Top 7 E-commerce Marketplace Development Trends In 2020
With e-commerce growing an unseen rate, it is vital to keep abreast of marketplace trends to lead the market. These 7 marketplace trends will help you stand out. Online shopping is no longer a marvel. It is standard practice for the majority of buyers and at times even a necessity when brick-and-mortar stores fail to provide a vast choice of goods.
With e-commerce growing an unseen rate, it is vital to keep abreast of marketplace trends to lead the market. These 7 marketplace trends will help you stand out. Online shopping is no longer a marvel. It is standard practice for the majority of buyers and at times even a necessity when brick-and-mortar stores fail to provide a vast choice of goods.
Marketplaces are now the most common form of e-commerce. It gathers plenty of sellers and buyers in one place allowing them to make deals at the most favorable prices. However, with more players jumping into marketplaces, the strongest ones are usually empowered by technology.
These 7 latest trends in e-commerce will let you stay influential and competitive on the market.
1. Influencer Marketing
Social media are not only platforms to talk to friends and share the news. They are effective tools for shaping the audience’s views and preferences. Instagram is the number one social network to launch ad campaigns and build brand awareness.
With numerous bloggers having over 10, 50, and 100 thousand followers each, any retailer can reach out to their potential customers through collaboration with the right ones. What matters in this case is the influencer’s reputation and the audience’s level of trust in their recommendations and advice. Besides, compared to bloggers, celebrities with millions of fans are said to be less effective in promoting one or another product on the media.
The Instagram influencer market alone is valued at $1.7 billion, while the entire industry is expected to hit $10 billion in 2020. It opens up many opportunities for both small and big businesses trying to establish a good customer base.
2. Personalized journey
Every buyer wants to feel special. You can give it to them by setting up analytics tools and providing on-site personalized recommendations. The knowledge of what your prospect desires most lets you create a perfect customer shopping experience which leads to a higher level of customer satisfaction and increased sales revenues as buyers tend to spend more time scrolling through potentially appealing products and services.
Personalization is now the first condition for becoming popular with the target audience. Unless you make personalized offers to potential customers, they are likely to choose your competitor over you.
3. AI-driven assistants
The most successful retailers and service providers appear to rely on AI software that allows for minimal human engagement in customer relationships.
AI-based robots and chatbots provide a higher level of customer service for many reasons. They greatly reduce the average response time by serving multiple clients concurrently and thus speed up customer service delivery. They seem more appealing in the buyer’s eyes as no robot will start arguing with discontent customers.
Finally, AI-powered assistants have direct access to a database using which they provide optimal assistance in the customer’s purchase decisions.
4. Mobile commerce
Whatever the field of e-commerce your business operates, having a mobile app ensures a number of advantages. Statistics show that three in four shoppers prefer using smartphones for shopping. This trend indicates that your online business should be user-friendly to be able to capture customer attention.
To date, the only sure-fire way to adjust your business to mobile-oriented consumer behavior is to design a mobile app or web app that both provide good user experience and let the customer interact with your business at ease.
The increasing demand for mobile app development services might complicate the process of finding competent developers, but you can do it easily with the help of B2B directories such as Clutch and Goodfirms.
5. Voice commands
The faster, the better. Many consumers consider texting too time-consuming, especially when they are pressed for time. For this reason, more and more people opt for voice search to get what they are looking for quickly. This technology is growing in demand across all online businesses that seek to provide the best retail experiences.
Voice recognition is equally employed in conversations with chatbots which can be designed to recognize up to 500,000 variants of customer requests. The user’s ability not to touch a screen on the go appears to be a contributing factor to the growth of e-commerce players across the world as it enables the buyer to engage in shopping journeys when and where they need it.
6. Augmented reality
The use of AG in retail has changed the game by allowing business owners to advertise and show their product’s features in detail. But for tactile feedback, AG technology gives customers a chance to see and feel what their desired object would be in reality. For instance, women can try on any outfit online, which lets them make the right choice and have no regrets about spending their money.
7. Sustainability
The last trend in e-commerce marketplaces is catching on with brands concerned with environmental problems, with fashion houses being at the forefront of efforts to minimize the pollution.
Sustainability practices and strategies are implemented to draw public attention and spread awareness about depleting Earth’s resources. Businesses that take an active role in environmentally-friendly campaigns tend to gain the affection of the eco-conscious part of the audience and strengthen their market position in no time.
How to choose the best online marketplace for e-commerce?
Marketplace platforms have rapidly grown in number. If you are looking for a good e-commerce platform, it is reasonable to pick the one with a simple design and good SEO and analytics tools. An integrated blog and easy payment options will be an advantage in keeping your customers pleased from beginning to end in their buying journey.