In the emerging global economy, eCommerce has become a vital component of business strategy and is booming economic development. From startups to huge brands, there are a vast number of companies that can benefit from their eCommerce website.

Here’s proof. According to developer stats, it is estimated that online sales will reach 4878 million by 2021. With time and advancement, technological trends have made the eCommerce sector adopt changes to stay ahead in the competitive world.

Whether you want to start your online business or have been for years, make sure you know the seven major eCommerce technology trends that will continue to impact the digital retail industry for the foreseeable future.

Let’s get started!

Top Trends in eCommerce Industry to Keep an Eye on

In this write-up, I will discuss the top eCommerce technology trends that will revamp the future of eCommerce. So, let’s quickly jump to the essential pointers which are going to make e-retail businesses much better. Let’s have a look at them:

#1 AR and VR Enhances User Experience

A major drawback of online shopping is the lack of tactile information. In other words, it can be hard to imagine what a product would look like in your home or office. The future of product visualization is trying to bridge that gap.

Augmented reality and virtual reality have arisen as the most prominent global trends in eCommerce for enhancing user experience. Product visualization has changed dramatically over the years.

With these changes, recent technological advances in 3D augmented reality, and virtual reality products are set to change the way products are imagining.

Customers feel cheated when their orders do not go as they expected. AR comes up with the try-before-you-buy approach, setting realistic customer expectations. And this, in turn, improves the brand’s image and elevates sales.

About 100 million customers are expected to use AR by this year. By integrating AR with their app, shoppers stay 2.7 times longer and are 11 times more likely to make a purchase.

A survey reported that 40% of users are willing to pay even more if Augmented Reality is a part of their shopping experience. Hence, the possibilities are endless with AR.

On the other hand, Virtual reality provides the users with an immersive virtual world with a VR headset and compatible 360 ​​videos. It allows customers to experience a product virtually before making a purchase.

Two eCommerce giants – Amazon and Alibaba – made some efforts to bring online stores to life using VR. Both attempted to create virtual stores for shoppers and continue to invest in technology.

The future of eCommerce is trending in an AR/VR way and will influence the way consumers make decisions about products and services.

#2 Mobile Apps & eWallet Technology

As consumers gain confidence in online shopping, they feel more comfortable shopping using their mobile phones. Moreover, mobile phones are expected to make up about 73% of total eCommerce sales by the end of 2021.

In addition, 30% of online shoppers are likely to leave their cart in the middle of shopping if they find that your website is not mobile-friendly. Optimizing your e-commerce business only for mobiles is no longer enough.

You need to integrate the functionality of the mobile wallet on your business website. Also, it would be best if you thought about launching a mobile application for your online business.

As the number of online shopping customers is increasing, buyers understand the advantages and add the security of using a mobile wallet to pay for their online shopping.

This means that your mobile patrons expect to use a wallet to give their online shopping a final touch. Integrating mobile wallets into your e-commerce will increase your sales.

You can even upgrade your e-stores by switching to the most relevant platform like opencart that suits your business needs. For that you can hire opencart developers to boost your sales and ROI.

While mobile wallet payments were only $75 billion in 2016, they are projected to grow to $500 billion by 2020 – or nearly 80% over five years.

Besides, e-wallet usage provides ease of use and increased security to customers. Users are no longer required to enter credit card information on websites or give cashiers their credit cards. Plus many eWallets require dual authentication before being offered or used.

#3 The Rise of Voice Commerce

The development of voice-activated devices will bring reform for small entrepreneurs. Many experts believe that voice search represents the next significant disruption in the retail industry.

In 2020, 50 percent of all internet searches will be done using voice search, and voice shopping is projected to grow to $40 billion in 2022.

Today, digital assistants like Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant have already made a lot of noise. With further advances in this technique, people will feel more comfortable using them.

Voice shopping is a non-visual experience, which means that users have provided a verbal description of the product they are selecting. Therefore, it restricts the scope of browsing for a product before actually making a decision.

Voice search will make online shopping a lot easier as it will more easily curate recommendations and search results as per individual needs. By using voice search, customers will also feel comfortable leaving reviews and ratings.

Now, businesses need to pay attention to voice shopping and provide customers with the convenience they are looking for while buying a product.

#4 Better CRM Integration

Online retailers connect with customers through a wide variety of channels, including online marketplaces, eCommerce websites, and social media, all of which must be carefully managed to ensure the best customer experience.

To keep up, online retailers are implementing integrated eCommerce CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems. As a result of better customer experience, CRM eCommerce integration provides a central location for customer data that can be used to make marketing more effective.

Sales data can also be used for better inventory planning and forecasting. Automated, synchronized data increases overall business efficiency by improving order fulfillment and timely communication.

#5 Chatbots – New Way to Ace Customer Interaction

“Did you know live chatbot software has a 73% satisfaction rate as a way for customers to interact with the business?”

Shoppers want to have more humane and intelligent interactions with shopping platforms. Chatbots have long been a part of eCommerce systems, but it is only recently that they have become smarter.

Garter predicts that 85% of customer interactions with businesses are happening without humans. This means that you need to tap on the full potential of the chatbot. They can take care of a wide range of services, from customer service to generating business leads.

Interactive chatbots improve brand image. There are 1.4 billion people using chatbots worldwide. Messaging apps have already made them a habit of such interactions, which makes things a lot easier for you.

Conversational Chatbots are the need of the hour for eCommerce and retail platforms. These can be deployed on platforms as well as on various social media applications.

Nike’s chatbot is an excellent example of boosting sales. This not only nurtures better customer relationships but also increases sales. It helps in processing the images uploaded by them and finding the right sneakers keeping in mind the preferences of the user.

The future of eCommerce businesses depends a lot on customer interaction, making conversational chatbots the right step in the direction.

#6 Increase the Use of Big Data and Analytics

Big data and analytics take things to the next level in the eCommerce industry. Personalizing the customer experience is on the top priority objectives of eCommerce organizations today.

It does seem possible by using Big Data and analytics. This concept defines large volumes of data. With proper functioning, this data can tell crucial things about customer requirements. Nowadays, the interpretation of Big Data is already being used by several e-commerce companies for this purpose.

The e-commerce industry is continuously implementing big data analytics in shopping to better track user shopping experience, communication and user engagement, trend forecasting, value formation, service improvement. The most important aspect of implementing it is product sales are increasing.

Analytics also shows the elements that are least and most popular and also identifies opportunities to improve the customer base.

#7 Social Media – A Powerful Ecommerce Trend

Do you know the average cost of orders on social media was $79.01 in 2019? Fasten your seat belts because shoppers are moving towards a more integrated experience on social media.

They want to be able to use one site for everything. Potential customers do not wish to navigate off Instagram to purchase the item they saw there.

Step on your social media commerce game or lose. Also, look at less traditional social media sites. We are always hearing about attracting customers on Facebook or Instagram.

Did you know that 47% of people on Pinterest are looking for products?

With Facebook and Instagram, that percentage drops to 15% and 11% respectively.

Wrapping-Up

Without technology, you cannot measure your business and drive the growth you envisioned. Companies must pay attention to these upcoming trends that have a massive impact on customer experience and conversions.

Therefore, looking at the perks of these technologies, you can contact eCommerce development companies to stay ahead of the competition. Implementing all of the above technologies in eCommerce will have an immediate, visible impact on your sales and revenue.

Source: Websurfmedia