As with most things tied to the world of technology, E-commerce is moving quickly. The relatively new form of retail continued to its upward trajectory through 2018 and into the New Year, in large part because of its willingness to explore new technologies, new methodologies and new ways of optimizing sales platforms.
What this means for small E-commerce business owners, however, is that they have to constantly play a game of catch up – at least for now. With new E-commerce trends emerging with startling regularity, it becomes imperative to the success of small (and even large) E-commerce businesses to try and stay abreast.
For a long time now, netParcel has helped businesses with their international shipping – ensuring they get the cheapest shipping to and from Canada and the US – and, continuing in that helpful vein, we would like to share four of the E-commerce trends we think you should watch in 2019.
AR/VR
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are no longer just in the purview of the entertainment industry. They are becoming more important, daily, to the way consumers shop. With the use of AR and VR, E-commerce stores allow customers to visualize their purchase in greater detail, often in a 360-degree view, inching even closer to the experience of buying something in person. Some AR/VR platforms even allow customers to visualize how their purchase (a piece of furniture, for example), would look like in their own home. It is definitely a game changer.
B2B E-commerce
It might seem that E-commerce, until present, has mostly been preoccupied with B2C sales. While that might have been the case, trends predict a jump in B2B Ecommerce for 2019, surpassing B2B sales in 2020. In short, this is a good time to get in on the ground floor. And with our cheapest shipping options to Canada and the US, which include LTL services, netParcel can be a powerful tool in your B2B sales arsenal.
Omni-Channel Shoppers
When the giant E-commerce site BigCommerce released their 2018 Omnichannel Buying Report, it painted a clear picture: people shop around. This underlines the need for E-commerce merchants to make themselves available across channels, including websites, big online stores, social media and, yes, even brick and mortar establishments. Also, with the plurality of choice available to consumers, not just in terms of products but channels as well, it underscores the need to stay competitive through cheaper shipping. To that end, visit the netParcel site to find out how you can save on shipping to the USA and Canada, as well as internationally.
Personalized Marketing
This time of year is crammed with year-end stats and prophecies, but here’s one last one for you: Epsilon, the data giant, released research indicating that 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase something when offered a personalized experience. It makes sense. E-commerce has always been forced to contend with a lack of a one-on-one consumer relationship, but by personalizing market copy, recommendations, etc., through personal online data, E-commerce stores are able to get closer than ever to their potential customers.
It will be interesting to see how 2019 pans out for the E-commerce industry, but if 2018’s figures and projections are anything to go by, it will be a good year. To help maximize your profits, and retain customers, partner with netParcel today.
