E-commerce is essential for retailers, as it not only supports their sales via physical channels but also creates an online presence for them. It is the age of social media – many consumers prefer to interact with their choice of brands via social media platforms. Thus, retailers must build an online presence to stay connected with their target audience. It helps them increase their brand awareness, gather customer insights, enhance their marketing, and drive business growth through online and in-person sales.
Besides the need for retailers to create e-commerce stores, a majority of customers prefer the comfort of buying from their homes. This is not a direct result of the pandemic, which significantly reduced real-world interactions, but the added convenience of online shopping has cemented its utility among consumers.
After recent dynamic events, the online retail industry is now settling and taking a new direction. We have shortlisted five crucial e-commerce trends for businesses to adopt and capitalize on for a successful year ahead.
Captivating Online Storefronts
From the 20 million e-commerce websites that are currently active on the internet, only a few thousand stand out. The rest are all built on default WordPress and Shopify templates resulting in a bland user experience.
Storefronts need to represent the brand image and carry a unique aesthetic that makes your business and products stand out. The number one point to follow is consistent design across the various facets of an e-commerce store, including page design, product photography, typography, and product packaging. This phase of investing in premium branding and images for your business pays off by leaving a lasting impression on visitors.
To further focus on retaining clientele, companies can share a brand story that attracts buyers with similar values. You should clearly explain how your services help alleviate specific pain points so buyers see the value of your products.
Strengthening Supply Chains
Timely and secure delivery of products is of the utmost importance to customers. This is a significant factor in e-commerce trends for their store’s reputation. The recent hindrance in supply chain continuity has brought attention to creating backups and keeping stock in inventory to ensure a steady supply of products.
Online e-commerce platforms development like Amazon and other marketplaces consider whether customers are getting timely delivery and are satisfied with the vendor. Poor performance will lead to your product falling out of the top search results due to the marketplace’s algorithm.
Businesses need to plan their production more sustainably. One strategy is reducing the imported parts required during production. Online stores with warehouses in multiple locations should create ways to meet shortages in one area by sharing inventory. On Amazon specifically, the option of Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) also exists.
Leveraging Key Opinion Leaders
Getting your product popularized through omni channels is necessary, along with pushing out ads on various platforms. While some brands garner enough organic following on their social media accounts, many others do not have the attractive power to meet the requirements of organic interactions. For this purpose, 2024 will see a consistent rise in marketing through Key Opinion Leaders “KOLs” or Influencers.
Influencers may be celebrities or people who hold vast subject knowledge and have followers who are interested in that field. Companies hire or collaborate with KOLs that resonate with their brand and attract organic attention through them. This method is also beneficial for the online growth of both the brand and the opinion leaders.
Some key opinion leaders can also act as brand ambassadors. Essentially, this means a long-term partnership where a brand promotes a product through a renowned personality, thus cementing its popularity within a customer base that also looks up to the opinion leader.
Personalized Shopping
In the field of personalized shopping, e-commerce stores along with fintech have a long way to go to catch up to brick-and-mortar stores. Physical stores can use multiple props and services to create a customized experience. To counter this, e-commerce stores can build on the convenience that customers prefer while shopping online.
Some personalized actions are birthday discounts, flexible return policies, and reduced shipping costs. Online shoe companies allow their customers to try the shoes and return them within a week if they dislike the product. Similarly, many electronics stores allow customers to use the product development for up to a month before returning. The return and refund procedures should also be easy and fast as possible. Favorable return policies build trust with customers and generate positive word of mouth for the brand.
Additionally, good customer support to guide online visitors through the buying, shipping, and returns process makes up for the difference between e-commerce stores and brick-and-mortar stores in a big way.
Incorporating Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence solutions hold exciting possibilities for emerging e-commerce trends. A healthy amount of businesses took a risk and started directly with an online sales model. These stores have fared well and present good numbers, thus paving the way for emerging stores to try and do the same. However, organizations must hire more staff and train them to sustain their operations for business growth.
That is not their only alternative, as AI can perform many functions that e-commerce businesses need to hire for. Automated sales software handles new purchases, shipment schedules, and even processes returns.
Amazon also provides AI-powered call centers under the name of Amazon Connect. The Connect service can perform the complete functions of a customer support center. So even people-centric jobs can be supported by AI.
The costs involved in installing AI for support sales infrastructure are not cheap. However, it can take away the hassle of hiring, training, and replacing employees. So all-in-all, there is a fair trade-off.
Conclusion
E-commerce experienced a 25% growth during COVID-19 and settled to a steady 17% growth in 2021. It means that going forward, e-commerce will remain vital for businesses looking to expand. Businesses can expect plenty of new features to come with the advent of Industry 4.0. As a company looking to stay ahead of its competitors, you should adopt these five e-commerce trends in 2024 and fully incorporate them into your e-commerce model.
Xavor Corporation has provided web development services for over 20 years. Our expert web developers understand the needs of modern e-commerce businesses and provide custom web design and development services. Moreover, Xavor is a host to AWS experts who can integrate your e-commerce business with AWS Cloud, Connect, and other beneficial services. To learn how you can augment your online store with Xavor, visit [email protected].