In the world of E-commerce, each year brings something new to the table. As technologies evolve, users demand more time-, effort-, and cost-efficient solutions. The result: customers are more apt to choose shops with convenient payment options, easier to use interface, and fast delivery. The users will need unique experiences that extend from registering on the website to the moment they interact with the product.
However, how can you elevate your e-commerce and gain an advantage in this user-attracting process? Let’s look at 8 ways to make your store more customer-friendly and innovative.
1. Visual Commerce
As the pandemics spread, offline shopping was no longer an option. Consumers turned to online stores more frequently. As for genuine customer experience, the online shopping industry is still far from replacing brick-and-mortar stores, where you can touch, try on, see, and evaluate the product before buying. As a result, the online world had to find a way to bring products and services closer to its users in an authentic manner.
That’s where visual commerce (VC) comes in – the next step in delivering an immersive customer experience. Content from user-generated channels, interactive content, engaging videos, and augmented reality are all types of VC.
Utilize visual commerce by:
- investing in re-design and launching a brand new website
- optimizing the available images
- creating 360-degree images or videos of products
- implementing visual search tools
2. An increase in the use of voice search
As consumers, we live in a world that is becoming more convenient, and voice search technologies have greatly influenced this. Google Now, Siri, and Cortana have transformed how we interact with our smartphones. To make a call or play some music, you don’t have to tap the screen. As of now, you can only speak a few words, and the voice assistant will help you with most of the work.
Basically, this convenience is entering into and establishing itself in e-commerce too. People have become accustomed to searching for things by just speaking.
You will benefit from voice search optimization in the following ways:
- Streamlined searches and faster results.
- Taking advantage of innovative technology
- Approved for mobile searches
3. Mobile shopping is at its peak
Stores have infiltrated the mobile space. No wonder: global traffic on the Internet is dominated by mobile usage. And this trend does not seem to be diminishing. Hence, instead of just targeting users through the web store, consider implementing a mobile app. By using a native app, not only will users have a better experience, but your store will always be within reach on their screens. Nevertheless, mobile commerce is no longer limited to just shops. Among its other applications are:
- Payments by mobile phone.
- Delivery and purchase of digital content.
- Banking via mobile device.
- In-app payments
- Promotions, coupons, and loyalty cards.
4. Priority is given to consumer privacy
Apple recently updated its operating system iOS to include a feature that restricts applications from monitoring users outside the app’s usage. This is likely to impact personalized advertising. At the same time, it shows how much users’ privacy is at risk today. Hence the increasing demand for it by users.
It’s no secret: you want your clients to become regular customers. Therefore, creating a personalized customer journey requires their information. This information, however, must be provided in an informed manner and consent. Therefore, you should respect users’ privacy and make it possible to order without registering, not bombard them with advertisements or retrieve information that isn’t related to their order.
5. Subscription models are on the rise.
Our free time was taken up by the quarantine as we spent most of it browsing the internet and filling out our baskets in online stores. But, as time passes, the world’s pandemics problems will be resolved, and time will once again become a precious and limited resource. Because of this, users will most likely opt for the subscription model when dealing with online stores.
Think about not having to buy coffee every month. All it takes is a yearly subscription fee and you’ll start getting coffee delivered right to your door every month or even week! I mean, who said you have to subscribe to SaaS projects and content sharing platforms only?
It is possible to apply this to other products, such as monthly deliveries of socks or yearly deliveries of cosmetics.
6. Customer support through multiple channels
The convenience of customer support is one of the advantages of online stores above brick-and-mortar shops. In addition to being able to return the goods from your home, you can also reach our customer service team by multiple channels: phone, email, messenger, and social media.
The goal of e-commerce solutions is to reach as many people as possible: helping them from wherever they are and through whatever app they choose. In today’s world, this means providing 24/7 support through all communication channels and using customer support bots.
7. Preferences for ethical and independent businesses
Sadly, when it comes to ecology and environmental health, the world is currently changing in a negative way. The result is it can encourage independent businesses to source their products ethically, pay a fair wage, reduce their waste, and recycle. Consequently, more people will be searching for ethical businesses from which to buy goods and products.
8. Competitive delivery
Deliveries have become a quarantine issue, where the shops that could not only get their goods to the customer in a timely manner but also don’t have to interact with them were the winners. Today, shops think of ways to make delivery both fast and ethical, as well as enable the social distance between the customer and the carriers.
Drone delivery is an example: it is quick and non-harmful to the environment. They can also deliver to places where it is difficult to access. Instantly popular and a great complement to your delivery team!
Conclusion
To remain competitive, your commerce applications and websites should be upgraded regularly and not only once in a blue moon. The above-mentioned e-commerce trends can become a source of inspiration. Ultimately, the practice of innovating your retail business should become a common habit, which will add a whole new feel to your solutions.
You can count on us for help! SapientPro is an outsourcing company with experience in retail, education, logistics, and finance sectors. Having worked with countless online stores with millions of users across Europe, we have extensive E-commerce experience! Please contact us if you are interested in collaborating. Our team can assist you in choosing the right tech stack, implementing add-ons to your current applications, or building e-commerce solutions completely from scratch.