Ecommerce is growing at an exponential rate, and the market continues to expand in new directions. In this rapid growth environment, there are always new trends emerging that will change how ecommerce operates in the future.
Some of these trends are more obvious than others, but they all have a significant impact on how ecommerce functions as a whole.
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest ecommerce trends that will change the future of ecommerce.
1. The rise of collaborative commerce
In the past, ecommerce has mainly been about the seller making an offer that the customer accepts.
Now, it’s moving towards a more collaborative model where the seller and logistics partner work together for a better, more customized experience for all parties involved. This shift is mainly driven by the growth of B2B ecommerce.
B2B ecommerce market is growing slowly but steadily, with the global B2B ecommerce sales predicted to reach $8.7 trillion by 2023.
Ecommerce platforms like Alibaba, Amazon and eBay are seeing huge growth in the B2B sector, and they’re investing heavily in the future of their ecommerce business.
2. Diversification of marketing channels
The rise of new channels will dominate ecommerce marketing in the future.
The one main channels that are expected to take over is voice search. Voice search is becoming more and more popular, with the number of people using voice search predicted to increase from 8% to 39% by 2021.
Voice search is also predicted to grow as a method for finding products, as about 70% of people are likely to start using it for this purpose in the future.
3. Blockchain technology in ecommerce
Blockchain technology has hit the mainstream recently, and it’s currently being applied to almost every industry you can think of. Ecommerce is no exception to this, and there are already some companies applying blockchain technology to their business model.
The biggest use of blockchain for an ecommerce website is in supply chain management.
Supply chains are notoriously difficult to track, and blockchain technology can help by providing an immutable record of each product as it moves through the supply chain.
Blockchain can also be used in ecommerce to fight against online fraud.
Online fraud is expected to cost $100 billion globally but blockchain technology can help reduce this significantly through the use of smart contracts.
4. Advancement of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence has been part of our lives for decades, but it’s only recently that it’s really come into its own. When AI first became a thing, it was mainly used for things like machine translation and complex calculations.
Now, AI has advanced to the point where it can be used for more complex tasks like image recognition and natural language processing. These advances in the capabilities of AI have led to a huge increase in its adoption. It’s something brick-and-mortar stores will miss on.
Almost every major tech company is investing heavily in the development of AI, and ecommerce businesses are following suit with AI adoption rates expected to increase fourfold by 2023. As AI continues to advance, its capabilities will only grow.
5. AI-powered smart shopping experience
As artificial intelligence becomes more developed, it will be able to provide a more personalized shopping experience. This will be especially noticeable in online grocery shopping, which is expected to increase in popularity in the future.
A lot of grocery shopping is likely to be done online in the future.
Grocery delivery services like Amazon Fresh and Peapod are gaining popularity, with around one in seven people have used these services in the past 12 months.
As these services become more popular, AI will play a huge role in providing a personalized shopping experience. Because AI will be able to analyze your shopping habits, it will be able to suggest food that you normally buy.
This will result in a more personalized grocery shopping experience, and it might even save you money by recommending cheaper products.
