Buzzing Trends in E-commerce Development: What to Expect in the Future?

Guita Blake once said, “Today’s smart retailer is engaging in a new era of shopping experience, combining the human touch and technology to deliver a more tailored consumer experience.”

The E-commerce market is always evolving, and this year has been no exception. Merchants are enhancing their E-commerce companies more than ever to meet customers where they are.

E-commerce transforms our online purchases with artificial intelligence, machine learning breakthroughs, augmented and virtual reality, speech technology, blockchain, and drone delivery. These technologies improve the client experience and e-commerce's efficiency, security, and accessibility.

Fasten your seatbelts as we explore the fascinating world of E-commerce and the developing technologies that are revolutionizing the retail scene in this MarsDevs guide!

What’s the state of online shopping in 2023?

Before 2024 begins, it is worthwhile to assess the state of online retail in 2023. That way, when Q1 arrives, your E-commerce company will be prepared for whatever the new year has in store.

Online sales are becoming increasingly crucial in retail. Statista predicts that Internet sales will account for about 20% of all worldwide retail sales during 2023. According to projections, internet purchases will be a quarter of global retail sales by 2026.

Online shopping has gained in popularity in recent years. Global internet sales were nearly $5 trillion in 2021, predicted to rise by 56% to reach $8 trillion by 2026.

Changes in consumer behavior over the last few years, largely owing to lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, have pushed customers to purchase more regularly online. Currently, 57% of US customers purchase online at least once a week.

Also, Amazon is still the most popular E-commerce site among top US retailers. As of June 2022, the retail behemoth controlled about 38% of the market. Walmart is far behind, with 6.3%, and Apple is third, with 3.9%. But what does the future hold for? Let’s take a look at the trends!

7 trends raging in the E-commerce space

Staying current on E-commerce trends allows online businesses to include every required approach to catch customers' attention and enhance conversions. Let's get you up to speed on all of the biggest E-commerce trends for 2023 and beyond — and help you capitalize on them to stay ahead of your competition and prosper.

1. Cultivating long-term consumer connections is more crucial than ever:

Due to rising competition and advertising expenditures, you must maximize your client's lifetime value (LTV). You must cultivate long-term connections with clients to retain them within your company's ecosystem to accomplish this. Increasing client LTV and retention by 5% might increase your company's earnings by 25%.

Before proactively enhancing client retention, you must acquire feedback on their experiences. Monitor analytics data closely to spot shopping trends and measure customer receptivity to your products, marketing initiatives, and outreach activities. Creating a reward or loyalty program is another excellent strategy to foster long-term partnerships.

For example, Blume, a self-care store, offers an excellent loyalty program called Blumetopia. They call their points "Blume Bucks." Customers can earn Blume Bucks by following the business on social media, alerting their friends about the firm, and purchasing orders.

2. Augmented reality and virtual reality will be ubiquitous:

According to McKinsey & Company's 2022 research, over half of the desired customers are interested in utilizing "metaverse" technologies to purchase in the next five years, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

Users no longer need to go shopping to view how a piece of furniture, clothing, or jewelry might appear in person. Brands and retailers may now use visual AI, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) to allow customers to examine products visually.

For example, Burberry has introduced augmented reality technology into its smartphone app to increase consumer interaction and allow buyers to see what things would look like if they wore them.

3. More online shoppers are using voice search:

As Azadeh Yazdan said, “AI is an engine poised to drive the future of retail to all-new destinations. The vital hack to success is the skill to source information from big data to resolve issues and elevate performance.”

Consumers today are accustomed to rapid satisfaction; many want to save time typing in queries while searching for items. More than 60% of buyers prefer to use their voice to search for items. Despite the potential limitations of voice search, technology is continually advancing, and customers have already embraced it.

Considering this, make your material more accessible via voice search. Specifically, you should:

• Take control of your Google Business Profile.

• Get your business listed on sites like Yelp and Yellow Pages.

• Collect customer feedback.

• Adopt the best SEO tactics.

Using these ideas, you can prepare your site for voice search and follow in the footsteps of leading businesses such as Amazon.

4. Personalization will be the new normal:

“Predictive personalization has been on the rise with the advent of more sophisticated AI and the ability to harvest and analyze the resulting data quickly,” says Sharad Varshney.

One of the most recent retail trends is a significant push toward providing consumers with focused, personalized experiences. If and when third-party cookies are prohibited, it may become more difficult to provide individualized client experiences.

You may embrace this trend by adopting first-party data collecting and other information-gathering tactics. For example, Spartan Race, a global obstacle race organizer, has included customization in its marketing strategy.

The company sends location-based emails to prospective consumers to increase engagement and sales. These emails promote forthcoming events in the recipient's area and provide discounts for races in their area.

5. Headless E-commerce brings retailers more room to grow:

Headless E-commerce technology divides the back and front ends of a web-based store. Adopting a headless CMS for E-commerce has several further benefits, including:

• Increased back-end flexibility.

• Better sales and content marketing as a result of improved SEO.

• Better omnichannel selling across desktop, mobile, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

• Connection to all of your brands and retailers in one location.

Nike is one of the companies that has gone headless. A headless CMS system allows the worldwide footwear and clothing conglomerate to manage its different shops and digital assets. Going headless has also enabled Nike to take a mobile-first strategy to retail, putting them ahead of the curve and opening up new income prospects.

6. AI helps E-commerce store owners predict customer behaviors:

The E-commerce business has swiftly embraced artificial intelligence (AI) technology to understand customers better and increase sales. Brands have prioritized AI adoption, with 51% of E-commerce organizations actively focusing on incorporating artificial intelligence into their operations.

AI does more than only assist companies in entering the thoughts of their customers. This game-changing technology can also help with other E-commerce procedures. AI is especially effective for inventory management since it can forecast future product demand, aid with product reordering, and prevent stockouts.

Hence, forward-thinking brands and merchants will begin to use advanced AI's real-time data analytics. With AI, brands will benefit from advanced E-commerce fraud detection & prevention!

7. Chatbots are redefining customer service:

Chatbots have taken over the E-commerce sector and show no signs of slowing down. Experts predict that by 2024, shops will spend $142 billion on virtual assistants. Chatbots may serve several purposes during the purchase process, regardless of whether businesses target B2B, D2C, or B2C clients.

Furthermore, according to a recent poll, 62% of consumers would rather use an online chatbot than wait for a human to answer the phone! Take Ruffwear, for example. Chatbots are used by Ruffwear, a pet accessories shop, to communicate with site visitors proactively.

The chatbot's icebreaker is tailored to the page the client is visiting. If a customer hits Ruffwear's Dog Boots Fit Guide website, the chatbot will inquire if they need assistance selecting a pair of boots for their four-legged buddy.

Stand out in a crowded E-commerce landscape!

These E-commerce buying trends indicate that online purchases will continue to rise in popularity in 2023 and beyond. As online consumers grow, E-commerce companies will continue to embrace new technologies and trends to attract and keep customers.

Companies must capitalize on these trends to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive online buying world. Determine your target audience's preferences and devise a strategy to meet them there.

So, invest in bespoke E-commerce website design to offer your brand a fighting chance in the vast sea of e-commerce firms with MarsDevs! Book a free 15-minute call with us!