The e-commerce trends to monitor next year
Process automation, customization of your offer, transaction security and sustainability: these are some of the areas that will be mostly affected by the innovative processes that will involve companies, artisans and businesses that sell online. To cope with the constant changes, ideas, adequate technologies and continuous investments are needed, and all this cannot always be met on your own. For this reason, more and more companies that sell online decide to outsource part of their production chain, relying on more specialized and structured partners, which are able to respond quickly and punctually to their needs. Here are the trends to keep an eye on for e-commerce businesses in 2023.
Sustainability. A research recently published by Oliver Wyman entitled Is E-commerce good for Europe? has provided rather flattering results for those who sell on the internet: a consumer who drives to a shop would cause CO2 emissions from 3 to 6 times higher than to those produced by those who buy the same item on the web. From this point of view, selling online represents an opportunity relative to physical stores, but it cannot be the only distinctive element to expand within a new market. In order to remain competitive, it is necessary to take into consideration the growing ecological sensitivity of consumers, introducing low environmental impact work methods into your production process that are able to progressively replace less sustainable practices. Products made according to ethical criteria, eco-friendly packaging and limited energy consumption are elements that, if endorsed by certifications and if communicated appropriately, can play an important role in the development of a company.To facilitate and speed up the ecological transition of your brand, you can turn to specialized companies able to provide resource management services and professional packaging materials, which reduce waste and your environmental impact.
Integration between physical stores and online stores. Multichannel and omnichannel are two terms that are increasingly encountered when addressing issues related to marketing strategies that aim to create consistent shopping experiences, whatever the support the user uses. The big news in e-commerce trends is the creation of physical spaces designed to integrate the offer of virtual stores (so-called "phygital") and offer potential consumers a selection of their catalog to be consulted directly in store. In fact, the opportunity to buy an item online and then pick it up in a physical store or, on the other hand, the option to purchase in a physical store with delivery directly to their home, are two options that are increasingly popular within buyers. This is possible through the automated sharing of purchase data and stocks of the different online and offline sales channels with the advantage of offering a more fluid, easy and satisfying sales experience. For those who sell online, this opportunity implies being able to keep inventory under control, automate the management of shipments and speed up the order fulfillment process.
Purchases via voice assistants. The ability to browse a product catalog, make a purchase and choose shipping methods exclusively through the use of voice assistants, such as Siri, Google Home or Alexa, is already widely established in the American market. This trend is also growing in European countries, so much that companies that sell audio-video content and physical products have for some time been committed to optimizing strategies and channels that ensure quick and safe purchasing methods, including via voice assistants. In addition to making the sales platforms accessible to customers with reduced mobility, this path allows you to make periodic purchases and use increasingly intuitive and rapid methods of researching new products. However, it is necessary to have technologies capable of integrating with these methods of sale, compatible not only with proprietary platforms but also with the main portals and online stores or marketplaces, in order to guarantee rapid and efficient order fulfillment processes, regardless of the technology or the platform used.
Social Commerce. According to an Insider Intelligence report, a quarter of European internet users currently use TikTok. For the most part, these are very young users, but the slice of adult users with ample purchasing power is increasingly consistent. The global market today is increasingly sensitive to the potential offered by social networks: significant, in this regard, is the presence of brands both through direct initiatives, such as the opening of official profiles and paid advertisements, and through indirect strategies, such as use of influencers and ambassadors. This has become so important as more and more users discover and buy products and brands by browsing the social profiles they follow. Relying on specialists who help companies develop their potential and innovate the business in this direction is already widely established as a trend that willincrease again in 2023.
Automation and Artificial Intelligence. Automated systems capable of learning from the actions and habits of consumers represent an increasingly widespread trend that will involve e-commerce in the coming years as well.
The advantages are numerous and affect different aspects. Among them, the ability to generate targeted content and proposals for your target and even to predict conversion percentages based on the period of the month and user history. The use of artificial intelligence in sales processes also has positive effects on the efficiency of the service: chatbots and virtual assistants are increasingly widespread and useful for dispelling any doubts about the characteristics of a product or the methods of purchase, while the automated management of all processes related to the receipt and processing of the order, including packaging and shipping, allow you to complete the processing of an order quickly and with increasingly fewer margins of error. To take advantage of these elements immediately, you can rely on experts, able to automate sales processes by automatically generating shipping labels, traceability codes and offering different levels of service management, with faster processing times.
To keep up with the evolution of the market and anticipate industry trends, you can contact a team of professionals: Mail Boxes Etc. supports you in all aspects related to the activity of your e-commerce and helps you keep the Logistics under control with automation processes always capable of providing cutting-edge solutions adapted to the needs of your business.
