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In 2021, almost 20% of all retail sales will come through ecommerce. And with the global pandemic changing people’s shopping habits worldwide, the number of ecommerce sales is set to become even higher in the coming years.
That’s a good representation of the abundance of opportunities for savvy ecommerce stores. Nonetheless, it also means that surviving in the industry requires finding ways to innovate and gain an advantage over the competition.
That’s why following the new development and trends that reshape the ecommerce world is absolutely crucial. You need to figure out how to communicate effectively with your customers. You must understand how to provide them with a seamless and convenient experience that matches their expectations.
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With that in mind, let’s look at some of the most crucial ecommerce trends that will set the tone for ecommerce sales in 2021 and beyond.
Video Will Become a Prominent Sales Tool
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Video marketing is one of the most powerful ways to drive sales in 2021 and beyond. People watch online videos every day. Therefore, it’s an excellent opportunity for ecommerce brands to get in front of a broader audience, introduce them to new products, and generate sales.
What’s more, the possibilities of video content are virtually endless. They allow you to showcase your products and provide your customers with all the information they need to make a buying decision.
By creating seamless shopping experiences through video, you can tap into a new segment of your audience. This will increase the reach of your ecommerce brand and you will make more sales in the process.
So, while traditional sales and marketing approaches should still be used, adding more video content will serve you across everything you do. You can educate your audience about your products, showcase the features, share customer experiences, and show how your product works in action.
And if you make your videos engaging and relevant, they will generate traffic naturally. They might even go viral, further increasing your reach and your ecommerce sales potential.
Voice Search Will Launch Entire Businesses
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The way people search for and find products is continually evolving. And with virtual assistants becoming a prominent part of many homes, voice search is also starting to affect how ecommerce sales are made.
Because 72% of people who own a virtual assistant use it daily, many online purchases begin with a search. In other words, people start by searching for an item using voice search. And for ecommerce businesses, that’s an excellent opportunity. So take advantage of this trend and increase your store’s ecommerce sales. You can get ahead of the competition and tap into an increasing segment of your audience when you do.
Moreover, voice search SEO is not nearly as crowded as traditional SEO. This means that companies that provide a convenient audio-based experience to their users will be able to grow sales faster than those who don’t.
Chatbots Will Become Smarter
When they first began to appear in the eCommerce world, chatbots were considered more of a nuisance than helpful by many users. They could provide only the most basic information at first. What’s more, they weren’t very interactive because marketers simply didn’t know how to use them yet.
However, 2021 is already turning out to be the year of chatbots. This is because convenient, user-friendly, and easy-to-implement solutions now allow even small ecommerce businesses to embrace the technology. They can use chatbots to enhance the user experience without having to monitor the chat 24/7. This trend is sure to boost ecommerce sales for businesses that tap into it.
Chatbots can direct visitors to useful resources. They can even make helpful suggestions about what a customer might like to purchase. In fact, chatbots combined with outsourced support can even help with failed payment recovery. And they can increase ecommerce sales by preventing failed ones from occurring as often.
Having a chatbot on your site can become an integral tool for improving the user experience. Chatbots can ensure that visitors always receive the help they need to confidently make a purchase.
Support with eCommerce Sales Will Be Even More Important
In the previous section, we talked about chatbots and their increasing importance. But that’s just one part of the overall requirements for customer support that ecommerce stores will have to adhere to.
Long gone are the days when you could add a contact box and a phone number to your store and be done with it. Today’s online shoppers expect to get answers whenever they interact with a brand. What’s more, that might not even be on your website.
Sure, chatbots are great. They offer convenience and immediate answers to problems or questions. But even when it comes to chatbots, you need to consider adding them to your social media channels. That’s where the majority of your conversations with customers might be occurring, after all.
That’s why using tools like a robust WordPress support plugin is so important. They can help you develop a convenient and efficient environment where your support staff can quickly deal with problems.
You need to anticipate the support needs of your audience. Then work to provide a seamless experience throughout their buyer journey. If someone reads a social media post about your products and wants to learn more, they should be able to reach out through the chat and get an immediate response. This should be the case, even if that response is from a chatbot that directs them to valuable resources or a live support team member.
The good news is that when you have a robust support system in place, it will keep your customers happy. Additionally, it will serve as an indispensable sales tool that will create happy ecommerce customers with nearly every interaction that happens on various channels.
People Will Care More About Sustainability
Sustainability is one of the central topics of discussion in 2021. Many consumers in the younger generations are no longer comfortable with making buying decisions just on price. They want to purchase from brands that share their values. They choose brands that are responsible for how they conduct business.
Almost half of the millennials feel guilty after shopping on Amazon. Moreover, the same trends are present with ecommerce brands that don’t clearly establish their values. To attract younger buyers, you must show how your online store is contributing toward a better world.
Whether it’s implementing more sustainable shipping practices, reducing packaging or using recyclable materials, promoting products from ethical sources, or donating part of your profits to worthy causes, there are countless ways how you can cultivate a brand image based on responsible and sustainable selling. And that’s something more and more buyers will start to appreciate in the coming years.
Many brands are actually making sustainability a central part of their branding and message, promoting a more responsible way to shop online and charging more for products that consumers can feel good about buying.
Subscriptions Will Ensure Continuity for eCommerce Sales
One of the biggest challenges of running an ecommerce business is not being able to predict sales fluctuations and future growth. But with the recent rise in subscription ecommerce, many companies can now add more predictability. In short, subscriptions can lead to more recurring sales that provide consistent cash flow.
Today’s consumers are getting used to the convenience of subscribing to receive products regularly. That allows them to get better value for the price. Plus, they do not have to manually shop for the same products repeatedly.
Some users even enjoy the surprise element of subscription boxes. This is a practice that some ecommerce brands have instituted, wherein they curate exciting and new products into each box. Each month subscribers get to enjoy a unique experience on top of the products they have ordered.
As an ecommerce company, you should consider how this might apply in your industry. Then look for ways to build long-lasting relationships with customers through high-value subscriptions that can last for many months.
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Here’s the Bottom Line for eCommerce Sales
The world of ecommerce will continue to become more prominent with each year. But to succeed and maximize your sales potential, you need to keep close track of the current trends and new growth opportunities.
The trends listed in this article will help you ensure that your customers are happy while also reaching new audiences and creating new revenue streams you can build upon.
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