Three e-commerce trends to watch for 2020
As the end of the year (and of the decade) is right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about what’s to come. E-commerce was a huge element of business during the past decade, and it continues to thrive. In 2019 e-commerce retail sales are expected to reach $3.4 trillion, and the rise will continue.
Knowing that, what are the 2020 e-commerce trends any business needs to keep up with? Here we’ll let you know them.
Google and social media are marketplaces
Unless you’re working with a legacy brand, your customers will arrive at your e-store via web searches. So, if you want to get your potential customers to know your products better, you need to optimize your webpage, you need to optimize it for Google Shopping using SEO (search engine optimization) strategies.
Integrating your platform with Google Shopping will automatically create a product listing add on the “shopping” tab when a potential buyer searches for a product that matches the one you’re selling. This process can help you boost your e-commerce sales by 17 %, according to studies.
On the other hand, customers are also shopping via social media. More than half of e-shoppers have bought a product via a brand’s social media post. Again, if your brand is not super well-known, an excellent social media strategy that’s integrated with your e-commerce strategy may help you boost your sales.
You can sell directly through your social media with embedded links that your customers click in a post and are led to a product page where they can buy the product, as simple as that.
Personalization
Customizable products are a significant trend for 2020. Personalization is being taken to the next level as online retailers are using quizzes and surveys to build customized products that consider people’s needs and preferences.
For example, in the health and wellness market, stores like Gainful create fully customized product lines entirely based on customers’ health needs. Such businesses are leveraging customer data to create tailor-made products based on their online behaviors and interests.
Customer Analytics
Brands have a large amount of data in hand thanks to e-commerce as POS system data is being explored as a way to have better insights into customer preferences. That trend connects with the need for customization mentioned above. Customers want something that fits their demands as much as it is possible, and companies have better tools to achieve it.
This means that AI may play a more significant role in 2020. AI-based solutions are simpler and cheaper than they’ve ever been and can help to leverage the data collected from customer analytics.
However, businesses have to consider the security risks of collecting so much data from their customers, which means that enhanced customer analytics has to come with enhanced data security.
E-commerce cannot work if customers feel your platform is not trustworthy. If they think you’re making the wrong use of their information or that their data is at risk, your strategy won’t work.