For those who are serious about e-commerce, following e-commerce trends is not a hobby. There are many fashion trends and popular trends in e-commerce as well as relevant solutions. To meet the demanding needs of e-commerce users, each direction must be carefully analyzed (the usefulness of the trend should not be in doubt). Otherwise, you run the risk of being significantly behind the competitors who have noticed the trend over time and drive sales in their business.
The next step is an overview of the top retail marketing trends with instructions on ecommerce trends for 2019.
Trend # 1. Retail is changing or declining
Retail is slowly dying. Simply because he doesn’t want to take a course to meet consumer demands. If you only engage at the transaction level (mostly through discounts and prices), your business will be absorbed by the biggest players online.
How? ‘Or’ What?
Now it is important that the retail business does not dry out. Remember online when you support technical innovations and payment methods. Retailers will have to attract and retain customers by all means (despite the power of Amazon and Aliexpress).
Trend # 2. Retail innovation is consumer driven
It’s easier to innovate knowing how you are treated in traditional and electronic marketplaces. 2019 will bring brands even closer to consumers. The audience that has enjoyed the products is ready to delve into the aspects of brand implementation.
How? ‘Or’ What?
Hear the voices of consumers. Offer a survey, use the feedback mechanisms more often, and be the best. For surveys and research, Examinare offers retail solutions with connection to the POS system…
Trend # 3. Chatbots are becoming commonplace
Improving the ecommerce experience, they will continue to be popular in 2019. Ecommerce chatbots save the average customer from facing a bunch of inconsistencies. That’s why, according to Hubspot, 48% of consumers prefer to contact a business through Live Chat, and in a Ubisend study, 35% of consumers rate businesses using chatbots.
How? ‘Or’ What?
For those who do not yet stimulate sales by supporting their client. It’s time to invest in the creation of a chatbot by a builder or the development to order by an agency.
Trend # 4. With the manufacturer – directly
Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) e-commerce business will continue in 2019 and beyond. Manufacturers love Dollar shaving club use DXP backbone content personalization technology, social media and online marketing to sell their product directly (leaving brands behind).
How? ‘Or’ What?
The path to direct customer engagement is now shorter than ever for manufacturers. All you have to do is find the right Digital eXperience Platform (DXP) and you have an efficient e-business toolkit. SaaS or any other isolated system is ideal. Technology is applied in stores unilevershop.it and ax-shop.ru…
Trend # 5. Home assistants and voice robots
Voice-activated smart speakers have become a key trend in 2018, with millions of Americans using smart speakers every month. In Russian – Yandex.Station with assistant Alice, Mail.Ru prepares his voice assistant. The boom in smart assistants is coming, niche sites like voiceapp.ru are appearing.
Industry leaders Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple Homepod are forcing e-commerce to support the advanced user experience of the buyer.
How? ‘Or’ What?
The simplest solution to date is Alexa Skills, which adds voice integration with Echo. Headless and isolated platforms will help you optimize your ecommerce site for voice search.
Trend # 6. Machine Learning Expands the Sales Funnel
In 2019, artificial intelligence will reduce controversy in e-commerce sales. AI platforms will enable more targeted personalization of customer experiences and marketing campaigns.
How? ‘Or’ What?
E-commerce is just getting started with artificial intelligence. It’s time to explore the benefits of integrating AI into e-commerce through chatbots and personalization campaigns.
Trend # 7. More analytics platforms
Emerging flows will require both old and new data mining platforms. In 2019, they will involve traditional marketing in the processes of improving the quality of the products offered, pricing and profitability.
How? ‘Or’ What?
If you haven’t gone beyond Google Analytics, maybe it’s time to think about getting data from other channels, as well as collecting data directly related to your sales funnel. Of course, we need to take a fresh look at the incoming data.
Trend # 8. Accelerated B2B Development
In a context of declining profits in the B2B segment for online sales channels:
- The search for new markets will continue
- Contradictions with target audiences will be eliminated
Forrester predicts that by 2020, online sales will reach $ 1.1 trillion, or 12.1% of all B2B sales in the United States.
How? ‘Or’ What?
Also, in 2019, Gartner predicts the use of an automatic price optimization algorithm for 40% of B2B sites. If you’re not using it, the next step is obvious.
Trend # 9. Extinction of intermediaries
When brands find a way to reach a customer directly, the middleman feels hurt. The value chain in its former form is doomed to cease to exist. At the same time, the margin increases and the brand gets closer to the consumer.
How? ‘Or’ What?
If you are a middleman, sooner or later you will have to give up the “brokerage game”. Switch to marketing consulting or sales-related areas because your customers will go straight to the market, whether you like it or not.
Trend # 10. Shopping from a mobile device
Payment companies will make this process easier, faster and more secure. Stat. data shows an increase in mobile purchases: from $ 450 in 2015 to around $ 1 trillion in 2019.
How? ‘Or’ What?
Evaluate the payment channels used – are you ready to accept mobile payments in store or online? Otherwise, you know what to do.
Trend # 11. Subscription products
Over the past year, SaaS has allowed e-commerce to experience a boom in subscription products. In 2019, we expect major players like Blue Apron and Dollar Shave Club, which increased their subscription traffic by 18% in January alone. There is a steady increase in the trend, although 56% of those who applied were successful a year earlier.
How? ‘Or’ What?
In the practice of some brands using cool add-ons, subscription e-commerce has given double the results.
Trend # 12. The merger of brands forms markets
In pursuit of Amazon’s overclocked colossus, e-commerce competitors and vendors of complementary products will join forces. For a niche consumer – specialized markets with a wide range of industrial products.
How? ‘Or’ What?
If e-commerce in your industry isn’t cooperating yet … it might be worth whipping the deal. But beware, you are still in the middle of the competition.
Trend # 13. Marketing with influencers
Opinion leaders are not fleeting creatures, their impact is palpable. According to a Collective Bias market research study, 70% of millennials shop online under the influence of peer recommendations, and 30% can take a blogger’s advice.
How? ‘Or’ What?
Referral marketing remains underestimated. If you can find a niche influencer to promote your brand on Facebook, Instagram or VKontakte, it makes sense to start investing in a continuous, serious and responsible manner.