E-commerce Trends That Will Dominate 2016

Last year we’d huddled until the last day of the year. Jumping on the Christmas rush either buying gifts of grocery shopping at the last minute for your festive New Year’s Eve celebration were the most tiring and restless last days of the year you’ve ever had and the days which you shall never experience again.

Prepare yourself this year and the more to come. Actually, there’s no need to because shopping has been made convenient by the growing e-commerce businesses in the industry. We bet it won’t slow down any time soon.

E-commerce has been booming ever since it started; online sales has been and will continue to increase this 2016 and surely in the coming years for many e-commerce businesses are finding out more ways to improve their service and to continue boosting their sales.

READ Techniques to Improve Customer Experience

And for that, you should expect these few keys that will be big in the e-commerce industry this 2016:

Seamless mobile shopping experience: Billions of people today own a Smartphone. There’s no denying the fact that e-commerce is being digitally influenced by mobile applications and websites that offers product research, comparison and the works.

With this, mobile commerce is rising in the horizon. Also, as mentioned previously, billions of people in this age are Smartphone users so it only goes to show that mobile optimization is essential to continue in increasing sales. Besides, improving mobile shopping experience won’t slow the e-commerce industry down.

To the industry, don’t just set your focus on progressing the mobile experience but also the other platforms available to your customers. Improve your overall multi-channel shopping and fill in the shoes of your target consumers to understand their needs.

Online loyalty programs: Plastic loyalty cards are the thing of the past. With the continued success of online businesses, it’s about time to finally implement loyalty programs this year.

What’s a great way to keep your customers, keep them loyal to you? Community-building. And one way to do just that with both the organization and consumers benefiting is by offering online loyalty programs. Many online institutions have launched this before however, we’re predicting it will gain its momentum this year.

Tight competition: And expect it to continue growing in the upcoming years; it has no signs of slowing down in sight.

With the growing success of the industry, businesses from other industries are starting and many more will jump on the innovative edge of the retail business. The competition in this day and age will only continue to intensify and if brands only focus on in-store sales, experience and service without building their online presence, it won’t be long before they find themselves at the bottom of the sea.

Improved shopping experience: No, offering the lowest price isn’t what consumers are most looking forward in what to expect in the e-commerce industry.

Instead, it’s the Customer Experience (CX) and all around User Experience (UX) that is most relevant and essential to boosting your business, attracting more customers and retaining them. Personalization is what’s important to keep your customers feel well taken care of. Putting their needs and wants on your priority will benefit not only them but your sales and revenue as well.

We all can agree that online retailers that provides the best service and customer experience gains our utmost trust. We all have our own go-to online shopping site so to those in the e-commerce industry or those who wants to jump in, remember these important factors.

Have you got any more to add that is of relevance and importance? Don’t forget to share it and leave a comment below!

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About the Author

When she couldn’t be found eating pizza or indulging on sweets, Chie Suarez writes for Zapals -- a global shopping site that delivers one of the largest innovative online department stores to people in the world.