8 E-commerce Trends and Recommendations for Right Now
Most are well aware of the numerous changes that have impacted e-commerce over the years. Some of those trends were technological and some economic. In 2023, the industry is going to have to make the best of both challenges and opportunities offered by these changes, with augmented reality being only one of the most recent notable trends.
1. Shopping Through Video
The number of active users of the video platform TikTok is expected to double in 2023 from an already stratospheric 1 billion users. Video in this form is being shared across multiple platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest, as well as website content on product pages and blogs. These videos are user-generated content (UGC) style and provide engaging content showing various products in real life situations, with details, sizing, and quality. Users are responding to real people talking about the products they love and why they love them. Gen Z represents the majority of TikTok users, so procuring these consumers while they are young will increase the chances of their becoming lifetime shoppers. This of course creates strong brand loyalty.
2. More Investment Into Live Shopping
Instagram continues to experiment with live-stream shopping, attempting to replicate the big boom in other markets. Instagram could look to capitalize on this with the launch of a standalone tab enabling users to access live shopping directly. This would emulate the notable successes of some online shopping experiences that individual retailers for companies like LuLaRoe have seen in recent years.
3. Ad Placements In AR and VR
The aforementioned augmented reality (AR) trend is expected by many to become the future of online social interactions. The rise in demand for AR prompted Facebook to make a significant and controversial corporate decision, changing its name to Meta and investing billions of dollars into the development of the metaverse, a revolutionary digital world in which people and brands can thrive. Users’ cravings drive the adoption of augmented reality and virtual reality (VR) for a new and engaging shopping experience. Before the metaverse, Facebook reacted to this changing user behavior by launching Horizon. In this virtual world, users can play games and interact with products and services from brands on the platform. Businesses will be able to launch digital billboards in worlds like Horizons. Users will also be able to purchase items in these virtual worlds to be shipped to their real-life homes.
4. Inflation Workarounds
With the uncertainties that come from both recessionary and inflationary economic conditions, brands need to provide consumers with more options to help them feel like their purchase was worth it, from start to finish to after the purchase. Key suggestions are, ensuring the return process is easy for consumers; that those products that the customers are after are easy to find on the website, and are easy to understand. Also, that buying is easy to act upon. Marketers must consider the implementation of budget-friendly options, such as offering more ways for customers to pay through a ‘Buy Now - Pay Later’ option, or through payment plans, subscription modifications, or paying via cryptocurrencies. Giving customers options here makes them feel empowered in their buying journey while shining a positive light on the brand’s flexibility.
5. Brand Engagement via DMs
As the number of engagements happening within direct messages (DMs) continues to rise, Meta is looking to provide more tools to help brands tap into this shift. Meta recently highlighted the growth in Click-To-Message ads - across Messenger and WhatsApp - hoping to drive further engagements. Marketers should expect additional ad options that align with this new form of engagement.
A caveat however: Whether users actually want to engage with brands in their private DMs is yet to be seen. However, It could be a great way of building a more direct line of communication and understanding between brand and consumer.
6. Diversifying Into New Platforms
With the new year came a new spike in cost-per-clicks (CPCs). As pre-pandemic levels of competition are starting to return, e-commerce saw a rise in CPCs in 2022 compared to previous years. According to Statista, “Regarding the global cost-per-click (CPC) of search advertising, it was found that the CPC in the first quarter of 2022 was at 0.62 U.S. dollars, compared to 0.52 U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2021.” And what is the expectation for 2023 but for these numbers to continue to increase.
Because of this rise in CPCs, it would be a smart move to diversify into as many verticals as possible in 2023. Especially if leadership is planning to broaden the company’s brand awareness, platforms like TikTok and Snapchat typically offer lower CPCs for these higher funnel customers than the typical Google, Bing, or Facebook platforms.
7. Digital Wallets And Biometric Payment Usage
Due to their growing concern around privacy and data protection, consumers are choosing to shop online at e-commerce websites that use digital wallets and payment option platforms like Apple Pay, Paypal, Google Pay, or Venmo. These wallets allow users to pay for online goods and services from their devices without having to enter debit card or bank information into third-party websites or applications. User financial information entered into digital wallets is encrypted, ensuring consumer payment protection versus entering debit/credit card numbers that could potentially be leaked.
Conclusion
A post-pandemic era provides not only a recovery for e-commerce companies but also supplies fertile ground for a rich bounty of new and significant trends for digital marketers for 2023. Key suggestions like DM engagement, digital wallets, and inflation workarounds can create and preserve brand and customer loyalty.
