We have already witnessed some changes in the field of e-commerce. Mobile traffic grows daily, the adaptation of the product to the consumer is gaining momentum, and the level of competition is higher than ever. Some of the trends will remain in 2018, and some will disappear. i want to discuss 6 trends in e-commerce, which this year will gain popularity.
To begin with, let's talk about the most obvious, these are mobile phones. They will become big players in the online shopping market in 2018. Statistics show that 50% of e-commerce revenue will come from mobile devices.
Mobile shopping will increase the total revenue from e-commerce. After all, already now more than half of the web traffic falls on mobile devices. In this regard, people will make purchases no matter where they are and the mobile phone will become a tool that will help in this.
This year, online shopping should pay attention to mobile adaptation.
Next, i will talk about not such obvious, at first glance, trends as mobile traffic.
Personalization
Personalization is required for any site. After all, according to statistics, 82% of buyers say that personalized content is very important when they decide to buy.
Personalization is mandatory for online stores that want to increase their sales. Customers will look for an individual shopping experience based on their interests and buying behavior.
An example of such a trend is an American online store specializing in the sale of tea, which created a unique way of personalization for its customers. They can pass a short quiz, which asks about their preferences, taste and other issues, for example, what kindof gifts you like.
After completion, the site recommends tea that matches the taste and personality of the person.
Delivery
Shipping and refund have always been a sore spot in online shopping. The possibility of delivery day to day began with Amazon Prime and is now common for many distribution channels. Based on Forrester statistics, 29% of buyers are willing to pay more for shipping day-to-day.
For example, the same Amazon Prime offers its customers free delivery day in and day out, regardless of the time of the order and its size.
Video Description
One of the way to show your customer your product is a video description. It will be more attractive than just a photo of the product or it will be an excellent addition to it. This description of the goods contributes to an increase in conversion and a better understanding of the product. According to statistics, the sales level increases by 70% after viewing the video description.
Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence
In 2018, artificial intelligence will dominate. Thanks to the bots, artificial intelligence is not only for advanced technical companies, like IBM and Google. They can be combined with natural language processing, machine learning and live operators to perform all kinds of tasks that help companies better serve customers.
It is expected that bots will increase the cost savings in billions of dollars per year in the field of e-commerce.
Bots are gaining popularity in Facebook Messenger, Skype, Viber, Slack, Kik and other messaging platforms. Many brands are already using them to better communicate with their target audience.
One example of the interaction between chatbots and artificial intelligence is ShopBot from eBay. This is a virtual personal shopping assistant, it helps to find products at the desired price on eBay. All you need to do is enter some details about what you are looking for (for example, women's shoes for hikes below 75 US dollars). He asks all the relevant questions to find the perfect fit, style and color.
Big Data
Many world companies already use Big Data for real-time analysis. This means that Big Data helps to raise the ratio of sales and increases profit by studying the problems.
Big Data tracks the customer from start to finish in the shopping process, and also classifies them into different categories. All this allows you to better understand the customer's buying strategy, in order to further increase profits during the holiday season, sales and regular sales.
Moreover, they are also used to analyze and optimize more trends in e-commerce in 2018. According to the study, Big Data can help forecast demand and optimize prices to increase sales. This is crucial because a 1% price increase leads to an average profit increase of 8.7%.