Current & Upcoming Ecommerce Trends

Gone are the days when ecommerce retailers could list, sell, & ship out their products while customers patiently waited for a few weeks for delivery. Instead, today’s savvy sellers are looking to enhance the customer experience while selling more with less overhead. But are online shoppers following their lead? Here’s a look at the current & upcoming trends in ecommerce that will revolutionize the industry.

Voice Search Skyrockets

The rise of Alexa and Siri did more than revolutionize how we listen to music or check the weather. People also rely on voice assistants to shop online, order household supplies, & help manage their lives. Research estimates that 75% of all U.S. households will own a smart speaker by 2025.

As voice search evolves, more online stores will optimize landing pages to appear verbally & easily read aloud by a search device. The emerging trend makes it more important than ever to write your pages, product descriptions, & blog posts in a conversational way that still offers value.

Chatbots Continue to Enhance the Ecommerce Experience

Online stores have already been using chatbots to enhance the consumer experience 7 make shopping more accessible. The trends point to the increasing use of AI-powered chatbots to make automated interaction with your customers conversational. Instead of scrolling through pages of FAQs or getting awkward responses, customers feel supported when they can find exactly what they’re looking for with the help of intelligent chatbots.

Beyond providing a better customer experience, chatbots also help businesses save time & money. Research shows that chatbots help reduce as much as 30% of customer support costs!

Enhanced Distribution & Fulfillment Efforts

Traditional ecommerce relies on personally shipping out goods, which puts a significant strain on business resources. You can hire someone to handle the responsibility, but it may not resolve the ability to produce & fulfill items quickly. As much as 25% of shoppers have canceled an order because of slow delivery speeds, & that figure will only rise. It makes sense the future of running an online store points to enhanced distribution & efficient fulfillment efforts.

Instead of increasing your own capacity & compromising your overhead, consider partnering with a print-on-demand service like CustomCat. With CustomCat, you can expand your products & easily offer high-quality products with customized designs in no time. 

You can learn more about CustomCat’s services here:

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How to Get Started Selling Online with CustomCat

AR Trends Are On the Rise

As more customers adapt to shopping at home, they’re also looking to blend the brick & mortar experience with hands-on interaction. Augmented Reality (AR) allows customers to preview products in their own homes or environment. With the help of an app or other tools, customers take an image of your product & instantly see how it looks anywhere they choose. 

AR is good for customer satisfaction & also a big win for businesses. Returns & dissatisfied customers are likely to diminish when shoppers get a clear idea of what they’re buying & how it will really look in their space.

Up-Selling & Cross-Selling Flourishes with AI

Ecommerce sellers are already seeing the benefits of up-selling & cross-selling to earn more while offering customers more value. AI will continue to enhance the experience with faster & more targeted suggestions. Customers receive instant feedback on exactly which items pair well together & how to bundle products to save more without compromising on quality.

Direct-to-Consumer Sales Will Increase

Retailers traditionally sell directly to consumers, but now brands & manufacturers can get in on the ecommerce trend. Companies like ‘The Dollar Shave Club’ and ‘Warby Parker’ are examples of Direct-to-Consumer companies that skip the third-party retailer altogether. The model helps brands connect directly to the consumer while offering a more desirable price point.

Ecommerce stores will still flourish selling other people’s products, but producing & fulfilling your own with the help of CustomCat helps your profit margins & saves you time. From shirts to housewares, your customers get the items they want with fast shipping for less.

Ecommerce Retailers Will Explore Drone Delivery

Drone delivery is the future of online delivery & reduces the cost of hiring an in-person delivery service. The emerging drone technology has the potential to disrupt the retail industry & fly in packages during those last miles. The result is faster & more flexible delivery options that customers want. Of course, the FAA is still investigating & researching the safety & logistics of how commercial drones will work.

Multi-Platform Selling Takes Center Stage

We’ve already seen the first phases of ecommerce sellers using platforms like Instagram selling products directly to consumers. As the trend evolves, shoppers will expect to buy goods from their favorite brands everywhere they hang out online. From TikTok to Facebook, more brands will set up shop & create interactive experiences for customers to buy on demand.

Demand Rises for Personalized Products

The furniture industry already serves personalized products for customers with the option to customize colors & patterns. Ecommerce stores will increasingly follow the trend to offer similar customizations. Whether it’s shoes or luxury purses, customers will look for opportunities to mix & match their favorite materials, colors, patterns, & accessories to bring their signature style to life.

Preference Shifts Towards Independent Businesses

If you think you can’t compete with big ecommerce juggernauts, think again. People are increasingly wary of working with companies they see as unethical or supporting damaging causes. Online shoppers are choosier about where they spend their money & will increasingly look to smaller, independent businesses. The trend also supports online stores turning to sustainable materials and practicing a humane & balanced work ethic.

Keeping up with current & upcoming ecommerce trends can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be. Relying on done-for-you, white-labeled solutions & advancing technology go a long way in serving your customers. At the same time, you earn a well-deserved profit. Start by picking & choosing the trends that align with your ecommerce goals & business model. Plus, you can’t forget about enhancing what you’re already doing well!

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What are you seeing in your own ecommerce store as a rising trend? Let us know by leaving a comment below!