E-Commerce Trends You Should Know About In 2021!

The world of e-commerce is an ever-changing platform as new technology and changing social norms mean that recent trends develop every year. If you are an e-commerce entrepreneur or if you are a dropshipping hopeful, then knowing the latest e-commerce trends will help you drive more traffic and convert that traffic into buying customers. With COVID rampaging in 2020, many different verticals adopted and developed new technologies and methods to combat the growing needs. Many of those new adoptions and technologies have become major trends in e-commerce in 2021 and beyond.


We here at the Dropship US work with hopeful e-commerce entrepreneurs to create highly-optimized dropshipping websites geared towards achieving sustainable growth, So we know all about the developing trends in technology, payment, and other aspects in e-commerce, and we thought we should let you know all about them. In the following, we will talk about all the latest trends in e-commerce and tell you all about the significant developments, so without further delay, let's begin!

Marketplaces Will Become A More Popular Shopping Place

The world saw a massive uptake in the number of websites, with many businesses that didn't have one suddenly coming online with one. However, consumer behavior throughout the world has been favoring convenience like always. One of the significant problems that newer eCommerce businesses face is the lack of the backend infrastructure that can handle an increase in traffic and the requirements of shipping currently needed.

On the other hand, marketplaces like Amazon and eBay have the experience and infrastructure required to satisfy customers. Not only that, niche marketplaces such as Etsy are continuing to grow and are accommodating new digital entrepreneurs. People find it more convenient to shop on marketplaces than on multiple eCommerce stores as time moves on. Most e-commerce marketplaces offer 2-3 day shipping and free returns on most items, and customers now expect it from all other eCommerce sites.

So if you want to take advantage of this major trend in e-commerce, make sure you think of marketplaces as another channel and diversify your brand by listing them. Remember that customer convenience is critical if you want to grow your digital presence through a website or eCommerce store. However, if you are just starting out, then listing on the top marketplaces in the area will help you counteract low exposure.

You can use the high traffic reach, swift shipping, and overall experience of the marketplaces to your benefit to gain notoriety amongst your target audience. However, do not become over-reliant on marketplaces like Amazon can be detrimental. All the customer data is owned by and not you, and it can limit your brand growth. The best option is to use them to slowly gain your customers' trust and drive steady traffic to your site by offering limited edition products that create urgency and scarcity.

 
B2C Is Not The Only Online Shopping Experience

We often think the word "disruption" is a buzzword, but that's not what it was in 2020. Businesses all over the world have fast-tracked their digital transformation amid global changes. Consumers had to turn to e-commerce to meet their daily needs. Nowadays, people are looking for more than just food, fashion, and gadgets. Groceries, furniture, and even vehicle parts have become popular in 2020. Remember, these buying habits might slow down, but they will never go away completely.

That's why B2C is not the only thing people need, so as a manufacturer, B2B or something else, start selling D2C or D2B. Everything you are selling can now be found online, so it's a no-brainer that we believe you should start selling your products directly online. D2C and D2B are one of the major trends of 2021. So start by creating an online catalog and then integrate a user-friendly buying experience by augmenting that catalog with relevant content.

Self-Service Platforms Are Becoming Even More Popular

Before getting started online was full of obstacles and was a painstaking process. But that all changed in 2020 with the pandemic. One of the major trends in e-commerce now is the rise of small businesses and solopreneurs who can digitally pivot their businesses with minimal effort.

One of the most affordable options out there is self-service platforms like Shopify. Rather than taking the expensive route, try working with self-serving platforms or companies like Dropship USA that specialize in providing highly-optimized stores that generate business.

Shoppable Video Ads For Social Media

Social media has only grown over the years and has developed a lot in 2020, mainly because people were confined to their homes. The usage is only expected to grow in 2021, with brands figuring out different ways to advertise on emerging platforms like TikTok and Instagram. People spend hours on TikTok and Instagram feeds, making them the perfect channel for reaching the curious young target audience.

Gen-Zers usually tend to make their buying decisions through social media feeds, and videos let them shop straight away. So start by placing ads in stories on apps like Instagram and Snapchat to take advantage of this latest trend developing in the e-commerce sector. If you are a dropshipper, start to record your top-performing products' videos and place them on the social media platforms where your target audience frequents.

Make sure you offer your consumers value by putting out content like unboxing videos to tutorials or explainer videos and many other types. You can take on this latest e-commerce trend by creating slideshows of your best-selling products, while user-generated content can be reposted to capitalize on the video frenzy. So make sure you start working on your shoppable video ideas.

Omnichannel Selling Is Going To Be The Norm

Omnichannel selling is becoming the new norm with public cloud platforms moving into this space with tools like Amazon Personalize and Pinpoint. Omnichannel selling is becoming an interesting disruption as capabilities to utilize the features become cheaper and more accessible. People want multiple ways to view content in numerous ways. Your consumers want the content to be accessible through tablets, mobile phones, and desktops, and that's just the beginning. That's why AWS services like Amazon Personalize and Amazon Pinpoint are gaining in popularity.

These are tools that create an omnichannel where brands can improve the customer experience and communicate with customers across multiple channels under one roof. But there is no precedence that you have to use these tools for your brand's omnichannel infrastructure. To take care of this latest e-commerce trend, you should start by doing a deep dive into your customer and understand the things that matter the most to them.

Figure out which channels they frequent. As we've iterated before, people are looking for a seamless buying experience from multiple channels. In 2021 it's even more important to integrate a headless commerce architecture to deliver content and products to any screen or device using custom APIs. It's very tempting to be everywhere at once, but we suggest you take things slowly and start showcasing content and products on the channels where your customers go the most.

Importance Of Analytics Is Ever-Growing

Analytics has been a trend in e-commerce for some time now, and while it's nothing new, there are new ways analytics can be used. New analytics interpretation methods have become a major trend in e-commerce businesses. While focusing on the basic metrics like click-through-rate on specific campaigns and conversion metrics.

However, in 2021 e-commerce businesses would need to uncover data capabilities and get even more granular. Segmentation nowadays goes well beyond one-time sales and loyal customers. Now it's mostly about knowing how your target customers interact with e-commerce businesses. This major trend in e-commerce analytics means you have to understand who your price-sensitive customers.

Working with metrics that help you determine which of your customers will not buy full-price and who are more likely to abandon carts, and so on is the only way to get ahead of the curve. Check out all the data you have right now and see it's all you can have. If there's a way to upgrade to another tier that enables you to really drill down into the data, then make sure you do it. See if your analytics platform gives you the following information:

Audience segmentation data gives you detailed information about geographical location, age and gender, buying habits, total spendings, and other information.

Understanding and identifying the channels your customers come from.

Data on the types of content that generate the most user conversions.

Able to generate ready-made pertinent reports.

It should be easy to integrate with your CRM, CMS, and more to gain a 360-degree view of your eCommerce business.

This latest trend in e-commerce analytics will take personalized campaigns to a whole new level. If you know what's trending, what's not, what's refunded or returned the most will help you understand consumer needs changes at the right time. These metrics will help you save up on inventory holding costs will help your dropshipping business garner more mileage and resources for marketing and growing their business.

 
Influencers Are Becoming Brand Partners

You already know that influencer marketing is a thing that companies use. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, the sector was expected to reach 9 billion dollars. One of the significant obstacles that new e-commerce businesses have is creating quality content at scale to support their marketing efforts.

The major e-commerce trend in 2021, brands looking will be looking to influencers as content creators to support the content creation process. Brands will look to integrate influencers because it will give them better control over the reach and audience. Here are a few things you should do to take advantage of this latest e-commerce trend:

Create a list of local or micro-influencers that share your brand's value.

Build relationships with selected influencers and help them grow their audience first and/or providing free merchandise.

 
Let the creators do the work and allow them to create the content according to their needs.

You could also try adopting new social media features as social media algorithms reward early adopters. When the Instagram Reel came out, we found that it gets more organic views than regular posts or stories. So make sure when you see a new feature try it out and get on the bandwagon. Influencers are not only for B2C companies because it's mostly a tool to provide value for your customers. Try utilizing podcasts and discussion forums to ensure you offer expert opinions to your niche.

AI Is Setting New Standards

If you think that AI is something for the future, then you are gravely mistaken. Before, you couldn't take advantage of AI, but in 2021, it's become a significant technology trend in e-commerce. More and more brands are taking advantage of AI concepts like machine learning, and chatbots are becoming a mainstream option. Many e-commerce businesses are already working with AI to make shopping recommendations to their customers already.

Using AI with voice search capabilities will help you put your products in front of your consumers with ease in 2021. Along with that, AI can help out in the backend as it can help make highly accurate inventory predictions to ensure you stock up on high-selling products.

AI is one of the biggest technology trends in e-commerce. It can help you streamline your marketing, improve the customer experience or perform critical tasks way faster than average. A great example of this is a tool called SparkToro, which crawls social media profiles to find out which podcasts, social profiles, and more are popular with your audience. There are other AI tools out there that brands are utilizing, so find out how it can help you and get on this trend!

Personalization Is Now About Bonding

Customers love when their experience is specifically tailored to their unique needs. According to Smarter HQ, found out that 72% of customers engage with personalized messaging. Before, personalization was limited to email marketing, but now customer expectations and technology capabilities have been changing the realm of possibility.

Personalization is all about making bonds. You can do this by recording information about the customers with their consent. Once you remember the last time, they made a purchase, the types of items they usually buy, and then provide recommendations for the next steps. Utilize the information stored in a CRM database to ensure the best customer service experience through multiple channels.

The Rise Of Green Consumerism

We all share the Earth, and before, sustainability was limited to the biggest of brands, but that's not the case anymore. With the economic, cultural, and social landscape changing and consumer perspective-changing, manufacturers and countries have shifted to create products that protect the environment. Brands like Amazon have already pledged towards sustainability, and other e-commerce brands are following suit and finding ways to reduce waste and preserve the Earth for future generations. It's one of the major trends in e-commerce right now, and you should try and integrate sustainable options in your business as well.

According to Harvard Business Review, states that 65% of buyers want to work with brands that aim for sustainability. Find products that are made by sustainable processes or with sustainable materials. If that's not possible, try integrating other green methods. Try to reduce the amount of packaging waste or start by outlining your customers' ways to recycle your products. When you align yourself with environmentally conscious procedures, you will see people will start to follow and respect your brand.

Grow Your Business Sustainably

So there you go, those are the latest e-commerce trends you should know about in 2021. Try utilizing these major trends to build an e-commerce brand that exceeds your expectations and helps you grow sustainably. However, if you want to grow, you will need a highly-optimized platform, and if you aren't able to make one, then we here at the Dropship US can help you out. Our specialty is creating highly optimized drop shipping websites that can help you grow sustainably, so if you want, then please contact us, and we can help you out.

And with that being said, that's about all we have for you today. Let us know in the comments below which trends have you integrated into your business. Also, hit us up on our socials and send in your thoughts and suggestions. We eagerly look for your valuable input, so do let us know. We will come back with something new for you soon. Until then, see ya!

Originally posted in: https://dropshipusa.io/blogs/news/e-commerce-trends-you-should-know-about