Future of Ecommerce: Predictions for 2020 and Beyond

It’s been a whopping 25 years since the first eCommerce transaction took place. With the golden jubilee, the future of eСommerce seems brighter than ever. The purpose of this article is to educate you on the current trends that will determine the future of eСommerce businesses. The eCommerce industry is still growing, and the best days are yet to come.

ECommerce Industry Stats

According to a report by Statista, the revenue from eCommerce amounted to 3.53 trillion US dollars in 2019 alone. The estimation for 2022 is almost double, 6.54 trillion dollars. The main reason is the shift in customer behavior and the strategic decisions taken by online retailers.

With that said, the future of eCommerce in 2020 looks very promising for both the consumers and the retailers. eCommerce future growth is proved by an estimated 2.14 billion people who are supposed to avail products and services online.

Omnichannel Commerce or Multiple Shopping Channels

Omnichannel strategy is a relatively new concept in the world of eCommerce. The most commonly used method is known as the silo approach at this moment. The retailers use different channels to market, price, and deliver products. It’s only reasonable to face inconsistencies across these channels.

To help the eCommerce future growth, retailers are opting to the omnichannel strategy — an integrated platform to address customer issues from their perspective, instead of the various channel perspective.

As a result, going omnichannel will become a great solution for businesses — no hassle of logistics. Rather, one interface to deal with them all. The purpose of being an Omni brand is to blur the line between physical and digital shopping.

MCommerce

When things come to mCommerce, there is a common question. Is it different than eCommerce?

The answer is yes, and no. MCommerce has accelerated the evolution of mobile shopping. The fundamental concept is very simple. Any online transaction happening on the Internet is considered to be mCommerce.

But there is a catch. If your eCommerce website loads on a mobile device, it doesn’t mean your business is mCommerce ready. According to Datareportal, Over 80% of consumers have reported that shopping on a mobile device is not convenient.

Moreover, the projected number of smartphone users in 2020 is over 2.5 billion. It’s not a very good time to set the importance of good mobile experience aside.

Evolution of Mobile Shopping

Before jumping into the mCommerce, understanding the evolution of mobile shopping is essential.

MCommerce is a collection of a few different aspects. Fundamentally, three things go into it.

• Mobile Shopping
• Mobile Payments
• Mobile Banking

Mobile shopping is about optimized websites and applications for various operating systems. This is the key to a successful mobile shopping experience. And it aids in building a substantial future shop mobile experience.

Mobile shopping and mobile payments go hand to hand. Buying and paying for a product from your own home is convenient. If you can convince your customers that you can make that happen, they will be more likely to buy from your store.

Mobile banking is similar to online banking but in mobile devices.

Switching to Mobile-First Advertising

With Google’s transition to mobile-first indexing, it’s needless to say that the future is online. It’s also crucial to switch to mobile-first advertising for your eCommerce business. In simple terms, Google now crawls through mobile sites first in its ranking algorithm.

The reason for this transition is self-evident. 7.5 billion people use mobile devices. As smartphone usage is skyrocketing, it’s crucial for Google to serve its users right. Another reason is that in 2016 alone, the revenue generated from mobile sales reached over 100 billion US dollars, confirmed by a report from Remarkety. That is precisely what you should do, too, with the changing eCommerce technology trends.

Let us do a mobile commerce forecast.

Ads run everywhere once you run it on the web. Your target customer sees it and clicks on it. He/she is redirected to your website. What do they see? They can either have a great time surfing through your content or feel miserable with incomplete visuals and complex texts. It comes down to you on what you want your customers to feel.

This is where mobile-first advertising comes into place. As people are using the smartphone more often, and Google is crawling through mobile sites first, your mobile-first ads will have a significant impact on your business. The key is choosing the fastest and most convenient platform for maximum online commerce growth.

AR and AI Experiences

With the rise in eCommerce technology trends, Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality have ensured their places. Shoppers are becoming more and more conscious of the existence of AI in retail.

An excellent example of AI is Sephora Color IQ. They went ahead in the game and added an AI to recommend products. It scans the skin tone of the user based on photos and suggests customized variants of concealers and foundations.

AI and AR possess the capability to fill the void between physical and digital shopping experience. More and more retailers like Sephora Color IQ are opting for these futuristic technologies like chatbots and AI live support.

Physical + Digital

There is a popular misconception that arose with the increasing popularity of eCommerce. That is brick and mortar stores are going to be dead soon. But it’s not true.

It is estimated that brick and mortar stores will be responsible for more than 80% of the total retail sales. Online retail eCommerce platforms like Amazon are moving offline. The goal is to create a seamless experience for their customers.

The real omnichannel shopping is not very far. Amazon Go is a prime example of how physical and digital shopping can bind effortlessly. Amazon Go is a next-generation convenience store where customers can grab any product and go. Amazon will use its artificial intelligence using the codes on the products and the people’s Amazon wallet to bill them.

The fight between digital and physical platforms was never supposed to be a pretty one. The retailers realized it in advance, and now the future of retail eCommerce looks more promising.

Social Commerce

Social media plays a vital role in the eCommerce industry. Social media hugely influence customer behavior. As informing is a great tool to divert sales in eCommerce, social commerce has become a global phenomenon.

Instagram shopping is an extreme example of social commerce. Instagram allows brands to tag products within an organic post. It’s a very effective way to utilize a shoppable platform without any ads.

Look at Lululemon, and how this company uses shopping tag in their posts. Bookmarking products allow for the products to store in a shopping folder. Shoppable stories were also introduced at the same time.

As time is progressing, new and new features are being added to Instagram for a better user experience. Instagram has produced all the latest social eCommerce trends.

Summary

There is no doubt that eCommerce is here to stay, and the future is online. With the changes in the eCommerce trends, 2020 is going to be an epic year for the eCommerce owners. The future of eCommerce lies in these trends. The Mobile commerce forecast has indicated that the rise of mobile commerce is not a very distant future. Statistics show a consistent online commerce growth. Social media eCommerce trends are thriving in 2019 and will become more prominent in 2020. Every possible parameter is indicating to a great future of eCommerce ahead.