Top Amazon & E-commerce Trends for 2021
Online shopping has shifted from a novel concept to a very lucrative industry. Consequently, the e-commerce industry has witnessed proliferation, with retailers increasingly embracing online selling.
By 2022, it’s estimated that e-retail revenues will increase from $3.53 trillion in 2019 6.54$ trillion. While this growth implies considerable opportunities for e-commerce stores, it necessitates that businesses differentiate themselves to maintain a competitive edge in a crowded digital setting.
Understanding e-commerce and Amazon trends for 2021 will be crucial for enhanced business performance and increased success in this industry. This year will also serve as a period of adjustment for most businesses as they continue redesigning, and adapting their platforms in line with the new norm. Let’s take a look at some trends to expect.
#1 eCommerce trend – Marketplaces Winning Over E-commerce Stores
Businesses that were not tech-oriented, have suddenly embraced and incorporated technology into their operations. Nevertheless, consumers are increasingly leaning towards convenience as a determining factor in their behavior.
You find that newer e-commerce businesses do not have the required backend infrastructure to handle increased traffic and the shipping requirements imposed on them. Conversely, e-commerce giants like Walmart and Amazon have the necessary infrastructure and experience to meet the needs of today’s customers.
As shoppers increasingly recognize the ease of marketplace shopping compared to shopping on numerous e-commerce stores, consumers expect the same from other e-commerce websites.
#2 eCommerce trend – Brands’ Dynamic Pricing Implementation
Dynamic pricing permits e-commerce retailers to maintain a competitive edge and draw more customers. Beware that the wrong pricing strategy won’t generate sufficient sales even if you sell quality products.
Ideally, the pricing strategy you chose should ensure that your product sells while allowing you to maximize profits. Consider using dynamic software to establish the best product pricing. Some tools offer reports with examples of top items to sell on Amazon, real-time insights into market demand, competitors’ prices, and perceived product value to establish the optimal price.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPYj6S0s3uc
#3 eCommerce trend – Smart Chat-bots and Private Messaging
Chatbots and similar apps aim to relate with online shoppers the same way a sales associate would relate with a shopper in-store. These days, shoppers want the convenience of finding and purchasing a product in a few clicks. That’s where chatbots come in handy when it comes to keeping customers satisfied. For instance, the Facebook chatbot offers an effective means of engaging with customers and collecting Amazon reviews.
You can also expect more businesses to offer WhatsApp as a means of contact for customers to communicate. Such measures help customers enjoy a more personal experience while businesses can connect with their customers more conveniently.
You will like to read: 7 Artificial Intelligence Ecommerce Bots Every Brand Builder Ought to Know
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXmcUANETbA
#4 eCommerce trend -Increased Mobile Shopping
Statistics show that mobile shopping has today become the primary driver of
e-commerce growth across the world. It is expected to reach $2.91 trillion in 2021 and the numbers are only expected to rise. This means if your website and ecommerce store are not accessible on mobile devices, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. It is estimated that by the end of this year, nearly 73% of e-commerce sales will take place through mobile devices.
Furthermore, research indicates that there is a high possibility of nearly 30% of online shoppers abandoning their carts while shopping if they discover that your website isn’t mobile-friendly. Online sellers must therefore focus on enhancing mobile user experience by ensuring their websites are mobile-friendly in the following ways:
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Ensuring the check out process is smooth on mobile devices and establishing ways to simplify the same
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Conduct manual testing of your mobile site and confirm whether it’s easy to navigate. The site should allow mobile users to view products easily and have room for zooming
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Develop a progressive web app for your ecommerce store. These typically load faster than websites and permit customers to view pages that they’ve viewed previously without the internet.
#5 eCommerce trend -Artificial Intelligence
Intelligence (AI) while over 120,000 stores are expected to provide customers a rich purchasing experience.
AI uses your customer’s past buying history and browsing behavior to reveal the products they are most likely to buy. Furthermore, it makes it possible for shoppers to enjoy personalized and automated shopping experiences.
More brands and websites are using technology to constantly gather data on how customers shop, when they shop, and what they seek in a service or product. On the other hand, consumers want to know that brands care about their needs, and remember their preferences. AI builds the gap, making it a win-win situation for everyone, businesses and customers alike.
#6 eCommerce trend -Multichannel Selling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLL6IBvvzjI
Today, retailers must be flexible in how, where, they sell. Remember, you want first-time visitors to your website visitors to become loyal customers. However, if your products don’t show up where most of your customers are searching for them, you can forget about winning their business.
You, therefore, need to look at selling your products not just on your website but on other sales channels too. Apart from your website and shopping cart, consider selling on other online marketplaces, as well as brick-and-mortar stores.
Retailers that embrace the approach of selling anywhere are more successful. You must keep in mind that your best clients aren’t constantly seeking your products. This implies that you should meet them on platforms where they’re shopping already.
There’s only so much traffic you can drive through one sales channel. Therefore, if your existing major channel is an online marketplace, brick and mortar store, or your e-commerce site, including extra sales channels exposes customers to your brand in numerous phases of the purchaser journey to increase brand awareness, divert traffic to your channels, and enhance your market presence.
Adopting a multichannel approach can decrease business risk considerably by eradicating dependence on one sales channel. Diversifying your channel permits you to maximize the best facets of each channel to maximize sales.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfEiUuJEnuI
Benefits of Multichannel Selling
Develop a unified experience
By merging brick and mortar as well as online channels, you can offer a consistent customer experience across platforms. This allows merchants to respond to customer needs and enhance engagement.
Enhance customer base
You’ll discover that some customers favor online shopping while others prefer physical stores. Many customers are even known to comparison-shop on Amazon while browsing brick-and-mortar stores. When you place your products strategically in the path of consumers who require them irrespective of how they’re shopping, your customer reach and exposure can increase.
Expanded reach
When you open physical stores and broaden your market presence online, you’ll enjoy a broader reach, enabling you to increase your market distribution. By piggy-backing on the extensive reach of e-commerce giants like Amazon, smaller merchants can reach a range of clients, and the simple checkout processes will result in simplified sales. Subsequently, the additional exposure yields extra revenue.
#7 eCommerce trend – Increased Fulfillment Capabilities
2020 and the pandemic redefined how consumers shop and order volumes online increased exponentially. This year, fulfillment operations must be sophisticated, strategic, and responsive. Trends to watch for in this area include:
#8 eCommerce trend – Real-time Reporting and Visibility
Real-time system integrations and inventory management will be crucial to implementing an omnichannel strategy, especially if your distribution network is multi-node. Today’s dynamic e-commerce environment calls for access to pertinent data in real-time and its interpretation in an actionable way.
#9 eCommerce trend – Personalization
Customization will become increasingly popular as a way of adding value and offering a memorable customer experience. Personalization can occur through style, packaging, and engraving. It’s worth noting that today’s customers anticipate fast turnaround times. If you engage in product personalization, ensure you can achieve it efficiently to respond to customer demand with quick turnaround times.
#10 eCommerce trend – Parcel Management
Shipping is usually one of the highest cost constituents of e-commerce fulfillment. Therefore, it is crucial to create parcel strategies that permit you to pivot once carriers impose new surcharges and higher rates. Have a strong shipping strategy in place and explore opportunities for utilizing various carriers.
Conclusion
You will like to check this infographic: 7 eCommerce Trends to Watch Out for in 2021
The year 2020 will go down in the annals of history. It will also be remembered as the year that changed the face of e-commerce. For sellers hoping to scale in the e-commerce space, there are opportunities galore but only if you take advantage of the various trends in 2021. If you’re seeking more web traffic and traction for your brand, you must familiarize yourself with these trends that are shaping this industry.
So, which one will you be maximizing to your advantage today?
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