What the Latest Trends in E-commerce Mean for Your Business

By 2020, e-commerce sales are expected to exceed $4 trillion and account for more than 14% of retail spending. If there’s one thing we know for certain, it’s that e-commerce is a growing industry. E-commerce is such a big part of the consumer landscape that it’s hard to remember that Amazon, the world leader in e-commerce, is only 23 years old.
When put in perspective, e-commerce is still in its infancy.
As e-commerce matures, we should expect trends and changes to fuel the growth. There’s a lot of exciting things happening in e-commerce right now, and in some ways the entire landscape is changing.
So, what changes can you expect to see for your e-commerce business in the near future? Here are 3 trends that you should be paying attention to.

Multichannel Management is No Longer an Option

Let’s talk about touchpoints. People love to browse, especially on their mobile devices. We all do it. What might start off as an innocent Google search for an item quickly escalates into a mini obsession.
A consumer might spot a great new handbag on a Pinterest board, visit the company on social media, compare prices, check out Amazon and make other stops along the way before deciding to purchase. These stops are known as touchpoints.
Multichannel management is the skill of understanding where customers are looking at your brand and how to best leverage touchpoints for generating conversions.
The problem is that multichannel management is time consuming, and even confusing at times. E-commerce businesses need to be looking at developing multichannel management systems that pull everything together, manage inventory and sales with minimal assistance.

Focus on Mobile Purchasing

There once was an assumption that customers browsed on mobile devices but made most of their e-commerce purchases from a desktop. Today, that trend is changing.
Shopify is a great example of where change is happening. This past Black Friday, mobile purchases exceeded desktop purchases on Shopify’s site. This means it’s time to really start looking at the mobile purchase experience.
Mobile optimization is key, but so is paying attention to comfort factors like accelerated checkouts and a mobile first payment system.

Leveraging Micro-moments

The switch to a higher rate of mobile purchasing is also changing how we define micro-moments. The mindset of the mobile consumer is generally different from that of a desktop user. They’re looking for different things and following a separate thought process.
E-commerce businesses should be taking a new perspective on micro-moments. Customers making a mobile purchase are often experiencing one of the following things.

• They have time to spare and want to make progress on a major plan or goal.
• They have an immediate problem or need and want to make a quick purchasing decision.
• They’re swept up in the moment and find an offer impossible to resist.

E-commerce business are starting to play around with how to best reach potential customers in each of these micro-moments.
Are you prepared for all the trends and changes fueling e-commerce growth? Whether you’re looking for an overhaul in your digital strategy, or are in search of the best web design team in Nashville, we’re here to help. Contact JLB Works today, and let’s talk about the future of your e-commerce business.