Lockdowns, travel bans, retail closures, and more — the events and effects of 2020 incredibly took a toll on eCommerce. As you head on to the new year with your business, if you truly want to thrive and succeed, then it’s extremely important to be informed about the latest trends. Luckily for you, we’ve listed down the top trends that you should watch out for this 2021, as well as some tips and tricks on how to take advantage of them. Keep reading to learn more!
Marketplace Shopping
Almost all businesses have gone digital in 2020. However, selling products online isn’t as easy as it looks — especially if you’re a new eCommerce business and lack a solid backend infrastructure and resources. There will be certain roadblocks and challenges coping with the increase in traffic.
This is where marketplaces come in — it does everything for you. Selling, troubleshooting, shipping, and more.
This, alongside your own eCommerce website, is extremely helpful if you’re just starting out with your business. Remember, your customer’s convenience and satisfaction are what’s important. If you become a seller in the top marketplaces of your country, you can benefit from high traffic reach, shipping, and exposure.
But, remember, with marketplaces, you don’t get the customer analytics and data you need. This is why it is still important to have your own eCommerce website.
More Businesses Going Digital
Online shopping has been going on for a couple of years now. However, it was only fashion, gadgets, and food that were mostly being offered for delivery. Now, since most businesses have made a digital platform, and consumers have limited alternatives, you can find almost anything online. Groceries, furniture, car parts, and so much more.
So if you think your b2b or manufacturing business model can’t thrive as much in the year 2021, think again. Create a user-friendly website, an online catalog, and have a consistent backend infrastructure, and you’re good to go. You can even make your business more searchable on search engines by doing SEO.
Bigger Influence Of Ads
Now more than ever is the time to take advantage of advertisements. Everyone is spending more time on their phones. Plus, there are a great number of popular platforms and channels you can advertise on like Tiktok and Instagram.
Advertisements, especially eye-catching and curated ones, will play a huge role in your business right now. Videos can even be reposted and you can capitlize on it.
The Huge Importance Of SEO
The time to invest in SEO is now. Think about it, everyone is searching for the best of anything on search engines, more so during these challenging times. When you invest in SEO and do it right, think of the millions of people that will click on your website on the first page of search engines that can possibly turn into customers.
Omnichannel Fulfillment
Omnichannel refers to providing your customers with a coherent and convenient experience throughout different channels and devices. Examples of these are options, ship from store, curbside pickup, online purchasing, and pick up in-store.
While it may look exciting to be everywhere, it’s important to focus on the data that you have. Study your consumers and see what channels are they frequently using. From there, you can select your priority omnichannel.
Influencer Marketing
Tapping influencers has been one of the biggest marketing trends over the years and will keep being so for years to come. Why? Influencer marketing enables companies — big and small — to support their marketing efforts.
Artificial Intelligence
Technology has truly come a long way. Many have seen and appreciated the benefits of artificial intelligence in 2020. AI can be set to do a bunch of helpful things — make recommendations for your customer’s next purchase (based on history), voice searches, chatbots, inventory predictions, and more.
Because of this, more are likely to use it to yield business impact.
Utilize AI tools that can help you improve your marketing, boost the customer experience, or perform minimal as well as critical tasks for your business.
Key Takeaway
eCommerce is an ever-changing industry. However, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly made shifts for it in many ways. So, if you want your business to succeed, you must stay ahead of the game. Applying and taking advantage of these 2021 eCommerce trends will take you a step further.
