How e-Commerce Software will Change Ways of Doing Business in the Upcoming Years
Let’s be honest, we all knew that e-commerce had the potential to someday dominate the global market. But, of course, we expected it to simply ease its way to prominence—conservatively and steadily—just as it had been in the past decade or so. Just take a look at these numbers: from 2007 to 2019, Digital Commerce 360 reports that e-commerce has increased from 5.1% to 16% in the total percentage of retail purchases. Like we said, steady and conservative.
Enter 2020 and all of its curveballs.
With brick-and-mortar retailers being forced to shut their doors in the wake of recent events, e-commerce has suddenly been shuttled to center stage. All this attention has led to further demand for e-commerce platforms to innovate. Now more than ever, top e-commerce software are stepping in to improve customer experience and, of course, sales. From introducing more tools to finding more ways to automate, all types of e-commerce platforms are now clamoring to upgrade and drive customer satisfaction.
So, amidst all of these rapid changes in the market, what exactly are the trends that have the most potential to change the way people are buying and selling online.
1. AI technology and Machine learning
Ever notice how certain websites seem to recommend just the right content for you?
Take Instagram and YouTube, for example. Instead of assuming what users your age and gender may be interested in, they take note of your viewing patterns and preferences. This is what machine learning is. And soon, this will extend past video sharing and social media. The next stop: e-commerce platforms.
On top of the already sophisticated functions of e-commerce software, algorithms will be overhauled to consistently deliver the right content to the right audience. So, say you tend to open pages for a certain shopping category, you can expect shopping platforms to take note of this and recommend accordingly. This way, you will only be introduced to products and services that you’ll likely purchase.
2. Mobile-first approach
There’s nothing quite like the ease of shopping online on your phone during your idle time, and e-commerce software and sites are taking notice.
As more and more buyers are completing their transactions on mobile, platforms have doubled their efforts to optimize the experience for their customers. One-click-payments, facial scanning, voice search—these are just some of the innovations for mobile.
3. Online fitting rooms
We’ve all been there—there’s nothing quite like the disappointment of ordering clothes online and realizing that it’s a bad fit later on.
Sometimes, with online shopping, “M” doesn’t always mean your usual standards for “M”. Instead, we have brands adapting their own measurements and categorizing sizes based on their standards. All this can tell us one thing: sizing charts aren’t reliable. In fact, they may be the reason return rates and growing and sales are not.
As a response, platforms have begun to introduce online fitting rooms to predict fit and
drive better customer satisfaction. It takes into account the type of garment being offered
as well as the reported body parameters of the customer. This new technology does
away with the guesswork that comes with buying clothes and allows you to correctly “fit”
the product.
4. Visual testing
From being able to virtually try on clothes, all this new technology in the retail industry also introduces us to augmented reality and virtual reality trends. We see this mostly in the home design arena.
Instead of simply hoping that a product can fit in your space, you can view it in 3D and see how it is in your home. Stores simply have to input the specifications of a product so you can visually test it out with AR and VR technology.
5. Fast delivery
One of the downsides to online shopping is the wait. Excitement over buying a new product tends to dwindle as the days go by, but new e-commerce technology now has the bandwidth to expedite product delivery.
Same-day deliveries are no longer just limited to Amazon Prime members. In fact, most e-commerce platforms have now adapted this new standard. Customers want quick gratification. E-commerce sites recognize this, and now same-day deliveries have become the new norm.
The Transformation of E-commerce As We Know It
With the current state of global affairs, it is clear that e-commerce is careening towards rapid digital transformation. Steady and conservative changes no longer serve this new normal model of e-commerce. Instead, we’ve entered a more formidable and groundbreaking time where businesses are being called to innovate so that they can survive.
The good news is that there is no shortage of new and exciting digital infrastructure. If you’re on the lookout for ways to provide a seamless and engaging shopping experience for your customers, take a look at CompareCamp new list of top 15 ecommerce tools.