7 eCommerce Trends Driving Transformation in Online Retail & Wholesale Businesses

Physical marketplaces were shrinking even before the coronavirus hit. As the business world reels under a global lockdown, eCommerce has become more pivotal than ever. Some are calling it the next boom of eCommerce. This sudden surge in online business has prompted unprecedented changes in the retail and wholesale markets alike. Be it a surge in ecommerce app development, or changing marketing strategy, it’s going to impact your online business directly.

In this blog, we will explore the most striking trends that are both triggering innovation and intensifying competition. Businesses that have responded promptly to this shift in the market are gaining early advantages. As you can guess well, most businesses were not prepared at all to navigate through anything like this crisis. Even the ones with an eCommerce infrastructure in place had to make major changes to cope.

Here’s what you need to know to stay ahead in the eCommerce business. These trends will also help you prepare for the post-virus world and such disaster in the future.

Key eCommerce Trends Impacting Every Online Business 

From shopping on social media platforms to automating crucial services, eCommerce transforming a staggering speed. Most changes are technology-driven and address rapidly changing consumer behavior.

1. Omnichannel Online Shopping 

The online shopping behavior of consumers has undergone a remarkable change over the past couple of years. The pandemic and resulting lockdown fueled that transformation even more. Shoppers are increasingly engaging with brands across different channels. Your online sales don’t have to be exclusive via an eCommerce website. It could be anywhere: ecommerce solutions for mobile devices, or even on a social media platform. Businesses of every kind need to enable customer omnichannel shopping experience.

2. Highly personalized eCommerce apps 

Different businesses need to address different customer needs. So, their apps must be different and built according to unique needs. Custom mobile app development services enable businesses to target audiences with personalized design and features. The most effective ecommerce app design happens when you precisely understand the customers’ needs. That comes from extensive market research.

Emerging technologies like big data and machine learning allow you to accurately understand what customers want. Business intelligence solutions help you to get actionable insights and drive sales. You can achieve this by interpreting data, and analyzing shopping behavior, and using the right ecommerce apps, among other things.

3. AI chatbots and virtual assistant 

The dominance of artificial intelligence is rising sharply. The pandemic has forced businesses and organizations to minimize human-to-human interactions. That means more room for AI and chatbots. And we are already getting accustomed to this trend of chatbots. Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri, and Amazon Alexa are part of our daily lives now. Virtual assistants and intelligent chatbots give immense scope for improving customer service. Many online retailers are already leveraging AI-enabled ecommerce app development to strengthen their relationships with customers.

4. Marketing innovations 

The eCommerce space has become ruthlessly competitive. So has marketing in the digital world. Online retailers are coming up with new ideas and methods to captivate their target audience. For instance, conversational marketing is enabling brands to directly engage with customers via marketing campaigns. 

If you run an online business, these marketing strategies let you establish close relationships with customers. Real-time and two-way communications make marketing more effective, significantly increasing conversion rates. Businesses are also increasingly seeking help from professional digital marketing services to boost sales.

5. A mobile-first approach

By now you must have realized that more people shop online using a mobile device than a desktop. That’s why businesses are increasingly focusing on mobile devices. M-commerce, the concept of mobile device-based eCommerce is gaining traction across industries. eCommerce mobile apps enable customers to seamlessly buy things online with their handy devices. Shopping on the go has immense popularity worldwide. The mobile-first eCommerce strategy also offers important advantages like location-based marketing and real-time communication.

6. Quicker and frictionless checkout 

Customers’ expectations are growing consistently when it comes to their online shopping experience. Checkout and payment processing have been tricky parts of eCommerce since the very beginning. With the popularity of services like one-click checkout, the competition to enhance the checkout process has become intense. 

Being an online retailer, you need to ensure that you offer all the major digital wallets like Amazon Pay and Google Pay. Customers also like to save their payment details like credit card numbers for repeat purchases in the store. Having flawless digital payment solutions in your eCommerce business increases conversion many folds.

7. Product image search 

A growing number of eCommerce businesses are incorporating image search technology on their online stores. This ensures that customers can easily find products using the relevant image. With the right SEO, these images also appear in general search results. So, customers can compare similar products and purchase according to their choice. Integrating image search options substantially increase the chances of your products to appear in search results. Image search both good for SEO and overall eCommerce sales.

Conclusion 

eCommerce is perhaps the most dynamics arena in the world of commerce. You always need to be on your toes when it comes to shifting trends and changing market demands. Online businesses that keep up with the trends benefit from customers’ engagement. Creating a more engaging online shopping experience means better conversion and higher profits. At AppMomos, an eCommerce development company, our services are guided by a team of seasoned online business experts. Having worked with businesses from across industries and continents, we can precisely understand your needs and deliver a suitable solution. Follow our blogs to stay updated about every new eCommerce trend.