Ecommerce is evolving at an accelerated pace. That’s why, it is of utter importance to remain in the loop with current online shopping trends.
According to Statista, the global retail ecommerce revenue will reach to $4.88 trillion by 2021. Talking specifically about ecommerce revenue in Australia, it is expected to grow upto $26.9 billion by 2023.
These statistics clearly show that more businesses are expected to join the ecommerce industry in the coming years, which implies more competition.
Therefore, merchants need to be up-to-date with the latest ecommerce trends of 2019 to beat their competition.
Follow these top emerging trends of 2019 to stay ahead of your competition.
Trend#1: Dropshipping
A retail fulfillment method where a store with limited capital doesn’t need to stock the products. Instead, the merchant can act as the middleman between the manufacturer /supplier and the customer to complete a purchase. However, they never get a chance to see or handle any of the product while being a part of this strategy.
This retail fulfillment model is convenient and involves less risk while offering many advantages including:
- The merchant doesn’t have to maintain the stock. You only buy the product when a customer places an order online.
- You do not have to tie in your cash in unsold products
- You can save money on inventory storage and management.
- Low overhead costs.
According to the 2018 State of the Merchant ecommerce Report, out of 450 online stores, 16.4% were using the dropshipping model. Moreover, merchants who have integrated this model into their business experienced an average revenue growth of 32.7% and had an average conversion rate of 1.74%.
These benefits ensure a lot of dropshipping in the future of the ecommerce industry.
Trend#2: Multi-channel selling
With so many different ecommerce channels available online, consumers want to take advantage of multiple options to make most profitable purchases.
Here are some stats from 2018 Omnichannel Buying Report:
- 87% of consumers shop offline.
- 78% of consumers reported making a purchase on Amazon.
- 45% of consumers shop from branded brand store.
- 65% of consumers shop from brick-and-mortar store.
- 34% of consumers shop on eBay.
- 11% of consumers shop on Facebook.
The same report also states that, the consumer spends 69% of their discretionary income to shop in-store. Moreover, 56% of Gen Z make purchases from physical stores.
The data evidently displays that by establishing your business across all channels that your customers use, you can cater to the needs of omnichannel shoppers and hence grow your ecommerce sales.
Trend#3: Smarter Payment Processing
The lack of flexible payment options is a long-standing hurdle for ecommerce retailers. That’s why the final payment step at an ecommerce store can either make or break a conversion.
This clearly means if the payment experience at the checkout isn’t smooth, you could end up losing your potential customers, forever.
The data by Baymard Institute shows that about 70% of customers abandon their cart and 28% of cart abandonment occurs owing to a long, complicated checkout process.
Therefore, if you are looking to improve your sales in 2019, you must ensure a quick, hassle-free checkout experience. By simplifying the checkout process and payment options for customers, you can guarantee a rapid growth in your conversions which will further help reduce your cart abandonment rate.
Trend#4: Omnichannel Personalisation
The popularity of Omnichannel selling was already expected for 2019 by industry experts. However, just being active on multiple channels is not enough. Personalising your interaction with customers across all channels is a necessity.
A study found that, “personalisation has improved customer relationships for 98% of marketers”
One effective way to ensure a great level of personalisation in your customer service is AI driven targeting. Predictive targeting helps you identify visitors and their personal preferences and shopping behaviours. This in turn helps to optimise your customer experiences across all channels as well as improve your relationship with them.
Trend#5: Custom Packaging
There has been an uptick in the demand of customised packaging solutions and this trend is forecasted to continue in the coming years as well.
According to a study, 68% shoppers felt that packaging makes a brand became more exclusive. In the same study, it was revealed that unique packaging made 61% of customers feel more excited about the product.
The growing demand and popularity of customised packaging amongst customers emphasise on the need for merchants to embrace customer packaging in order to make their brand more recognisable.
Final Word
These trends can revolutionise the ecommerce industry. So, be sure to work with the best company for Magento web design in Sydney and keep ahead of your competitors. Experienced professionals who specialise in Magento web development can help you manage and improve your sales through omnichannel marketing and integration of easy payment methods.