So we have landed in 2019 and the competition in the eCommerce market seems to be growing more with each passing day. Well, this fact is more clear than ever that staying ahead in this industry wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea now. Keeping your business to the list of successful ones would require some extra efforts from your end. The market growth of the past few years and upcoming advancements in the eCommerce industry leads us straight to the need of some popular and dynamic trends. So, if you are keeping a track of these trends, you can never go wrong in giving a sky-high growth to the eCommerce platforms.
5 secret keys to the success of an eCommerce business:
1. Augmented Reality:
Augmented reality helps eCommerce sites to improve the customer shopping experience. AR helps in connecting the best of both worlds together. But wait, do we exactly know about this secret mantra? Well, when you connect the real world with digital elements via any mode like smartphone, cameras etc. that’s when you create Augmented reality (AR). Right from offering better product view to enhancing the overall shopping experience for the user, both technologies have their own significance. For example:
- Lenskart is one of the leaders in the spectacles market and also an eCommerce giants company based in India. Their unique feature known as ‘3D Try on’(based on AR) allows users to check how a frame looks on their face with a photo perception before actually making the purchase. It is easy to use and has continued to evolve its offering. This feature can be used on both web and app formats.
- Another example we can see of Sephora. This company uses the AR feature on its website to let users check how a dress look on them or how they look after applying full face make up before purchase. This helps them to get the right product and can confidently buy it for themselves.
Augmented reality has already benefitted the mobile app market. Today’s generation is more advanced and demanding when it comes to new technologies. So, if you want your business to stand out, think about incorporating augmented reality or virtual reality.
2. Voice Search:
Easier navigation is a must-have in your eCommerce business. There is no doubt that voice search was a boom in 2018 and will be significantly growing in 2019 as traditional search is breaking down more use of voice search. Online store owners have already adopted the voice search functionality for their online eCommerce business. According to statista, 35 percent of users stated that they would consider purchasing food via their voice assistant in the future. Some latest gadgets for voice search like Google Play, Alexa by Amazon, Amazon Echo etc. are some of the best innovations for eCommerce platforms. Both, AR and voice search will definitely grow eCommerce industries to the next level in terms of business growth and opportunities.
3. Artificial Intelligence:
Artificial intelligence will definitely be pulling its weight in the marketing world this year as AI is now powering customer segmentation, retargeting, push notifications, click tracking etc. Visual search techniques are already boosted in eCommerce.
But What is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial Intelligence refers to the intelligence showcased by machines. AI boosts machines to think, respond and perform tasks like human beings. It also helps machines learn from experience and adjust to new input. It increases precision and accounts for more accuracy and fewer errors, which means greater work efficiency. The AI analyses more and deeper data for valuable insights and can add to the capabilities of various devices with its smart, useful algorithms.
For example:
- Flipkart, one of the biggest e-commerce companies in India, is turning to Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to solve the complicated address puzzle, the most unique problem in India, as many customers write the same address in different ways. So AI helps to detect the exact location by understanding different formats of address and makes this complicated process easy.
- Amazon is the first one to use this technology to generate product recommendations according to customer views on a product. This trend helped Amazon to grow to the next level in terms of business growth.
4. Mobile Applications:
As we all know, smartphones and tablets are the unavoidable need of eCommerce industry as they provide connectivity with the huge mobile audience. The steady shift from internet access on desktops and laptops to browsing on smartphones has been rather swift. An online store owner who has not developed a mobile app for their eCommerce website should consider the increasing demand of smartphones and must take their website business to app market if they are really looking forward to expanding their business. There is an efficient way to create a mobile app without any technical or coding knowledge. It’s a hassle free way to upgrade your eCommerce website into mobile apps(Android and iOS).
Moreover, if you already own eCommerce mobile apps then keep a check that whether the apps are updated to the latest trends and innovation. This could be a boom for enhancing the revenue of your store. Thus, 2019 is likely to bring about a brighter future for mobile app development, either we will see some brand new mobile app development trends or a huge upgrade from what users are already using.
5. Dropshipping:
The newbie eCommerce businesses can think about this trend as it can prove profitable to them with small capital. Dropshipping is the process in which the store owner doesn’t physically store the product but could manage the purchase as the shipment is been processed directly to the buyer via third party vendor. It has great advantage for small and medium sellers, that is no inventory. Seller doesn’t require to purchase a large number of goods and keep them in stores. It increases the revenue of small businesses thus gives sellers more confidence to continue using this technique.
- Amazon: If you get to know that an order is coming from a third party supplier and not Amazon.com, then they are utilizing the drop shipping technique. Amazon is a partially using the drop shipping method which helped in fulfilling its own product shipments.
- Zappos is an example of a company that started as a drop shipping company then transitioned to handle their own inventory after they wanted more control over their business.
So, the steady growth of global e-commerce by dropshipping is profitable for sellers who are engaged in the e-commerce business.
Conclusion:
Well, one thing is for sure that these tricks aren’t a secret to you anymore. The above-listed tips and their concerned examples would surely help you in uplifting your eCommerce business. Each trend has its own importance and requires to be used wisely for abundant growth and success if used wisely.