In case you haven’t noticed, your significant purchases are influenced by E-commerce. Reports say that up to 60% of total in-store sales are affected by E-commerce. Today, it has turned bigger than just buying something over the internet. It has become a series of interactions that depend on technology for moving goods.
2017 has been an excellent year for E-commerce. Its revenue touched $2.3 trillion with a target of $4.5 trillion by 2021. The online retail industry is continuously attempting to evolve their business by adopting technology trends. Here are a few top tech trends in the e-commerce industry in 2018 to keep an eye on.
Enhanced Experience For Consumers
With the arrival of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, the consumer experience has changed a lot. With VR and AR, a consumer can now take a virtual tour of the digital store.
They can now virtually try on new clothes and using the mobile camera, visualize how a piece of furniture will look in their home. With Augmented Reality, the shoppers get a more enhanced customer experience motivating them to buy.
Blockchain
The Blockchain technologies are also influencing e-commerce to a great deal. The platforms based on these technologies appear as a segment e-commerce segment.
The peer to peer applications like OpenBazaar offers transactions through cryptocurrencies. Each action on this platform creates a block that is the proof of work in the market.
So, it is apparent that Blockchain technologies are slowly gaining entry in e-commerce and will soon be a method of payment for every digital shopping platform.
Machine Learning And Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning, or ML, have made intelligent algorithms instrumental in the personalization and consumer segmentation. They are very helpful in identifying the browsing pattern of the consumers and creating personalized recommendations. Machine Learning helps in boosting sales by up to 15%.
The inventory management system has become more efficient in executing orders and inventories since it plays a vital role in the inventory forecasting and predicting the demand in the market. . The algorithms for anticipatory shipping can predict the shipping demand even before an order is made. This step benefits the shipping software.
Gradually, people are getting used to the help of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. This has changed the shape of e-commerce and will be a vital part of it soon.
Increased Mobile Checkout
The rates of checkouts through mobile has risen meteorically. Mobile payments have significantly changed the way people shop.
It has given them the freedom to shop on the go. Since 2015, the mobile payment market has grown steadily. Today, over ten different mobile payment platforms are available like Google Wallet, Amazon pay and of course, the renowned cryptocurrencies.
Also, there are proprietary offerings from banks. We are moving away from cash payments, and it is inevitable that the mobile payment system will keep growing throughout the year and beyond.
Voice Search
These days, you can’t talk about mobiles without talking about voice search. This year, the voice search will be a chief reason for the innovation in e-commerce.
Devices like Amazon Echo and Google home are driving the voice search majorly. A study shows that almost 25% of consumers own a voice controlled device. Voice search isn’t just the novelty of the day but it is the next stage of consumer loyalty.
E-Commerce Turns Multi-channel
There are numerous marketplaces and shopping carts. One brand sells across several channels. One product is available at different marketplaces at competitive prices. This multichannel availability of products has increased the demand for the software that can use API for communicating with various sales channel.
The ROPO (Research Online Purchase Offline)
ROPO is the abbreviation for Research Online Purchase Offline. This has been the shopping habit for some time now. It is usually adopted by the ones who are always looking for the best deal. This is going to be another tech trend in e-commerce this year.
Every consumer like researching for products online before they buy it offline. This gives them their desired products at the best price. And for the retailers, it is the most effective offline conversion tracking.
A study says over 80% of consumers search local stores for the product over mobile phones and approximately 20% among them buy it within 24 hours. Using this data, retailers can build the detailed profiles of the shoppers and benefit from them.
Storefront Apps
The focus of the shoppers has shifted from the desktop to the mobile. Now, more users use their mobile for shopping. This has made any stores offer their apps, and they have been doing it for several years now.
Shoppers are now very accustomed to using these storefront apps from these retailers on their mobile. 2018 will see even more storefront apps from smaller business as well. These stores will be leveraging these apps for driving up their sales and earning customer loyalty.
Data shows that these storefront apps offer 40% higher conversion rates as compared to the mobile sites. Also, the average order value and session time is higher on the app. This indicates that apps will be becoming more prevalent. And since there is the lowest barrier to entry for the app development, it will be the added leverage.
In A Nutshell
E-commerce is changing the face of shopping. Buying a product is more accessible and better now. Technology is driving the shopping experience of the shoppers at every stage.
Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Virtual and Augmented Reality is shaping the entire E-commerce market. Consumers prefer apps, and mobile checkouts are at the peak.
The technology in e-commerce allows the retailers to map the buying and searching habits of their consumers. This gives them a picture of what’s in demand and what has run out of the trend. The technology also let them anticipate the orders. Thus they never run out on the inventory. The shipping and delivery have become faster and efficient.
Since its origin, e-commerce has come a long way, and it still has to go further. The tech trends of 2018 will be shaping this platform even more. So, if you are looking to stay in the competition, keep an eye on these trends.
