The fall of 2018 promises to be busy for all e-merchants because adds to the Black Friday, Cyber Monday and end of year celebrations the preparation of your shop for the following year.
With the assistance of Magento development or Ecommerce Development Company, the customer experience is always more personalized to the actual adoption of augmented reality during the purchase process.
We've toured the unmissable e-commerce trends that will boost your sales like never before in 2019!
According to global and recent statistics on the e-commerce sector, major developments are underway and they concern (almost) all the countries of the world. From the massive adoption of the mobile phone during the purchase process to artificial intelligence, the sector has never faced such a concentration of technological innovations to optimize all aspects of an e-commerce site . Whether it's B2B or B2C, it's time to move to the 3.0 business era and get ready for the new year.
Ecommerce will be 2 xs faster on mobile
These are not really sites or applications. In fact, progressive Web applications (PWA) are both! And they are changing the way eCommerce and mobile coexist.
According to FEVAD, the m-commerce market is very healthy this year and continues to grow.
21% of online transactions were made on a mobile terminal, representing 16.8 billion turnover.
61% of consumers use mobile to track their purchases over the Internet, 57% to research a product and 52% to search or locate stores.
According to SearchEngineLand, nearly 60% of all Google searches come from mobile devices this year. Search engines have already advised companies to make their e-commerce sites more user-friendly, but it is the mobile applications that win the race.
Users browse 286% more products on mobile applications than on the web from their mobile.
Brands and retailers will begin to move sites and applications to a new standard - the Progressive Web App - a hybrid between these two concepts that combines the benefits of each while shattering their boundaries.
Features of PWA:
• Loading 2 to 10 times faster than mobile sites
• Offline capacity (or very weak network)
• Possible to add as app to the home screen of a mobile, without ever needing update
• Support for push notifications
Mobile eCommerce is about to become infinitely faster and smoother.
"Applications, as we know them, are doomed to disappear. Indeed, the mobile user downloads an average of zero applications per month. "
PWAs create fast, engaging mobile experiences, similar to what brands and retailers do with a native app, while also being discoverable and accessible to everyone via the mobile web. No need to market your own application: the mobile site becomes an application!
PWA technology works by transferring the workload to the device, instead of depending on the web server for each page, layout, click, and image. This creates a standard experience, regardless of browser, device type and connection.
Social media becomes transactional
Social media platforms are not just about selling potential buyers ("leads") and eCommerce: they are looking to become transactional. Users will be able to finalize their purchases without leaving the platform.
Social purchasing is already the norm in China, where 55% of social application users reported buying goods or services directly from a social application.
Private messaging services, whose popularity is booming, should also become transactional. WhatsApp, Snapchat and Facebook Messenger indeed display commitment indicators that are in the billions.
Instagram shop
Instagram would be working on an app that allows full shopping and has added shopping features on its main platform, providing direct link to the merchant's website where you can finalize the purchase (instead of having to search, browse , add to cart and adjust). A native payment feature has been subtly added to its application for some users, who can now buy without ever leaving Instagram.
Kylie Cosmetics x Snapchat
Kylie Cosmetics is one of the 20 brands featured in Snapchat's "Shop and Cop" section, where users can browse the merchandise and purchase directly from within the app without being directed to a separate website.
Google Express
Google Express (which is not a social platform, but still) groups merchants into one basket for the benefit of consumers, centralizing the buying experience, including in-store picking, without ever acting as a merchant. such. Google capitalizes on its ecosystem that includes research, ads, maps, reviews and payment.
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality on the E-commerce Sector
Augmented reality is one of the big trends in e-commerce this year and promises a nice growth in 2019. Augmented reality technology allows e-shoppers to choose products, often by scanning a known environment where products integrate and materialize (almost physically). This greatly facilitates the purchase.
Sephora, founded in 1969, is renowned for its excellent customer experience. The brand is now using augmented reality to try different make-up looks and take pictures with the outfit you're planning on donning. Lenskart - an Indian e-commerce platform that markets glasses - allows users to try hundreds of 3D images. It captures the shapes of your face and creates a virtual face, allowing you to try different designs and then buy them with ease.
Amazon and IKEA are also two giants in terms of RA. Amazon now allows visitors to try multiple products or devices with one app. IKEA Place, already available for the market for months, is an augmented reality application that allows users to try out furniture and accessories before buying them by directly scanning the parts they want to furnish at home. Thus, buyers have the exact idea of the product.
No need to imagine what a sofa in your living room would look like, you can actually see it! Augmented reality therefore has very good days ahead of it and has already made great progress so far. This is certainly one of the e-commerce trends that will change the game in 2019.
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence already have a significant impact on the main business sectors.
Machine Learning is a field of study of artificial intelligence. The algorithms used allow, to a certain extent, a computer-controlled system, to adapt its analyzes and behavior in response, based on the analysis of data from a database or sensors. For simplicity, it is for example through Machine Learning that e-commerce sites will be able to offer e-shoppers the best user experience based on their previous data and their purchasing behavior.
This is the tab "recommendations" or "suggestions for you" that can be found on many sites today. Depending on the products purchased previously, those consulted or those purchased in addition to the product selected by previous customers, other products will be offered.
This obviously makes sense for the e-commerce sector, which faces a little more each day to the needs of ultra-personalization users, a trend that we will develop just afterwards. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are two of the most anticipated trends in the e-commerce market in 2019
Voice research and the impact on SEO
Emarketer expects the number of US smart speaker owners to reach 69 million in 2018 and 75.5 million in 2019. Gartner predicts that 20% of web browsing will be done without a screen by 2020.
Several studies, including one conducted by ComsCore reveal that more than 50% of research will be voice searches by 2020. It will therefore be necessary to adapt to the e-commerce sites as search engines announce radical changes in the next few months. Indeed,
Google wants to ensure that its users get the best results on voice search, which will change the game in search engine optimization and design sites that will be optimized for the latter. Dominos, Lyft and Walmart have already taken this very seriously and offer voice services to their customers. It is definitely a trend of e-commerce to anticipate in 2019.
The ultra-personalization
45% of customers would prefer to buy on an e-commerce site capable of providing personalized recommendations. And 56% of online shoppers would return to the ecommerce store that gives personalized recommendations.
Amazon has it very well understood and you can actually see tons of recommendations based on your story. From "Your Wishlist" to "Your Collection", Amazon offers you complete customization.
But the customization does not stop there. Depending on your purchasing behavior, e-commerce platforms send various e-mails with interesting offers. With the integration of machine learning and AI, we hope to see more custom stores in 2019.
Research Online Purchase Offline (ROPO)
82% of mobile users search for physical stores and 18% buy a product in just 24 hours. Online research leading to offline purchasing is a new factor for evaluating the effectiveness of digital campaigns. With the multitude of points of contact observed today: mobile devices, social networks, CRM, payment modules and point-of-sale systems, the effectiveness of digital campaigns will be a significant factor in 2019 in order to refine the strategy of the ROPO.
Optimize your product visuals
The importance of Picture Marketing (visuals of your brand and your products) undoubtedly makes the difference between your e-commerce site and that of a competitor. In our previous article, we obviously mentioned photography as a key factor for conversion and success for your online store. Optimizing its visual products becomes a must to trigger a purchase.
We have also seen the possibility of "shopper" directly the items of a shop from an Instagram photo. The power of the photo is no longer at its first attempt in terms of conversions. But in 2019, it may well be that another visual innovation comes into play: 3D.
This was one of the flagship ads for Shopify Unite 2018, whose teams are currently developing the opportunity for partners to make 3D available for Shopify products. Customers will be able to observe each product from every angle and project much more easily to acquire their favorite product.
Payment methods (Crypto currency)
Ten years ago, paying online was a disruptive or even impossible act, with people often fearing a lack of control and therefore a risk of fraud. Today, who has never made a purchase on the web? In France, the number of cyber-buyers is 37 million, almost one in two people. But what are the payment habits and the preferred mode? For example, the United States and Canada are leading the way in paying by credit / debit card and PayPal.
With the introduction of virtual currencies, it is another part that opens to the world of e-commerce since it will now be possible to buy a product via this means of payment. Not surprisingly, Shopify has already signed a partnership with a company in the sector.
This obviously caught our attention since it signals the advent of this new era of e-commerce. Takeaway.com, the meal delivery platform, had already anticipated the concept by offering its customers payment via the virtual currency in 2013. Moreover, most of its subsidiaries, including Pizza.fr, have also started 'accept. Case to follow...
Chatbots
The Chatbot is a machine learning technology that offers suggestions and allows customers to chat without monopolizing a person behind a screen. It creates an interactive environment for users and guides customers by asking them questions to provide them with the best possible results and the best experience. It's an interesting way to understand the user experience on your site, to find out what your customers are looking for and what questions they are asking.
Artificial intelligence will be worth about $ 1.23 billion by 2025, and e-commerce is expected to contribute a large part of its revenues. Sephora, Ebay, SnapTravel but also H & M are some notorious examples of using chatbots for converting customers.
47% of consumers would buy items from a chatbot and 37% of consumers would prefer to buy items through a company's Facebook page rather than through its website. (HubSpot, 2017).
The logistics of the future
The dematerialization and automation of logistics processes are becoming major issues for the entire e-commerce sector, which sees the number of parcels shipments increase each year with increasingly impressive volumes. Management is becoming more complex for historic transport entities that are gradually seeing new complementary digital players. This is the case of SendCloud, which allows you to automate all sending processes in just a few clicks: from importing order information to printing labels and sending automatic notifications in Track. & Trace until returns management. The solution integrates with all existing e-commerce marketplaces and CMS (Shopify, PrestaShop, WooCommerce, Magento, etc.) and offers an intuitive dashboard from which the experience of sending parcels is simplified. for all e-merchants.
Quality product content
Let's take a minute to look at the popularity of "How to" content, which seems more fashionable than ever before. When people type "Comment" (do something), they look for an accurate and easy-to-apply solution to solve a problem.
This is an unmissable opportunity for branded content. In our recent study on "How to" content, we analyzed the best ways to respond to someone looking for the answer to a specific question (or situation) and the best way to broadcast such content. - video is often an excellent solution.
If you can put your product under the nose of consumers as the answer to their problem, or use that kind of content to help people better takes advantage of your product, you're on the right track.
Reviews are inseparable from the content on the product. This is almost the other side of the coin, as commentators take ownership of the content via their opinions to the detriment of the brand. We are constantly being told that consumers are more likely to trust their peers than to blindly follow brand messages, so it's very important to make sure your reviews are positive.
We've talked a lot about the dark side of reviews this year, but commercial success signs should do everything possible to get positive reviews without falling into dark magic and paying for positive feedback.
Customization and targeting
Technology has taken a turn towards creating über-targeted and personalized messages in a subtle (or not so subtle, sometimes scary) way, easy to set up with the right tools and the right budget.
That said, there is also a lot of maladroit targeting. Many advertisers seem to think that getting straight to the point and not taking the time to convince and entertain the consumer is the best way to achieve their ends, but this may well have the opposite effect .
I recently spoke with Katy Howell, founder of Immediate Future, about the bad marketing, especially about the customization and bulldozer approach advertisers use to sell.
Personalizing the message in an intelligent way, not too general, without frightening people, with good timing, is a very difficult task. But those who do it will take the lead as these methods become more sophisticated.
Continuous speed loss of physical shops
It's a cliché, of course, but I promise it's the last one. That said, it continues to deserve to feature in e-commerce trends articles. As you may have noticed, whether it's through photos of dilapidated shopping malls or barred windows in the downtown core, well-appointed retail spaces are dramatically slowing down in the face of online experiences. placed under the sign of comfort that offer more choice and fewer stressful trips in the rain.
Large stores are working hard to reduce costs, and some are succeeding in pushing forward what is known as dark store theory. As Laura Bliss writes in CityLab:
It seems to me that retail should be inspired by what has happened in food sales, and try to create experiences that draw the public online to their physical store, with photos highlighting them, simple incentives or immersive experiences on the part of brands.
International markets are growing
The World Trade Organization estimates that international trade will continue to grow by 4.4% in 2018. According to a study conducted by Euromonitor International, e-commerce is expected to be the most dynamic distribution channel by 2022, with a growth of 73%. Growth in the food and beverage sub-category is expected to grow more rapidly, to 80%.
Just over half of Chinese city dwellers order abroad every year, with 89% of them buying from American traders. Quality and authenticity are the most frequently cited reasons for buying abroad, while delivery delays, payment security and shipping costs are the main obstacles.
Nielsen's research also found that around the world, the majority of buyers (57%) have made a purchase abroad in the last six months. The only continent where this figure was not the majority is North America (45.5%).
As new capital opens up on the international scene, e-commerce retailers will adapt by targeting emerging global markets, particularly Russia, Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia, South Africa and other countries. India, the Netherlands and Singapore. Their investments in language internationalization, expedited shipping and secure payments will pay off.
Conclusion
As the digital landscape evolves, platforms and e-merchants need to keep an eye on the future and adapt accordingly, taking advantage of chatbots for customer service, emerging global markets, by diversifying outside of Amazon, improving search on e-commerce sites and adapting to the growth of the vocal trade.
