No doubt over the past 5 years, online shopping slowly progressed with customer demands. However, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the perception of e-commerce transformed online retail business settings due to the sudden disruption of traditional transactions in the e-commerce sector.
Presently, an e-commerce website redesign is the common trend in maintaining balance for optimum customer experience. Every customer wants to purchase products using mobile devices via social networks such as Tiktok, where customers give objective reviews needed to buy a particular product.
With the significant increase in the use of digital technology, one can predict customer behavior changes in buying products. Change in consumption and digital experiences in the ecommerce industry is of a great impact compared to the native in-store purchase of goods.
Since the pandemic crisis, customers have changed their methods of buying products online. How they purchase products, what products to buy, and when to buy them. Many ecommerce businesses recorded a higher percentage of sales online.
Brands that are flexible in adapting to these digital technology transactions, can survive the upcoming 2024 e-commerce trends. Being aware of the current shopping trends prepares business owners to grasp the opportunity of sales and reduce potential risk.
7 Basic E-commerce Trends in 2024
Data Personalization
Even with the trending digital technology for shopping, customers want a personalized experience. It includes recommendations from shopping suggestions, promotions, and preferences.
The ability of e-commerce businesses to identify products, sizes, and shopping habits for customers leads to an increase in online sales and profits. An example is the Adidas brand, they show customers personalized product recommendations that might interest them.
For some industries, the construction of e-commerce websites is tailored towards machine learning (ML) which aids customer experience by enhancing top e-commerce search engines. It will help customers navigate appropriately in finding products to purchase.
Although machine learning can be an advantage to top e-commerce categories it solely depends on the data quality of product search to aid the ML model.
Experts predict an increase in global revenue for personalized data usage by 11.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2026. A 65% growth progress at the proposed time. Once customers notice there are attractive offers given in exchange for their data to shopping online, they turn to loyal customers.
Effective Use Of OmniChannels
Retail marketer’s ploy means to use multi-channels for purchases to be made by customers at ease. It is the next best e-commerce strategy that will help businesses remain relevant in 2024.
E-commerce encourages cross-channel customer behavior because it enables customers to trust the brand as they navigate and interact seamlessly through these channels. These channels cut across networks such as Website pages, in-store and social media like; Twitter, and Instagram.
For instance, the Victoria’s Secret collection is using multi-channel sales through websites, social networks, and in-store locations for the purchase of products.
According to e-commerce consultant, Situart McMillan:
“Multichannel retailers who have a joined-up approach to inventory, customer, logistics, and customer service have a competitive advantage.”
The importance of adopting an omnichannel strategy is an integral part of retail marketing for customer experience globally. This can increase the conversion rate and reduce the return rate effectively.
75% of online shoppers use multi-channels before buying a product. Looking at the medium of interaction across these channels will help customers find a convenient means to transact.
E-commerce businesses with effective omnichannel strategies will strive in 2024 and are likely to have returning customers. The reverse is the case for businesses with less-or-no omnichannel experience.
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Increase in Social Commerce
The drastic change of social media from a place of interaction to a product discovery platform and currently a medium that drives sales for e-commerce business has been tremendous over the years.
Omnichannel experience plays an active role in retail marketing. Active retailers online can attract buyers significantly as their demands are met in no time. Customers go for businesses that respond to their needs in less time than those that take longer to respond.
The common trending Tiktok network where Gen Z is leading on social commerce. Influencers and content marketers drive sales and conversion through views. The use of Tikotok for reviews and recommendations rather than google is of increase for Gen Z. It is more convenient for them to purchase goods and services through this channel without having to surf through websites.
This has awakened e-commerce businesses to adopt this social commerce as a strategy to increase sales. Products are discovered, researched easily, and purchased through social networks. Companies will need to adopt this social commerce tool for higher conversion.
According to The Future Commerce, “Social commerce is critical for brands to reach their target audience, and is expected to generate 30.73 billion dollars by the end of 2023 in sales”.
Customer Service Performance
For most customers in 2024, all they need from e-commerce businesses is the ability to respond to their pressing needs. Customers tend to flee when there is a delay in response or solution to their problem.
Retail marketers that are active on social media, web pages, or through emails and calls have greater chances of retaining customers compared to businesses with unavailable customer service personnel to attend to their needs,
Although it can be a challenge for a human to be available 24/7, e-commerce businesses use Artificial intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing {NLP} to understand and automate questions asked by the customer.
The effectiveness of customer service chatbots is underemphasized in the e-commerce industry. Most customers find it helpful as it answers frequently asked user experience questions. A good example is American Express (AmexBot), which has a processing capability, Handles queries, and FAQs easily.
E-commerce implementation of chatbots will help businesses give top-notch 27/7 customer service. Making it easy to gain loyalty from returning buyers. Also, customers want to be able to track the progress of their complaints before and after a purchase is made. Businesses must prioritize effective and efficient customer service in 2024.
Flexible Payment Options and Checkout
With the steady rise of social commerce and online shopping, e-commerce businesses are beginning to explore possible varieties of payment options.
No customer wants to face the stress of shopping online and finally get stuck at the checkout stage because there is no suitable payment option for the buyer. Businesses without payment options will lose online customers.
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E-commerce shoppers in 2024, want to use their mobile devices for payment to complete a transaction online seamlessly without a bridge. The type of payment currently trending in e-commerce includes; Apple Pay and Google Pay (digital wallet), Payoneer checkout, cryptocurrency, and other different payment methods.
It is necessary to secure customers’ data to avoid cyber attacks from fraudsters. Retailers need to use advanced technology when building e-commerce sites with a custom SSL certificate to secure personal information and to detect any e-commerce fraudulent activities.
Experts say e-commerce fraud detection and prevention will double by 2025. It will help retailers reduce friction during payment.
Sustainability and E-commerce Environmental Role
Customers that are strictly ethical when it comes to what they buy, tend to go for products that match their values. Retailers should be responsible for the environment where their products are manufactured, the method of packaging, and deliveries.
In 2024 customers will ask questions about where their products were made and what ethical values the company exerts, just to be sure it doesn’t exploit the environment negatively. Online retailers have to be careful in sourcing products to avoid a negative impact on sales.
For sustainability of e-commerce businesses should ensure they work with ethical suppliers by communicating properly, ensuring that suppliers are transparent, and learning to ask suppliers tough questions such as:
- How do you keep the environmental regulation?
- Where are your products made?
- Are your products recyclable?
Taking these necessary steps for your e-commerce business, appeals to your customers and builds customer loyalty. Companies like McDonald’s have reduced the use of plastics for their business, and turned it into PR messages.
Online Shoppers Seeking Second-hand Sales
Currently, the demand for second-hand products by customers is beneficial to e-commerce businesses. With the steady rise of inflation in 2024 online shoppers may tend to seek pre-used items for sustainability.
Second hand e-commerce retails is predominant in clothing, books, shoes, and bags. Second hand marketplaces such as eBay, PoshMark, and ThreadUp.
The value of second-hand apparel is projected to increase globally in the coming years more than the estimated value in 2021. By 2026, experts forecast that the apparel market will grow by 51 billion U.S. dollars.
The growth of these resale products can be attributed to the younger generation as they explore cheaper, trending, and eco-friendly products.
Final Words
Starting up an e-commerce business involves taking critical steps to be on the trend lists in 2024. Many online retail stores have limitations for growth, due to the rate of competition in the online retail marketplace.
Engaging in the above e-commerce trend is a no-brainer trick to increasing conversion. Customers want a seamless method of purchasing products online, this will impact the customer experience and turn buyers into loyal customers.
Online retail owners who prepare their businesses to take advantage of the various opportunities, position themselves for success. Those who are carefree about these trending strategies are limited to the growth and flexibility of the e-commerce business.
