Every year, we come across some new eCommerce trends that tend to enhance online shopping and improve customer experience. Brands or businesses need to stay updated with the latest trends in the domain not only to stay competitive in the market but also to provide users with some new and exciting ways to shop online. Besides, being well-versed with the latest trends opens more opportunities for your business, attracts more traffic, and helps convert the potential buyers into loyal customers.

There has been a massive shift already in eCommerce following the COVID-19 pandemic. Though it is an unfortunate tragedy, it has accelerated the eCommerce growth by almost 10x as consumer behavior has also changed drastically. That being said, new trends and technologies are being introduced to tackle the ongoing pandemic challenges and reshape the industry.

Read: Impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare

As people get familiar with the new normal, eCommerce is expected to rise in 2021 and the years beyond. Let’s take a look at the eCommerce new trends that will likely dominate the market in 2021.

1. Voice Search

Although not something very new, voice search will capture the majority of the searches in the upcoming years. Among the eCommerce trends 2021, this one will likely dominate the rest. In this digital age, people are relying heavily on voice assistants like Google Assistant, Apple Siri, or Amazon Alexa to perform their day-to-day activities, be it getting answers to their queries, performing household tasks, or buying products online. We have reached a level where we can order or purchase something simply using our voice commands and without even touching the device. It saves users’ time on browsing, entering shipping details and payment information, and does all sorts of possible things to make their experience convenient.

As more and more people get comfortable using this technology, there lies a strong potential in this eCommerce trend to make a big impact in the future of online shopping.

2. Interactive Product Display

Adding to the list of eCommerce trends 2021 is Interactive Product Display which involves using 3D images and the use of Augmented Reality.

One of the biggest fears of online shoppers over the years is getting a different product delivered than what it seemed while ordering. Well, that’s been the case with eCommerce ever since it came into existence. People worry about buying things online because they feel it is not what it looks like and they might end up wasting their hard-earned money on a product that doesn’t provide them what they thought of.

Things have changed now. Brands try plenty of things to assure the customers about the product quality, win their trust, and make them feel more confident while they purchase a product. To build credibility and improve customer satisfaction, eCommerce companies add high-resolution 3D images, smooth zoom-in and zoom-out options, product videos, and more to their websites and apps. The introduction of AR (Augmented Reality) in eCommerce has also taken the user experience to a whole new level as customers can virtually try out a product or place it in any corner of their house to check how it would suit the infrastructure.

3. Green Consumerism

Green consumerism is also one of the emerging eCommerce trends 2021. For a sustainable cause, many brands are coming forward to creating environment-friendly products. The shift has been due to the rapid change in economic, cultural, and social changes in many countries.

At this point, sustainability is not reserved only for a couple of brands. In fact, the eCommerce giant Amazon has also pledged towards sustainability. With such a big name working towards the preservation of the earth for future generations, many other names would likely follow this initiative and try to make products that support the environment or involve as little usage as possible of non-environment friendly products.

It’s not just the brands but consumers are also up for this good cause. As per a report by Harvard Business Review, 65% of consumers want to buy from brands that aim for sustainability. So, analyze your products and check whether they are made through sustainable materials or not. If they aren’t, try to adopt a sustainable process by lessening the amount of packaging waste and recycling the waste products.

4. AI to popularize

Artificial Intelligence is evolving and so is its impact in eCommerce. In 2021 and the coming years, AI will dramatically change the face of eCommerce. Today, with the help of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, brands work to further enhance the user experience by understanding their needs and desires. We are already seeing how industries are utilizing AI-based Chatbots to reduce the customer support workload. AI has proved beneficial in many ways for eCommerce such as providing product recommendations based on the customer’s past purchases, processing voice commands to present relevant products in front of the customers, and in the near future, it will provide assistance in making inventory predictions.

AI isn’t an eCommerce trend just for the year 2021, it will have a long-lasting impact. Therefore, it is suggested that you start using AI tools for your brand to streamline marketing, improve communication, and perform certain tasks at a much faster pace.

5. Shoppable Video Ads

Social media has the power to provide overnight success to brands, and that’s why they love to advertise on different platforms to make their products reach out to a wide audience base. The consumption won’t slow down, in fact, it will have more role to play for eCommerce companies in 2021. Consumers, specifically the millennials and the Gen Z people spend a lot of time on social media. That being said, brands are looking to capture that segment of the audience by trying different strategies. We have already seen the popularity of shoppable posts, but the upcoming eCommerce trend that you need to look out for is Shoppable Video Ads. YouTube is already testing shoppable video ads that allow users to buy products shown in the video directly from the platform. Video creators or YouTubers can add certain products to their videos which the users can discover in the form of a shopping-bag icon and get the required information about that product and even make the purchase.

6. On-site Personalization

While browsing an eCommerce website or mobile app, consumers want to view products that are of their interest. This is where on-site personalization will be a big booster for brands. Companies can leverage AI to gather their visitors’ information and then adjust the app/website according to the users’ needs and preferences, providing them a tailor-made experience.

AI-powered personalization is one of the primary eCommerce trends to look out for in 2021. Implementing an on-site personalized experience helps reduce your app/website’s bounce rate by a significant percentage.

Final Thoughts

Though 2020 wasn’t the year that anyone wished for, it did turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the eCommerce industry. With the ongoing and upcoming eCommerce trends, brands will be looking to make the most out of it. Mobile app developers need to be prepared for this shift and will have to run an extra mile to meet the needs of the clients as well as the app users.
While these are some of the top eCommerce new trends for 2021, they are plenty more waiting to get recognized such as drone delivery, one-day shipping, etc. We are excited to see what we have in the years to come.