How to get ahead with eCommerce in 2020
Businesses that offer eCommerce must always stay vigilant and find ways to stay ahead of their competitors. With the increasing amount of products being available for purchase online, it’s becoming more difficult than ever to remain at the forefront of your consumers’ minds. Incorporating the latest trends into your brand is a good way to stay relevant and get ahead in sales for 2020.
Selling online is beneficial for B2B and B2C
As technology and capabilities diversify, eCommerce continues to benefit not only B2C companies but also B2B companies. There is great potential to market a service through eCommerce using a product model or package. As the eCommerce market keeps growing, we will explore what is in-store for 2020 and eCommerce.
Send Personalised Messages
It's not about the masses, but how you treat each person
In the age of Netflix and Stan, simply pushing an out-of-the-box advertisement on television to grab sales is just not enough. There is of course still scope for traditional advertising, but rather than just reaching the masses, a personalised touch goes a long way. It’s all about how each customer experiences your brand’s offerings on a personal level.
How? You can leverage customer data to tailor your content and products based on their behaviors and interests. A variety of tools can be used to provide you with detailed insights about your customers and target audience. Use audience insights to provide a customised experience for each user.
Insights on users’ personality can be gained from multiple sources, such as search queries, page visits, purchase history and choice of brands. Quizzes and surveys can also be utilised to gain user information.
For example, Amazon displays recommended products based on past purchases, and tailors advertisements to your search history. Concerns of privacy are being reduced with consumers gaining confidence and trust in particular brands. Especially in a post-Coronavirus era, buying online is the way of the future.
Multi-channel personalisation
You can enhance customer loyalty and increase repeat customers through multichannel selling and offering personalised interactions. Ensure that each individual has the same brand experience no matter which channel they are using. Get to know their personality and cater to it, without annoying them with irrelevant messages. Keeping your brand consistent across the board is important, but different channels should have a slightly different pitch.
Interactive product visualisation
The trouble with online shopping is the lack of tangibility, leading consumers to feel confused regarding the purchase of certain products. When shopping online, doubts like the quality, size and feel of any product are factors that play into decision making. In some cases, high quality images are not enough to satisfy customers’ doubts. This is why extensive product descriptions are necessary. Use informative product videos and immersive 360 degree online shopping experiences to create tangible elements that the consumer can judge, before making a purchase decision.
Virtual reality meets shopping
The usage of virtual reality, augmented reality and 3D imaging quenches consumers’ need to interact with a product before purchasing. VR allows customers to experience the product by seeing, touching and feeling. These experiences work to remove doubts left in consumers’ minds after referring to online product descriptions and reviews.
The online shopping store, Converse incorporates both personalisation and interactive product visualisation in their ‘Design your own converse’ campaign. They provide the option for consumers to create a design for a custom pair of shoes online, according to their preferences. Users have a 360 degree view of their design with the ability to turn, flip and zoom. Personalised? Check. Interactive? Check.
Online stores, especially health and wellness stores like Aulogy and Gainful, create totally customised products based on an individuals’ health needs and goals. VR is a useful tool for the next step up in eCommerce.
Maximise Artificial Intelligence
AI assistants take on a number of tasks that were previously typically assigned staff members, such as handling inquiries to make it easier for sellers to focus on other aspects of their eCommerce business.
Increase in AI technologies for eCommerce
Online sellers are reported to have spent $7.3 billion on AI by 2020, as the force driving retailers to provide personalised customer experience is peaking. As per the Statista 2017 report, 34% of respondents felt comfortable getting answers to their questions from AI. We are relying on AI increasingly in the eCommerce field to increase sales and streamline workflows.
Get your Chatbots ready to talk
Customers’ overall shopping experience gets boosted with chatbots fulfilling a number of customer service needs, like answering questions about a product or discussing a complaint. Chatbots can help to guide the user journey smoothly and efficiently. Learning from conversations with customers through AI, chatbots help evolve a better personalised eCommerce experience for users. Make sure you are using them for an interactive customer experience.
Go green and get ahead!
Eco-friendly eCommerce is highly-regarded for shopping now and in the future
During an increasingly problematic climate crisis, people’s consciousness is driven to eco-friendly options (especially among the younger generation there is a trend for shopping green). Customers want to support businesses that are doing their best to reduce carbon footprints. With 87% of customers agreeing to buy brands that have eco-friendly practices, it's not just millenials looking for eco-friendly options. 73% of customers research household cleaning and personal care products to find the environmental impact before purchasing.
Sustainable packaging solutions
eCommerce brands are reducing shipping waste by using recycled or biodegradable materials. Skincare brand Banish sends its products in branded socks rather than bubble wrap to reduce waste and single-use packaging, and makeup mogul Mecca allows you to opt in for sustainable packaging for deliveries. To sail yourself safely in the green consumerism wave, ensure that your online selling environment is keen and green. Reach the market mindset and try sourcing products only from organisations with eco-friendly practices, and adapt the practices of your business for a greener future.
Maintaining your eCommerce sales growth is getting more and more difficult with the increasing competition. Incorporate these trends into your eCommerce strategy in 2020 to keep your products in consumers’ minds.
