The events of 2020 have brought enormous changes to the ecommerce landscape. The massive supply chain disruption we are experiencing has accelerated changes that were already happening, making it more important than ever to stay up-to-date with current ecommerce trends. No one can predict the future of ecommerce, but we’ve put together a list of some trends to watch as we enter the latter half of 2020.
Ethical ecommerce
People are increasingly aware of the environmental and ethical footprint of their consumption, making this a key ecommerce trend. There are a number of movements happening across the world as people put pressure on their governments and industries to provide sustainable solutions to the environmental issues that come with consumerism. Many people feel strongly that companies should help improve the environment. In fact, a study from CGS found that more than 66 percent of consumers consider sustainability when making a purchase and some are even willing to pay more for sustainable products. As people pursue ethically and environmentally friendly products, it’s important for ecommerce sites to think about how their items are produced and determine how to make them more environmentally friendly. Environmental and ethical footprints will continue to be a factor for consumers when online shopping—and companies need to ensure they implement sustainable practices to stay ahead of the competition.
More than 66 percent of consumers consider sustainability when making a purchase and some are even willing to pay more for sustainable products.
A Seamless Omnichannel Experience
Omnichannel fulfillment has become more and more relevant within the last few years, and now it’s one of the ecommerce trends that brands simply cannot ignore. Consumer expectations demand a multichannel experience which means as a retailer, you can’t just focus on sales. Marketing and sales channels need to be complementary to each other, giving consumers consistent experiences across every touchpoint. You need to focus on the customer experience first by personalizing their experience whenever possible, optimizing their mobile device experience, and always engaging with your customers across all channels. It’s important to understand the impact of each channel throughout the customer journey and make sure they have a great experience throughout the journey to ultimately become a long-term customer.
A Case Study in Ecommerce with Nature’s Bakery
After conquering the world of retail distribution, Nature’s Bakery was ready to take on a new market: ecommerce. They needed a class-leading logistics provider with expertise in ecommerce, food storage, distribution, and fulfillment with the capability and technology to flex with demand as necessary—while they focused on what they do best, baking amazing fig bars and brownies. Read on to discover how ITS Logistics created the perfect solution!
Ecommerce personalization using Artificial Intelligence
You’ve certainly heard about artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for years, and both are game changers for the ecommerce sector. As we discussed before, personalization is a huge component of delivering a seamless omnichannel shopping experience for your customers. However, basic personalization is becoming old news. Companies need to provide relevant recommendations and encounters based on the context of a consumer’s interaction. AI allows you to create an algorithm to provide relevant recommendations and touchpoints to people who are interacting with your website. By embracing how AI and ML can help your business truly embrace the need for a personalized experience that customers crave, you can get ahead of the competition.
Expansion of fulfillment options
Innovations will continue to shake up every aspect of ecommerce sales, including how orders are fulfilled. The way that people shop has drastically changed, even in the past few months, and your methods for fulfilling orders need to change along with that. Buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) is an ecommerce trend that continues to blow up, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. It allows customers to easily order and pay for their products online, but head to a brick and mortar store, often the same day, to pick the product up. This allows them to avoid paying extra charges for shipping and not have to wait for packages to be mailed to them. It’s also a circumstance when having a brick and mortar store is advantageous to improve your customer experience. If you don’t have a physical store, consider implementing a flexible return policy that allows online shoppers to mail items back for free if they don’t fit. This can allow customers to purchase more than one clothing item to try on and send the ones that don’t fit back, which will help you keep customers. You can even offer slightly more money if they opt to get their money back as store credit instead of a refund—encouraging them to purchase something else. Always be sure to keep the customer experience in mind when you are analyzing your fulfillment options.
B2B ecommerce
Business-to-business, or B2B ecommerce might sound a little bit counterintuitive. After all, B2B businesses focus on selling to other businesses, where ecommerce generally falls under the business-to-consumer (B2C) umbrella, right? Not necessarily. Traditionally, B2B companies are behind B2C companies when it comes to making the digital transformation to ecommerce, but studies show that’s going to change. Trends in 2020 suggest B2B companies should shift to focus on the B2B buyers. After all, B2B companies are still brands that deserve their own voice to communicate with customers directly. B2B companies that are successful in their digital transformation experience 8% more returns and five times more revenue than their competitors. Embracing digital transformation also gives them ownership of the customer data and be able to better optimize customer relationships and experiences across the board. We predict a 2020 ecommerce trend will be a shift within B2B companies to become customer-centric rather than product-centric.
B2B companies that are successful in their digital transformation experience 8% more returns and five times more revenue than their competitors.
Stay ahead of ecommerce trends 2020 with ITS Logistics
At ITS Logistics, we know it can be hard to determine which new technologies and ecommerce trends are fads and which ones will truly help your business. Our ecommerce experts work with you to determine the best way to keep costs down, efficiencies up, and, of course, give your customers the best experience possible—now, and in the future. To learn more, contact us today!
