The Future of E-Commerce

Managing rapid growth in e-commerce, labor shortages, a shipping crisis, and on top of all that, dealing with the looming uncertainty of living amid an international pandemic have been stressful endeavors over the past two and a half years.

Throughout the pandemic, there has been a great deal of uncertainty in this industry. Among the key takeaways for most companies was the ability to pivot quickly in order to meet their customers' needs. A contingency plan has become essential to be as prepared as possible. As we collectively work to move forward, we face the question of what's next. How do we move forward with confidence?

Short answer: examine the data, listen to the experts, and follow market trends.

According to the Global E-commerce Market 2021-2025 study by ReportLinker, the industry is supposed to reach $6 trillion by 2026. There are a wide variety of reasons why consumers are opting to shop online rather than in-store, but it is also due to the fact that there is an increasing number of e-commerce sites entering the market around the world. A recent report published by Digital IntheRound estimates that 12-24 million e-commerce sites pop up daily. Due to the increased number of players entering the market, companies are examining the following trends in e-commerce to  maintain market share:

Hypersegmentation

The difficulty of keeping loyal customers is increasing, and acquiring new clients is becoming more expensive. Cost per click of paid advertising increased by 15% between the second and third quarters of 2021. However, despite this massive increase in advertising spending, companies continue to invest. Shopify released a report on the future of e-commere and stated, “Despite the changing digital ad landscape, 41% of brands* plan to increase investment in paid and organic search. Many hope that advances in hypersegmentation will make their advertising dollars more effective by targeting consumers who are ready to purchase.” This is better for consumers and businesses alike matching products to the right consumer. 

Branding

Aside from hypersegmentation, some companies are diverting money from their paid search efforts and using it to enhance their brand. Increasingly, companies are seeking a way to stand out in a crowded industry. Investopedia released a study that shows that strong brands draw more organic acquisitions, retain more customers, and allow the ability for price increases without affecting their customer base. Brand equity is directly related to sales volume since consumers gravitate toward products with strong reputations. Cultivating customer loyalty has been and continues to be an integral part of any e-commerce marketing strategy. The retention of existing customers increases profits by reducing the amount a business has to spend on marketing in order to achieve the same volume of sales; it is more economical to retain customers than to acquire new ones. While many companies want to acquire new customers with their brand identity, having a strong and reliable brand helps retain market share and become increasingly more competitive. 

XR (Extended Reality)

Extended Reality may seem a bit far-fetched for the e-commerce industry, but it’s gaining popularity. According to Forbes, since people are forced to go online for shopping, school, and work, many are embracing XR for the experience factor. Statista reports a worldwide shipment of AR and VR shipments of 9.86 million in 2021 and suspects 14.19 million units in 2022. The University of Quebec states that 84% of customers are ready to make between 30% and 100% of their purchases online. Furthermore, two-thirds of customers expressed no apprehension regarding augmented reality enhancing their shopping experience. Using augmented shopping to bridge the gap between the in-person and online shopping experiences could be the wave of the future. 

It is clear that e-commerce is not about to slow down any time soon. Today's challenge lies with e-commerce companies keeping up with demand. In order to stay up to date, companies have taken advantage of technological advancements. Companies are constantly seeking ways to stay ahead of the curve, from improvements in delivery drones to investments in the e-commerce technology space. DesktopShipper's technology is one of the many tools e-commerce shippers can use on a daily basis to improve productivity. Talk with a representative to get started today.