The rise in e-commerce has been manifest for years now, and companies of all sorts are making more efforts to create a user-friendly customer experience. However, to do so, it is crucial to keep up with today’s trends for sales to grow. Here are the top e-commerce trends to consider in 2021.
Social Media
Social media is a powerful instrument for e-commerce businesses. It should be considered as a marketing tactic and a customer service tool to retain and attract customers. Whether you explore Facebook product retargeting or Instagram’s organic shopping functionality, the key is to identify where your customers spend their time and meet them with content that inspires them to make a purchase. For an inspiring social presence, you need to create an online community of like-minded people with similar interests and connect with your members so that they feel more comfortable in making a purchase. Social media marketing, if done effectively, can be as simple as posting relevant content on Instagram, tweeting back to customers on Twitter and encouraging questions through Facebook Messenger.
Mobile Optimization
Many consumers use their mobile phones to make purchases, with convenience and availability being major priorities for them. If you want your products to sell through online platforms, then you’ll have to make your mobile site as user-friendly as possible. As a small business owner, you need to make sure that your customers have a great user experience on their smartphones. However, mobile optimization relates to more than just web design, covering everything from chat support to optimized checkout. So, you also need to ensure that you accept digital wallet payments like Apple Pay, Amazon Pay or PayPal to increase conversion rates and lower abandonment.
Brick and Mortar
If your business also has a location of Brick-and-Mortar location, then you need to maintain both an online and in-store experience that will help you in maintaining a competitive edge in the industry. Precisely, businesses with a physical location can offer omnichannel options, like in-store pickup, to your customers. Furthermore, physical stores allow you to better connect with your customers and allow customers to better interact with the brand. Make sure your aesthetics and your workers accurately represent your business.
Influencer Marketing
Notably, social media influencers can be a great marketing investment for your business. Fundamentally, you can find a well-known, trusted source in your industry and sponsor them to endorse your product or service on their social platform. Remember that brands that use influencers with highly engaged followers have increased awareness, traffic and sales for their e-commerce site. So, if you own a small business, then you can leverage this trend by finding and working with several micro-influencers that are in line with their ideal customers.
Artificial Intelligence
Today, AI is impacting e-commerce in different ways, starting from chatbots to voice search. Therefore, integrating AI into your marketing efforts will keep your brand relevant. Usually, consumers expect an immediate response to the questions or concerns they may have. And since you can’t always answer every individual, chatbots are a great option. Furthermore, adding voice search and machine learning into your business can also be one of the best options. Therefore, to leverage this trend, it is important that you understand how best to use it for your brand and audience.