E-commerce is nothing new, but it has indeed gained much more popularity in recent times. During the coronavirus pandemic, an increased number of people started to buy goods online, as brick and mortar stores were closed.
For businesses across any industry, e-commerce yields a big potential.
Being able to reach huge amounts of customers anywhere means that companies can boost brand awareness and grow profits. But how does a successful e-commerce business work?
If you are considering e-commerce for your company, then keep on reading. We are about to reveal the top seven e-commerce trends to help your business thrive.
1. Harness the Power of Artificial Intelligence
Learning how to use new technologies is vital for your business to succeed in the digital era. One of the most cutting-edge solutions is, without any doubt, artificial intelligence (AI).
One of the most impressive benefits generated by AI is the ability to learn a lot more about your customers. With this technology, your company will be able to offer customers a personalized shopping experience. This, in turn, drives satisfaction and retention up, enabling you to overtake your competitors.
2. Discover the Potential of Augmented Reality
Another advanced and fascinating technology for e-commerce is augmented reality (AR). This can be particularly helpful in specific cases, such as automotive ecommerce.
With AR, customers can get a much better and more realistic feel for the product they are interested in. AR enables customers to explore a product much more closely and in a lot more detail from the comfort of their own homes.
This, of course, is very handy at a time when in-store experiences are still quite limited due to the pandemic. Harnessing AR to showcase your products can be the key to closing many more sales than ever before.
3. Incorporate a Friendly and Helpful Chatbot
A third and very successful technology tool that you will want to consider for your e-commerce business is a chatbot. Chatbots are a lot more than automatic response systems. You can create a super-sophisticated bot that interacts with your customers in an almost-human way.
A friendly and knowledgeable chatbot helps shoppers feel more at ease, and better looked after. This can enable you to recreate the high-quality in-store experience that they were used to online. Using a chatbot also helps to reposition your brand as a leading-edge, customer-centric one ready to embrace the challenges and opportunities of e-commerce.
4. Go Big on Video
Communicating via video has never been as important and appreciated as it is now in our post-pandemic world. So, why not use this tool to create an even stronger and more relatable connection with your customer base?
Video is a powerful (and rather inexpensive) marketing tool that can help you close more sales faster. Make sure that the video content that you film and share is short, captivating, and to-the-point.
You want to provide your viewers with plenty of reasons to engage with your business and buy your products, not overload them with meaningless video content. Ultimately, your video content will need to be focused on educating your audience and providing them with tools to enrich their lives.
5. Remember To Do Your Bit for the Planet
Being eco-friendly is not a fashionable trend: it’s a vital mission that every business should embrace. And because more and more people are now committing to shopping only from sustainable brands, your company will need to become one of them, too.
For example, you’ll need to think strategically when choosing your product packaging, as that will already say a lot about your brand. Choosing sustainable packaging and using ethical suppliers can contribute to creating a positive brand image. You may also want to choose a charity that relates well with your brand image and that you regularly donate to and engage with.
6. Explore the Power of Social Media Marketing
Most businesses, these days, have a social media presence. But, to be successful and drive up sales, you need a well-thought-out strategy to make the most of your social media accounts.
Cue social media marketing. This type of marketing can incorporate a variety of channels and platforms. Still, the aim is the same: to get more and more people acquainted with your brands, to create meaningful connections with your community, and to lead your followers to buy your products and services.
To start, you could focus on one single platform, like, for example, Instagram, that features a useful “swipe up” option to enable users to make purchases directly from the site. Then, you might want to get in touch with a couple of influencers so that they can help to create exciting content about how amazing your brand is. Once you get the hang of it, you can move on to other platforms and channels and explore different marketing tools each time.
7. Improve the Checkout Experience
One of your last points of contact with a customer is during their check-out experience, which is why it is important you have a smooth and easy way to complete check-out. Slow and complicated checkouts, in fact, can often prevent a customer from finalizing the current purchase, as well as putting them off any future visits.
These, in turn, can cause your cart abandonment rates to skyrocket, and you might risk losing customers. Look after this final part of their buying journey, and you’ll see an increase in sales and customer satisfaction.
Ready To Use E-commerce To Drive Your Business Forward?
Whatever industry your business operates in, e-commerce can be a valuable tool to increase brand awareness, grow your customer base, and boost sales.
The key to making the most e-commerce tools and platforms is to stay up-to-date with the latest trends. Leveraging social media and exploring new technologies, and personalizing the customer experience are some of the best ways to succeed at e-commerce.
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