Considering how big of a presence eCommerce has these days, it should not come as a surprise to see more and more people trying their luck in starting a venture with the intent of making money.
Breaking into a tough market is a significant challenge, but there are many stories of brand owners who started from the bottom and reached a point where they can consider themselves lucky.
One of the approaches to increase your odds of succeeding is to be mindful of what is trending. And note that eCommerce trends are relevant not just to beginners. Established brands also have to keep up with the latest innovations to avoid falling behind the competition.
The purpose of this article is to cover the most prominent eCommerce trends for 2023 and beyond so that you know what to expect.
Top 5 Ecommerce Trends for 2023
1. Freedom to Customize
Modern shoppers have certain expectations when purchasing customizable products. They want quality, of course, but there is also that instance of being free to choose how you want to customize a product.
For instance, high-quality jerseys or t-shirts are bound to sell more if customers can choose colors and fonts themselves. They should be able to upload customization elements from their computer, for example, when shopping, and customize the products directly in the shop if such an option is available.
Implementing the feature can be a hassle, but a store that puts effort into it will have the edge over the competition. And considering how trending customized and personalized products are these days, it would be a waste not to make the most out of the opportunity.
2. Hassle-Free Checkout Process
A hassle-free checkout is another important trend that should not be underestimated. Unfortunately, some stores implement complicated checkouts, which results in abandoned shopping carts.
Some shoppers do not want to register and fill out multiple tabs with the information before they can confirm their purchases.
The fewer steps a checkout process has, the better conversion rates are. If possible, a store should also offer as many different payment options as possible so that consumers have the freedom to choose their preferred method.
3. Voice Shopping
Voice shopping is interesting to consider because the concept is still relatively new. Thanks to the rise of Alexa and other digital voice assistants, it became clear that people appreciate having certain tasks carried out by giving voice commands.
Shopping via voice requires a lot of work because implementing such a feature is not easy. Nevertheless, since it offers an extra layer of comfort for a modern consumer, it would not be a stretch to suggest that this particular trend is bound to pop off as more stores implement it.
It is also worth noting that voice shopping also helps people with disabilities. For someone who has to rely on their voice, having the option to order goods online can make a positive difference.
4. Artificial Intelligence
Automating specific processes with the help of artificial intelligence is another trend that will grow in the future.
For brands that wish to collect vast amounts of data about customer behavior and competition, processing the details is hardly productive. So instead, it makes more sense to leave this processing to computers.
Another example of artificial intelligence benefitting eCommerce is the introduction of chatbots. Replacing real people in customer support with bots that can reply instantly and are available 24/7 is an excellent long-term investment.
Chatbots are also known to learn in real-time to improve their capabilities, which is also great for businesses that want to become more efficient.
5. Virtual Reality
If you look at eCommerce’s drawbacks, one of the biggest standout problems is that people cannot try the goods in person. So they are risking a bit by purchasing stuff online, especially when it comes to things like clothes.
In a physical store, you could put the clothes on and decide whether they fit you or not. Online stores provide size charts and other product descriptions, but those are not necessarily enough to be confident about your choices.
One of the ways to eliminate this disadvantage is by relying on virtual reality. However, the VR approach is hardly perfect because it is expensive, and it is not like every shopper has the necessary equipment to use it.
Nevertheless, with how things are going right now, virtual reality shopping will become quite prominent in the upcoming years. Amazon and Alibaba are already investing money to be one of the first to offer VR shopping, giving these brands an even bigger advantage against their competition.
