In the eCommerce world, things like product selection, pricing, shipping, and customer service all play an important role in the customer experience. We see a company like Amazon really trying to stay ahead of the curve on shipping by their proposed use of drones to deliver small packages.
In some parts of the US there is also Sunday delivery. For customer service, Zappos is a company that has built its reputation on delighting customers. New studies projected that the worldwide retail eCommerce sales will reach a new high by 2021.
Ecommerce businesses should anticipate a 265% growth rate, from $1.3 trillion in 2014 to $4.9 trillion in 2021. This shows a future of steady upward trend with no signs of decline.
E-Commerce social media shopping
Social media platforms play a large role in our lives today. Many brands are aware of this fact, so they shift their marketing towards social media sites in order to reach a larger number of people. In fact, the number of sponsored Instagram posts is increasing every year. So how can these statistics influence ecommerce? Knowing that millions of people use these apps every year is an advantage for ecommerce business owners. People are buying via social media every day, so there’s no better time to invest in social media marketing and selling than now.
AI, Assistants, and Chat bots
Robots will invade eCommerce stores. Well, robots such as chat bots and artificial intelligence (AI) designed to enhance a customer’s overall shopping experience. AI assistants can handle a number of tasks typically assigned to a human, such as managing inventory or handling inquiries. These digital assistants carry out various processes, freeing up time for you to focus on other aspects of running the business. For instance, chat bots can fulfill a number of customer service needs, from answering questions about a product to discussing a complaint. AI and chat bots also learn from customer conversations and evolve to better assist in a user’s personalized eCommerce experience.
Interactive Product Visualization
We’ve all hesitated to hit the “Buy” button when shopping online. Before you enter your payment info, you begin to wonder:
“Is this product going to be exactly what I need?”
“Is this a quality product? Or, is this a knock-off?”
As a result, we have a strong need to interact with a product before we commit to a purchase. Online reviews and influencer trends aren’t enough. We want to see the product, feel it, hold it in our hands, and remove all feelings of doubt before purchasing. While we were once satisfied with high-quality images of products, today’s technology lets us use virtual reality, 3D imaging, augmented reality, and more to interact with a product from the comfort of our laptop or smartphone. Even ecommerce product videos have evolved to be more engaging. What was once a cheesy infomercial has transformed into an immersive, 360-degree online shopping experience. Interactive product visualization technology seeks to bring the tangible in-store experience to online consumers and alleviate their hesitation prior to purchasing.
For an example in Zalora, it offers customers the ability to customize their product online. During this process, users build their own design through turning, flipping, and zooming in on the shoe. Prior to submitting their order, customers have full confidence they’ve built the exact product they desire thanks to the interactive nature of the process.
