eCommerce trends to look out for in 2018

eCommerce marketing is continually growing. The data shows that online sales are booming from one year to another. Therefore,  there is no breaking news that ecommerce is growing at such a wild pace and it will continue to do so in the year to come. Here are some of the trends that you should keep an eye on in 2018.

    1. Mobile usage will drive even more online sales

In the past few years we witnessed the transition from desktop computers to mobile devices and the topic of mobile optimization was highly popular this year in the ecommerce industry. In 2018, mobile shopping is expected to increase as smartphones usage and sales will continue to grow even more. On the other hand, with the growing number of online shoppers, the challenge for merchants will be bigger as currently desktops outperforms mobile devices when it comes to conversion.

    1. Unique shopping experience

Personalized shopping experience is already a trend, but it will be even more powerful in the coming year. This comes from the necessity of offering customers the product and services they need, when they need them and also from the lack of the physical shopping experience. Personalized shopping experience can be achieved by tracking customers’ past shopping experience and browsing habits.

    1. The power of User-Generated Content

The customer’s buying behavior does no longer follow the marketing funnel. According to statistics, a customer is 97% more likely to convert after interacting with User-Generated Content. The explanation behind this type of behavior is that people tend to trust other people more than they trust brands and businesses.

    1. Chatbots and AI. Welcome to the future!

Chatbots and artificial intelligence were on the rise these year and will continue to be in the following. The benefits are huge since you are able to automate and control them.

Through 2017, 48% of customers connected with a company through live chat or contact forms. Your availability to your customers needs to extend and the customer service questions should be met in a timely manner. You can easily do this by adding a chatbot to your live chat in order to provide service to the most frequently asked questions.

    1. All about Chain Management

Supply chain management is a huge part of the ecommerce industry. In the meantime, it is also difficult to handle as the sector is going through major changes. Chain management is all about automation, a process that improves transition of product and information flow. Also, through data sharing information regarding stock details, shipping and much more is made available during all stages of the supply chain.

Customer focus is another key factor. It is highly important to know your customer, his aim, his preferences and tendency. In order for a supply chain management to be effective, these key factors must work accordingly.

    1. Omni-platforms and device

It is of utmost importance to deliver high quality experiences regardless of the device, which can be achieved by focusing on responsive design. The next level is integration across all devices and platforms in order to obtain a fully integrated approach as it will no longer be enough to have a multiple presence on multiple channels.

The future cannot be predicted, however, these current trends will continue to grow. So, if you run an online business, you should update and adapt.

Also, in order to better manage your online business, you could choose a server management solution like ClusterCS which offers a great deal of options to automate, report, host and plenty of other tools designed to help you grow your business and stay competitive.

We are looking forward to know: how do YOU plan to take advantage of these ecommerce trends?