E-Commerce Trends to Watch in 2018
Between Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the general Christmas shopping season, this time of year more than any other highlights just how lucrative the e-commerce industry is in the modern age. Consumers place enormous value in convenience, and few things demonstrate this better than the ability to shop online from the comfort of a couch rather than having to enter the jungles that shopping centers invariably become in November and December. This is a behavior pattern that almost all retailers now recognize, hence the importance of getting their online store right.
E-Commerce Trends to Watch
It has become crucial for e-commerce retailers to recognize the most pertinent trends in the online shopping sphere and devise strategies to take advantage of them. The folks at Creative Canary put together an infographic highlighting the major trends that are set to shape the e-commerce world in 2018, some of which are already in evidence.
Review marketing has been in place for some time, but its value is greater now than at any previous stage, with customers far more willing to trust unbiased reviews than blindly swallow corporate rhetoric. E-commerce retailers could pounce upon the importance of reviews by offering discounts to customers for submitting a review, for example.
Virtual reality is set to become a massive deal in e-commerce over the coming months, with online retailers offering new experiences such as virtual tours of shopping centers and the potential to "virtually" sample a product before buying it. Another rising trend is that of chatbots, with customers expecting to have access to assistance from a retailer regardless of when they’re online. An e-commerce retailer that provides quick and useful replies via chatbots is very likely to increase business.
The infographic below discusses these and several other trending factors in the word of online retail. Those retailers that make the most of such trends are set to dominate the e-commerce market, with the modern online customer fully expecting certain features to be available. Considering how lucrative the e-commerce market has become, online retailers just cannot afford to ignore these burning trends.
Jack Cameron is marketing coordinator at Creative Canary, a web design and development agency.
