Ecommerce has always been fast-paced and ever changing, but with the influences of 2020 probably more than ever before. With this unprecedented growth in ecommerce, this is setting the stage for new and interesting trends we will see in 2021.
While design and marketing are obvious essentials to get consumers interested in your shop in the first place, the importance of the checkout journey and experience you create for your customers can easily be underestimated. Yet, these experiences are crucial factors for determining if people actually complete a purchase and return to your shop.
Changed consumer behaviours
Undoubtedly, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on ecommerce had major influences leading to the fact that statistics expect the revenues of online retails to grow up to 6.54 trillion US dollars by 2022, all the way from 3.53 trillion US dollars in 2019.
If you want to read more about the influences the pandemic had on customer behaviours and its impacts, check out our blog about the effects of Covid-19 on ecommerce.
An essential trend researchers pointed out within these changed behaviours are shifts in priorities when it comes to delivery and payment options as well as new values influencing decision making processes. They are also certain that these changed behaviours will have long lasting effects, even when the world economy recovers.
Based on these observations we will present you the 6 top ecommerce trends that will best describe the future of shopping that you should keep in mind when you want your business to be competitive in 2021.
Advanced data security/ fraud protection
With more and more businesses entering the ecommerce market these days, the risk for frauds and data breaches increases - which is a threat for consumers and shops alike. A solution to reduce this threat is coming with Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) that is officially enforced by the EU as of the 1st of January 2021.
The intention behind SCA is to safeguard payments while simultaneously optimizing its usability. By offering new and more intuitive ways for verification (e.g. pins/passwords, hardware tokens, biometric elements) you can facilitate your customers purchase journey to eventually reduce drop offs in conversion. Read more about SCA here.
Omnichannel shopping as new normal
The Covid 19-pandemic has certainly accelerated the shift to more digital shopping. In line with that, studies suggest that especially social media presence - along with the overall presentation of lifestyle affinity - increasingly wins customers. This means that instead of relying on webshops as one single way, consumers use multiple channels - e. g. branded stores, ecommerce platforms and social media - as well as different devices.
The keyword here is omnichannel shopping - which ensures seamless shopping experiences across various channels and devices.
Predictions are that by the end of 2021 mobile devices will make up about 73% of the total ecommerce sales. Surely, people using the phone for online shopping is not breaking news, but together with the general shift towards ecommerce, omnichannel retailing is going to be big in 2021.
How to improve the omnichannel experience for your shop? Next to exploring various channels to reach new audiences, it is crucial to optimize your website for mobile devices. With our Progressive Web Apps you can combine the advantages of webshops and mobile apps easily by using one platform - which allows you to bypass laborious and cost-intensive developing processes while simultaneously enhancing repeat purchases and seamless customer experiences using different channels.
Making more payment methods available
Nowadays, customers expect more personalized shopping experiences than ever before. That also means that to a large extent the availability of preferred payment methods determine if a consumer purchases an item or not.
Therefore, providing the right payment method to the right audience is key, not only to remain competitive in the ecommerce market but also to increase cross-border sales in 2021.
With MultiSafepay you can not only select from a mix of over 30 local and cross-border payment methods, but you can also cover any additional individual payment preferences.
Over the last year, especially the postpay payment options found high popularity. With us, you can choose from a variety of postpay payment methods, such as Klarna for international purchases, Betaal per Maand for large amounts as well as our very own Pay after Delivery.
Artificial intelligence & augmented reality
One safe thing to say is that artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) will be ubiquitous in 2021.
Many customers miss services they were used to from physical stores, such as personal advice and the whole sensory experience of actually seeing, touching and trying items before purchasing.
AI and AR work as substitution for online shops. Using data from previous purchases, AI acts as online in-store assistance, showing products consumers might be interested in. AR imitates physical in-store experiences letting consumers see for example how a product would look like on them.
Implementing AI and AR into your shop makes your shop stick out, enhances consumer experiences and thus, increases your turnover.
Voice commerce search
With people increasingly using smart speakers such as Alexa and Google Assistant, voice commerce is going to be big in 2021. Easy and convenient to use, the numbers of people using voice assistants for shopping in the US alone is predicted to increase by 55% until 2022.
How to optimize your webshop for voice commerce? The easiest way is to optimize your content to appear in voice searches, for example by adding answers to common questions and of course by making sure that your items can be purchased easily via voice commands.
Green consumerism
This one does not seem to be directly connected with ecommerce, but being environmental-friendly has remarkable influences on sales. With consumers rightfully wanting to be more conscious about the environment, favouring businesses that do good in offering eco-friendly products and solutions. By incorporating practices such as using sustainable packaging or sourcing products from fair-trade organizations, businesses not only take their responsibility to support this movement, but also ensure to stay competitive in the future of ecommerce.
What that means for your shop
Though we just named the most important ecommerce trends for 2021 that does not mean they all have to be adapted at once - small changes can make a difference. Seamless payment processes have always been important, but with heightened competition on the market more than ever before.
With more than 20 years of experience in ecommerce, we have the right tools and features to help you optimize your shop for 2021. If you need our help or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Do you want to learn more?
