4 Predictions for E-Commerce Industry
Online shopping is becoming increasingly popular because of the convenience it offers to consumers. Although online retail stores have not been able to fully replicate the physical store experience yet they have been successful in gathering their band of loyalists. The latest market research analysis shows that the future of e-commerce industry is very bright across the globe. Here are four trends and predictions that are going to define the e-commerce industry in 2015 and beyond.
Social Networks Will Serve as Shopping Platforms
The rapid rise of social networking sites like Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Instagram etc. in the recent couple of years has enabled online retailers to reach out to potential customers on cyber platforms. Millions of people are spending time on social media, socializing, catching up on news, finding opportunities to entertain themselves and even shopping. Keeping that in mind, e-commerce entrepreneurs are focusing more in this area to cater to their prospective customers. Businesses need to follow this trend and prove themselves of high value in front of their customers by reaching out to them wherever they are.
More ecommerce sites will set up shops offline
According to retail trends and predictions for 2015 by VendHQ more e-commerce sites will be setting up offline stores parallel to the online stores in order to win the trust of their customers. In many recent surveys, it has been concluded that customers show more trust and confidence towards online stores which also have a physical presence than those which are only online. Since last year, we have seen a number of online stores entering the offline realm which shows that all the online stores will be having offline shops soon in future. Besides, the e-commerce experts state that offline shops are also necessary for providing seamless shopping experience to the customers.
Mobiles Will Overtake Desktops
According to studies, a lot of people are using their smartphones, compared to their desktop computers, to shop online and this trend is going to stay. Mobile commerce is becoming popular day by day and entrepreneurs need to come up with solutions like mobile payments, retail enablement, mobile retail, marketplaces, on-demand services, app-based services etc to gain a competitive advantage.
Stores with Omni-channel Customer Support will thrive
Online stores need to offer customer support through multiple platforms such as telephonic support, live chat support, email support and even offline support through their local stores or support centers. The most popular channel, however, will continue to be the Live chat service because of instant customer support.