Trends in e-commerce

M-commerce

Mobile users are already able to do most of their shopping from their phone. Online stores and websites are already making a shift toward mobile optimizes shopping experience, and that’s because mobile users just keep on multiplying. Smartphones are no longer a luxury but it is very much like the bank account which everyone has. People use their phones for everything except maybe eating, sleeping and breathing, though there is probably an app for that.

As the mobile experience moves from an add on to a central part of the shopping experience, you can expect more businesses to focus on creating mobile-friendly stores and even to replicate experiences in their physical stores to accommodate mobile shoppers who for some reason must find themselves inside a physical retail location.

Every year, industry analysts predict that mobile payments and mobile technology will see a massive change in the e-commerce industry, but each year those predictions have fallen short. This year however, mobile e-commerce is finally beginning to live up to those predictions.

Global m-commerce sales are predicted to reach $120 billion globally in 2015, according to a report by specialist market analysis firm Paul Budde Communication, and forecasts from Google believe that 50% of UK-related retail queries will be from a smartphone this Christmas.

Omnichannels, multi-channels and screen swapping are all buzzwords for mobile this year, referring to how smartphones and tablets are taking over the market.

In order to have an impact, advertisers and e-commerce retailers need to ensure they have responsive websites and optimised ads, which work seamlessly across different sized screens and devices to appeal to customers.

Even in a physical shop environment, mobiles are increasingly making their mark. As customers search for price points and product reviews in-store, retailers are beginning to embrace m-commerce to advertise, promote offers, and enhance the user experience of shoppers whilst they’re standing in the shop.

Plus with the rise in contactless payments, on-the-go transactions, mobile POS systems, and the imminent arrival of Apple Pay in the UK, this looks like a trend that’s set to continue steadily, if not explode over the next 12 months.

We’ve already said a lot about the leading role of mobile devices in e-commerce SEO trends of 2015. The ability to deliver high-quality mobile content for consumers quickly and effectively will provide a competitive advantage. The use of mobile Internet rapidly surpasses the use of desktop Internet over the globe, so fundamental changes in the work of search engines are obvious.

Now is Smartphones boom

Google alerts visitors about results which aren’t mobile-friendly. Moreover, mobile compatibility affects ranking. Too small fonts and inconvenient touch elements can lower site’s position among other results. The mobile trend isn’t just SEO related. Traffic from smartphones and tablets is constantly growing, so don’t loose a huge audience in 2015 – make your website responsive and mobile-friendly.

Targeting

As well as natural social engagement, paid social should also continue to play a big part of e-commerce marketing plans, in large part because of the huge potential for customisation. The amount of data now available on prospective and current customers means that e-commerce retailers can actively target exactly who they want.

Expect to see market segmentation continue to grow, with a big focus on targeting niche audiences. With so much data available, mass customisation based on personal preferences could become second place in the e-commerce industry, as retailers tie in targeted advertising with up-selling and product suggestions, cart abandonment marketing, and personalised nurturing.

However, data acquisition and privacy issues are still thorny issues, and with the Commons Science and Technology Select Committee publishing a report last week calling on social media sites to be more transparent about their terms and conditions, there’s likely to be a lot of debate on this subject in the coming 12 months.

Personalized marketing

Moreover, Email messaging is very important for a successful e-commerce project. Keep in mind, that personalized email messages boast 25% higher open rates. To personalize your marketing campaign, you can rely on customer’s lists of Facebook likes, Pinterest board activities or Amazon purchase history. The necessary information is almost always accessible. Use different messaging styles for the emails with same content. You can create segments based on gender, location or product preference. Don’t forget to optimize your emails for mobile users.

Shipping

One of the primary concerns of an e-retailer is Shipping. A customer moves the shopping cart almost to the last step of his buying process, but he may abandon the cart after seeing the shipping options. If there is a charge quoted, if a customer's cognitive response is positive, it is a sign that the store has set an acceptable shipping charge. However, with providing free shipping, a store influences emotional response of customers. No customer settles for an unacceptable shipping charge. It's most important to learn the tactics of the shipping game to win over the competitors.

Internet speeds are ever increasing. The base level internet speed for many broadband companies before 10 yrs was something you cannot imagine now. 15 years ago, people still had to tie up their home phone to check their email. Things have changed quite quickly, broadband companies are competing each other to give the best bandwidth for the customers.

Sticking to the traditional way of shipping is not a wise idea to achieve success. The faster the shipment is made, the better the conversions are. Product delivery is the only area that can't be compared with that of a brick and mortar business.  If a business has convinced a customer in all possible ways virtually, but failed to meet the final requirement of getting the product shipped in timely manner, it would be a shame. Two-day Delivery, Same day delivery, express delivery, and more are the terms being added to e-commerce dictionary in the recent days. Choosing a logistic platform that helps cut delivery time is crucial to any business. The faster, the better!

The story hasn't ended yet. The business is till at customer's hand. He opens the package to examine the quality of the product. It is likely that he may end his business there. An unhappy customer may ruin your reputation on the all-the-time-hungry-for-status-updates social media platforms. A negative review goes more viral than you expect it to. It's high time a business learns to hide its disappointment, smile a big, and say ''You don't like it? We'll take it back''. Businesses that offer free and easy returns please more customers than others. They show that they value customers. Also, it works as well. The customers come back to the same store to spend more time and money happily. Be an eager beaver to expect all possible best and worst to find a foothold in this business.

Personalization using social network

If your e-commerce business is not active and prominent on social media, then you’re already missing a trick, but 2015 is predicted to see social media have an even stronger impact on e-commerce sales.

According to many of the industry’s experts, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that social media isn’t just about promoting a brand; in many ways engagement and connection with your target audience is a given. What’s important is storytelling and interaction.

Online social marketing campaigns should be geared at generating a buzz amongst people, and the best ROI comes from users naturally sharing and talking about a brand. People buy from people, so e-commerce social campaigns should be targeted at promoting customer interaction, suggestions and recommendations.

Of course, utilising flash sales via platforms like Instagram and Snapchat will still play an important role, but expect to also see the continued rise in prominence of review sites like Trustpilot, with a greater importance placed on what other customers are saying.

62% of people are more likely to buy from a company after seeing a positive review from other users, and conversion rates increase when users on an e-commerce site see recommendations from other customers.

The businesses see customers who share each and everything, no matter most or least important, on social media websites. If they buy from a store, the store name is on their Facebook wall. They pass judgmental comments. Customers share their opinions and talk about their experiences whether they are criticizing or complimenting. Word of mouth is one of the best forms of advertisement. Moreover, their friends, relatives, family members and other members in their list, see a store name being discussed by a person close to them. Advertisement is one-to-many here. Give an unparallel user experience. Possibly a satisfied customer is converting all their friends and family members into customers for you free of cost. Mess up with a single minor thing, it spreads like wildfire as well. Social media influences large size audience connected to a business directly or indirectly; hard to dispute that.

The mobile commerce introduces most informed customers. They come with clear and clean shopping decisions. First-step to success in mobile commerce starts with proving a place in the pre-sale activities of the customers. They search, compare, question, and decide whether or not to buy from a store. Mobile commerce demands responsive website, retina ready content, privacy, secure payment experience, free delivery, super-fast shipping, and extremely easy returns.

At that time, many eCommerce websites may allow customers to personalize their shopping window. That means we can put the product recommendation, navigation or other sidebars in anywhere. And the layout can be stored by their user account. Furthermore, maybe the customers will be given the privilege to delete some of the ads which they don’t want to follow as well.

Application

Mobile software has evolved enough to assure the users secured shopping experience. If a store's app takes  place on the mobile screen of a user, the business now speaks directly to the consumer. More like a company gives a personal attention to a customer. A customer downloads an e-tailers app and signals that he has given his approval indicating that he is happy. He no longer uses Google to help him find what he wants, he doesn't wish to waste a minute on the address bar. If your app is on his screen, you already have a foot in the door. Work on to get a foothold, be in the customer's goodbooks, and you are already on the path to guaranteed success.

Blogging

Blogging community plays a significant role in digital marketing. Blogs of influential people are an effective tool of making potential customers speak about a brand or a product. They also help with earning links necessary for a better SEO. Now we have a situation, when a blogger is paid to write a positive review and asked not to declare that the content is an advert rather than an ordinary article. Of course, this is unfair, and even Interflora was kicked out of search results after paying for such reviews, but the trend is still a part of all SEO tricks for 2015. Our advice is simple: try to avoid such violations.

Good multimedia content is a plus. Keep in mind, that good multimedia content is a plus. Creative and optimized images and videos, relevance and quality of the content and its uniqueness are always responsible for positive impact on visitors behaviour. As machine image recognition is constantly growing, the aforementioned factors have all chances to get a more important role in search engine optimization during this year.