E-commerce has become a growing phenomenon in today’s world. It would be hard to imagine a world without e-commerce given that e-commerce has brought a lot of ease, reliability, and options for end-consumers. The Covid-19 pandemic whereas brings us a lot of damages and downs, on the other hand, it caused some industries to experience substantial growth in terms of both revenue and popularity. E-commerce is one of them.
When the people of almost every country on the planet were forced to minimize the physical attraction with each other and get themselves locked inside their homes, e-commerce emerged as an alternative to fulfill their various needs in tougher times.
When we talk about how rapidly the e-commerce industry is growing, we must not forget to state some of the reasons why it’s growing so fast? What was missing in the previous retail model that led to the rapid growth in e-commerce platforms? Also, despite seeing the amazing rise of the e-commerce industry, what can we expect out of it in the year 2021?
All this and many more will be discussed in this piece. But, before getting started, let’s have a look at the remarkable transformation of the e-commerce industry from the year 2017 onwards.
The above chart shows how e-commerce has progressed over the years and seeing this enormous growth, one can easily forecast what lies ahead for e-commerce.
5 E-commerce Trends in 2021:
- E-commerce Will Continue to Grow:
Back in the day, when e-commerce was not very famous, it was considered to be something very luxurious and meant for a specific society-class. There were many reasons for that for example, products on e-commerce stores were expensive, the internet was not cheaply available to the masses, and less knowledge e-commerce world, etc.
But as time progresses, things started to change and e-commerce became the word of mouth almost in every part of the world. This resulted in the existence of some renowned e-commerce giants such as Amazon, Alibaba, and Walmart, etc. These 3 e-commerce platforms make trillions of dollars in revenues each year and there would be hardly a person who is not aware of these brands.
So, the biggest trend in the e-commerce industry in 2021 is that the industry will continue to grow and this growth may not be very appreciated by the brick and mortar business model. Here are a few reasons why e-commerce will continue to expand in 2021 and years ahead:
- The increasing number of connected devices (mobiles & laptops etc.) to the internet.
- Internet is now cheaply available (it’s free in some western countries)
- People’s behaviors and interests are constantly changing
- It’s effortless and timeless
- Smart Digital Marketing:
Digital marketing and e-commerce go hand-in-hand. In 2021, social media platforms, chatbots, and SEO will remain the best friends of e-commerce as there’s no e-commerce without them. But what is smart marketing? Smart marketing is a trend that is up and running for quite a time now but because the cost for digital marketing was less so no one was paying attention to it.
But, the cost of digital marketing has increased a lot which has made it tough for startups and mid-size businesses to spend more on it. So, what can be the right strategy is to go for smart marketing that is all about spending less and drive more results. By using several data analysis and tracking tools, you can retarget and personalize your digital ad campaigns and analyze real-time customer data and buying behaviors.
- More Focus on Design:
This trend is more customer-oriented and if I’m not wrong, e-commerce is all about customers. According to a survey, customers are more likely to stay on a website that is minimalist, formal, and offers simplicity. This makes unnecessary distractions get out of the way and can win you more customers and sales.
In many cases, a website that looks fine and functional from a company’s perspective fails to impress the customers. So, the best practice to keep up with this trend and avoid losing your customers is to keep a close eye on your product to make it more consumer-focused.
- Comfortable Delivery:
In this duration of time, responsive delivery options attract and make customers loyal. The consumers who will be comfortable with the online buying products will gain their hearts and pockets from affordable international shipping (especially within the closely-situated country areas).
During the first wave of Covid-19, we witnessed some companies started delivering grocery and other products using AI-assisted robots to ensure contact-less delivery with the consumers. Some companies in China and the USA are still following this model as it’s more futuristic and talking about the consumers’ ease, it can’t get better than that.
- Digital Transformation from Retail Model:
Products sold offline generally are now being sold online. Many corporate owners have to move online to save their businesses. During the Covid-19 crisis, others took it as a chance. In any case, it is the best way for a company to reach out to its customers. E-commerce companies (Shopify stores) will work hard to get retail stores online.
Moreover, this is more of a need than a trend. We have seen how retail businesses suffered during the first wave of Covid-19 and still, there are many companies in countries where Covid-19 restrictions are still holding a tight grip. Although, the transition from a retail business model to an e-commerce business is not easy, given that it has become affordable to launch online stores, every retail business should consider it.
There are a few takeaways from this post, here’s a summary of those:
- The E-commerce industry is rapidly growing
- Getting an e-commerce trend is affordable and easy
- Design your e-commerce store as keeping in sight customers’ user experience
- The only way for the retail industry to thrive is to transform digitally
About the Author:
This piece is written and formatted by Mirza Hamza – an expert content writer and content marketer at SoftCircles. He’s been writing technical IT-related blogs and covering different aspects so software development and the IT industry for the past 3 years.
Wrap Up:
I hope this article serves you in the best way and motivates you to get your all-new e-commerce (in case you don’t have it at present) or if you one, keep a close eye on these transforming trends to stand out from the competition.
If you are looking to avail top e-commerce development solutions for your company, SoftCircles is a US-based software development company that can help you make your digital transformation effort-less.
