- Social media to continue as major influencer of online purchasing decisions
- Voice search to cross 50% of all search queries
- Video and rich media content to surprise growth
- Augmented reality to take center stage
- Marketing automation and more ecommerce store apps
Like previous years, this year too hundreds of reports on “emerging ecommerce trends to watch out in 2019” have been published online! We’ve gone through some of those reports and found them interesting with factual data. That one thing is common about all of them is the ecommerce sales is going to keep trending upward.
In fact, I also discovered a report on online trend which says the consumer confidence has grown to an 18-year-high! That report also elaborates statistically on the changing technology, which it points out as a factor to keep this trend thriving. Take for example of increasing trend for purchases on mobile phones. It compels online retailers to compulsorily own a business mobile app to meet shoppers’ convenience.
Device preference isn’t the only component in the transition. Do you know what other factors are?
Voice Search:
New search methods are redefining search habits and consumer behaviour significantly. In shoppers, tendency to search through voice is growing like never before! In the U.S. only, more than 41% of American adult use voice search daily. Several reports are showing by 2020, over 50% of all search queries will be through voice. So, in the retail industry, catering to the voice-activated platform is mandatory. Or else retailers will lose ground to their competitors.
Social Media:
55% to 60% of purchase decisions are made through social media. Social media discovery of a product is seen as capable of making an instant impact on users’ mind. Businesses need to dedicate more time and resources to their specific social selling approach that represents them and their unique audience. Social marketing needs to be constant to intensify brand user engagement. Channels are also becoming more intelligent, because they are now allowing users to use AI to place orders, for instance Facebook messenger. With this functionality, we can sell without having to have a person control orders from Facebook. That’s not to add the shop on Facebook functionality.
Look at Instagram. It’s turning social stories into a selling platform. It looks like the “buy button” an idea of past.
Video & Rich Media Content:
Video increases conversion rate by more than 45%! Use them for marketing, tutorial and promotional purposes where applicable. In every video, make sure to have an interesting presentation.
Popups, gateway ads, interstitials, etc. are familiar advertisement solutions. A rich media content may contain video, image, social media components or any interactive elements. Already popular marketing method especially for mobile ads, rich media is predicted to gain even more scale than last years.
Augmented Reality as Pivotal:
Businesses are always brainstorming on how to make the best of its presentation so their customers keep remembering them. Average memory time of a customer remembering a store visit is extremely short. Most of the time, customers won’t even return to a store next time. Technology can re-engage customers with some kind of innovative presentation. These days, all promotion methods are referring to AR.
From movies to games and now the retailing, one thing that can improve customer experience for eCommerce is augmented reality. AR has huge potential to boost sales and conversions. Big brands like Pepsi, L’Oréal, etc. are using AR while side by side inspiring other brands to go for it. In fact, consumers are reported to have more likes for this format of promotion and be ready to buy from this advertiser.
Marketing Automation:
In order to succeed in ecommerce, you have to automate processes like email marketing. You can also automate user-generated content through software and apps.
Final Thoughts:
One thing is sure that a marketing method applicable in retail or in ecommerce now may be either more advanced in future or obsolete. In between, their existence wouldn’t make any sense for. So, go by the trends to shape your marketing approach with the right-timed incorporation of ecommerce elements, especially during ecommerce website development.
Please share your thoughts and let us know what other ecommerce trends you want to recommend.