of shopping: voice shopping. This technology allows customers to shop by simply speaking their orders into their device, meaning they don’t need to actively browse websites or apps – they can ask for what they want. Retailers should look into integrating voice technology into their offerings to provide customers with a more convenient and natural shopping experience.
Omnichannel
Omnichannel retailing refers to a customer’s ability to shop across multiple channels, such as in-store, online, on mobile devices, and through social media, while still having the same experience regardless of where they are buying from. This integrated approach allows retailers to provide more personalized service and ensures that customers get consistent pricing, product information, promotions, and offers no matter how they shop.
Data-driven Marketing
Data is becoming increasingly important for online and offline retailers as it allows them to better understand their target market and customize their products and services accordingly. By collecting and analyzing customer buying habits, preferences, and demographics data, retailers can create more effective marketing campaigns tailored to their specific audience.
Consider Payment Security
Everything that exists in this world has its own advantages and disadvantages. Convenience and ease of trade are advantages of eCommerce, while there are some dark aspects behind them. With the sudden boom in shopping trends, not only buyers and sellers, but even fraudsters are taking advantage of this digitization. There must be a number of payment frauds that you might have heard of somewhere around you. These frauds are done from any side (buyer or seller).
Sellers sometimes deliver faulty products or in some cases, people even get useless things in their parcels. While on the other hand, there are many incidents in which fraudsters place completely fake orders that lead to great financial losses for sellers. However, with the advancement of technology, these cases have dropped by a certain percentage. Features like free-return policies and One-Time Passwords (OTPs) have helped a lot. But still, you must stay aware of all the circumstances and should make rational decisions.
Stay up-to-date with the Latest e-Commerce Trends
Well, until now, the topic has been really monochromatic and we have only discussed various terms and trends emerging in the industry. But the main question arises here, how to keep up with these changing trends and how to stay updated with them. Well, the solution is as simple as the problem. You may visit various events that are organized by businesses and startups. These events play a win-win situation as sellers get to increase their brand awareness among buyers, while buyers get to know about the changing demographics in the industry.
Keeping up with trends can help common buyers stay updated with the market and get to know more about brands. Businesses who organize these events try to make it as fun as they can to highlight themselves among buyers.
What is Dropshipping?
Dropshipping is a trendy and new concept in eCommerce. The word dropshipping is made up of 2 different terms “drop” and “shipping”. Earlier, a retailer has to buy and maintain an inventory in their stores to sell the products. While in dropshipping, a retailer drops the information and quantity of a consumer’s order to the manufacturer or wholesaler, who directly sends the same directly to the consumer. This allows retailers to get rid of inventory and stock.
Dropshipping can also help reduce delivery times as goods are shipped from closer locations than if they were sent from a central warehouse.
However, retailers must be aware that dropshipping comes with challenges, such as delays in shipping and potential customer dissatisfaction. Furthermore, retailers must ensure they have reliable dropshipping partners who can offer competitive prices and quality products.
Dropshipping from China is an attractive option for businesses looking to start their own e-commerce business without handling logistics or inventory management. The right strategy can be a successful way of growing your business and staying ahead of the competition.
Conclusion
Almost everything around us has evolved. Almost every aspect of our daily lifestyle (except for some) has gone digital. Similarly, one of our daily life routines, that is shopping, has also shifted online. The process has been labeled as eCommerce.
eCommerce itself has its own booms and banes. You can order anything with the comfort of sitting at your home, while the risk of fraud is involved every moment. But still, that does not stop people from shopping online. eCommerce itself has changed a lot and various fresh terms are introduced in this industry in recent times.
