10 Trends Changing the Future of eCommerce.

Posted June 17, 2022

eCommerce is driving the change and eCommerce brands are now focused on creating memorable brand experiences for audience by reducing friction in the buying process and selling everywhere. The future lies in increasing convenience for merchants and shoppers and improving omnichannel experience with a goal to enhance shopping experience.

Here are top 10 trends that will decide the future of eCommerce order fulfillment:

1. The Widespread Adoption of Online Shopping is Driving Retail Businesses into International eCommerce

Since the pandemic, there has been a greater adoption of eCommerce, which has boosted the growth of eCommerce share of retail sales. As a result, there are more chances of cross-border eCommerce trade. A retail business should try to find if international expansion is right for them by considering the demand for their products in the global market. Additionally, they must take payment options, cross-border shipping, and cross-cultural marketing into consideration before making the decision.

2. Automation Improves Productivity & Growth

Robotics and machine learning continue to be the drivers of automation. They are being widely preferred to help the growth of the supply chain.

Additionally, when big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning combine, the trio can automatically optimize different processes, reducing time and effort that was otherwise involved in the completion of those tasks.

Now automation in the form of machine learning is being used to drive purchase decisions. eCommerce personalization is one area where machine learning and artificial intelligence can combine to give customers a better experience.

Now retailers have the power of automation to personalize a shopping experience, optimize price, implementing a marketing campaign, and gain better customer insights.

3. Voice-assisted Technology & Headless Commerce

Consumers feel more comfortable with voice-assisted technologies than ever before. It is still the beginning. Combined with headless commerce, the voice commerce trend enjoys a bright future. The future looks promising for voice-assisted technology in combination with IoT devices.

4. PWAs Driving Mobile Commerce Experience

Progressive Web apps are the future of web apps. They are highly capable and reliable, giving an experience of a platform-specific application. Their lightning-fast speed regardless of the network adds to their popularity.

Shopping on mobile devices across the globe will continue to be a popular option in the future too. The combination of PWA with headless commerce architecture promises to provide a fast and reliable shopping experience in mobile.

5. Customer Experience Drives Development

With the ongoing shift toward a digital-first world, a rich, compelling experience can alone help a business make an impact in a crowded eCommerce market.

Now is the time to ensure a consistent experience across channels and devices. The idea of stopping within your digital storefront is stale. Deliver an omnichannel brand experience.

6. Offline Experiences are not the same

Since there’s a shift toward digital, brands must consider improving customer experience by adopting eCommerce order fulfillment options, such as buy-online, pick-up-in-store (BOPIS). Retailers offering buy-online, return-in-store and BOPIS registered significant growth in Q1 2020.

Contactless tech capabilities are fast catching interest of buyers and are here to stay.

7. Personalized Payments & Online Checkout

eCommerce stores can add to the customer experience by offering low interest financing options. That means shoppers can make bulk purchases without having to pay all at once. It will help to accept a variety of payment options to attract a wider audience.

With more tiers of financing, brands have plenty of options to please customers and offer a personalized experience.

8. Data Analysis

As data is the biggest driver of eCommerce change, selling DTC (direct to consumers) is one way to know customers. The key is to collect data that will guide smarter decisions and help the growth of eCommerce sales. Brands that harness the power of data will easily get an edge, helping them make eCommerce decisions.

9. B2B eCommerce

By optimizing their digital journey, business-to-business (B2B) can make better strides in the changing eCommerce landscape. When buyers expect a seamless experience, B2B must focus on improving the customer journey with UX and CX.

The future sees B2B offering more payment options for better experience for both the buyer and the seller.

10. Social Selling

Survival in the challenging eCommerce landscape is tough without having a strong and active presence in social media. Social commerce will only continue to grow in importance over time. With Facebook and Instagram offering a better purchase experience for buyers without leaving the platform, more and more shoppers are encouraged to choose online shopping.

Bottom Line

Thinking of the future, eCommerce brands cannot ignore these trends in the global online market. No flashy experience can replace industry best practices even in the online world. So brands must focus on usability and take measured risks. Test and trial are the way forward.

Last but not the least, timely order fulfillment will continue to drive the consumer experience in the global shopping landscape.

If you are looking to add to your customers’ positive experience, you may want to partner with Elite OPS for delivering the best eCommerce order fulfillment experience. We are a reliable, trusted 3PL logistics provider for small and large businesses. ELITE OPS is the right solution for warehousing, product storage and shipping needs.

Elite OPS has been a leader in Shipping and Logistics for over 25 years. Contact Us to find out how we can help you Save Time and Money on Procurement as a Service, eCommerce Order Fulfillment, and Kitting and Assembly.