Growth Strategies

What is eCommerce Trendwatching: How To Find, Follow And Apply

eCommerce Trendwatching

The reality of e-commerce is to keep up with the latest trends. This is constantly developing, gaining a large market share and driving online sales. This is what drives online sales. This becomes more exciting in the age of emerging technologies and IoT.

Trendwatching can be a powerful way to gain a competitive edge over your competitors and position yourself as a leader within the industry. Let’s all hack the system together to become rising stars by 2023.

What E-Commerce Trends Did 2022 Have? And Which Will Last Until 2023?

E-commerce did not disappear without leaving an imprint in the year 2022. It left many e-trends, including augmented reality and zero coding. The marketplace boom and product subscriptions are just some of the others. Let’s now look at the e-commerce trends in 2022 and predict what will be the trend for 2023. Or, as some may call it, the Da Vinci code.

M-Commerce Together with Voice Commerce

Mobile commerce, also known as “m-commerce,” is a popular way to ease consumers’ lives. Its rapid growth is due to the simple fact that people love shopping in the easiest way possible. The Adjust and Sensor Tower report states that m-commerce will account for 54% of all global e-commerce sales in 2021. This market is worth more than $3.5 trillion.

Mobile commerce will continue to be in demand in 2023 and expand further. According to Statista, only 72.9% of US purchases were made using mobile devices in 2021. Don’t miss the m-commerce opportunity and optimize your eshop for mobile use ASAP.

Voice commerce is another great feature of online shopping. Customers will feel even more at ease. Voice assistants such as Siri or Alexa allow you to purchase the product by simply saying it while on the run. Statista recently revealed that about 60% of Americans have voice assistants in their homes. Voice commerce is a unique market opportunity that will grow in 2023.

Also read: How To Develop A Highly Successful Online B2B Marketplace

Marketplace Boom

The marketplace boom is another leader in making consumers’ life easier. The marketplace boom allows consumers to access all their favorite brands in one place. The small brand is more likely to be a rising star in the industry due to its established trust, quick delivery times, and variety of payment options.

This is a sign that online sales will rise dramatically. Online sales will continue growing thanks to no-border online shopping, a convenient shopping experience, and digitalization. According to Statista, online sales will reach $8 trillion.

Subscriptions but on Products

Subscriptions are offered by some businesses for their products. Subscribe to save 15% and plan your purchases. Free shipping on product x every 3 months. Some companies offer testers for upcoming products to help clients feel better.

Consumers who enjoy saving money and planning will continue to love subscriptions. Kearney found that more than a third (33%) of weekly US, France, and German buyers had signed up for subscriptions. However, only 12% are still considering this service.

Last Mile and Next-Day Delivery

In 2023, last-mile delivery will be a high-demand service. This is the last leg of a parcel’s journey from its transportation hub to its final destination. Optimizing your logistics and route for goods storage is a must. Amazon is a great example of this. You can also speed up delivery with last-mile delivery. Next-day delivery is also a hot trend.

Sustainability is the Queen

Recent statistics show that customers are becoming more eco-conscious in 2023. According to The Economist, searches for environmentally-friendly goods have increased by 70% in the past year. Statista also reported 70% of US and UK consumers to want brands to use less packaging, and almost 90% would delay delivery in order to save the environment.

The Future is already here: Automation, chatbots, AR and AI reign

Automating business operations makes it possible to run them smoothly, without any technical problems. Automation also increases employees’ productivity, allowing them more time to concentrate on core business operations. Chatbots are able to answer questions and take payments, while employees form partnerships. Retail Brew found that 3D images of products are more popular than static photos for approximately 50% of consumers.

Businesses could use AI to optimize their processes in all departments (marketing, inventory, customer relations). In 2023, Customers will have high expectations and customer service robots will only enhance their shopping experience.

Businesses should pay attention to Metaverse as it is still a trend or hype.

TikTok and Influencers

One viral TikTok video can reach 1.5 Million people and generate monthly income. Video content will continue to be effective for several years, from DIY to answering the most common questions to reviewing products.

Influencers can help increase brand awareness by sharing a review about your product on social media. Reviews are a favorite of many people and they are read before buying. Even for small brands, honest reviews can help build brand awareness.

Omnichannel: Diversity & Inclusion

Each successful company uses multiple channels to reach potential customers and promote its products. Practical omnichannel usage includes search engine optimization, paid searches, social media channels and online stores.

The customer data platform (CDM) is another trend that has emerged in the omnichannel framework. It has outperformed CRM and introduced advanced functions such as creating the customer’s journey from when they first fell in love with the product until the time they make a purchase.

This year, the omnichannel strategy will be very popular. You have many options to reach your customers: paid search, targeted ads, and marketplace.

Omnichannel can also refer to different payment methods. You can think of everything: credit cards, cash, PayPal, Stripe, and Klarna. And don’t forget about the newly introduced “buy now, Pay later” function that is available for those who are skeptical. Clients will be more likely to purchase their first item if you offer more payment options.

Personalization: Amazing Deals, but with Privacy in mind

Businesses can use the latest technology and eshop analytics to create the perfect customer profile and offer discounts based on purchase history and behavior. Given the care and love we all need at the end of a long day, these transactions are usually logical.

Personalization will be a key aspect of eCommerce trends in 2023 regardless of whether you are B2B, B2C, or both. Personalization is key to winning customers’ hearts by offering personalized deals, product recommendations, and free guides.

Companies and brands must not neglect the sensitive issue regarding data protection when pursuing personalization. This will be a growing trend through 2023. Customer experience is key to success. However, it should not be overused, especially when it comes to personal information.

Social Commerce

Social commerce, which is selling products via social media platforms, will dominate all charts. It has great potential to revolutionize the world. Major market players have noticed the potential of social shopping, which has resulted in a significant infusion of capital. Soft Bank, for example, has invested $150 million into social commerce. Another platform for social commerce, which is backed by Yuri Milner, raised between $250 million and $500 million. This platform has received funds and will continue to grow.

Also read: Ways for eCommerce Stores to Increase Profitability

Is Trendwatching a Business Superpower?

Trend watching is a concept that has been around since the 20th century. The process of following trends involves several activities such as reviewing customer needs and predicting them in the long term. A company gains a competitive edge in the market if it can identify the trend before other companies — this is the ultimate goal for trend watching.

Businesses that are good at trend-watching will be able to stay in business and gain market share. It’s about growth and development. The business’s three main goals are success, survival, and development. Trend watching is about developing, especially if you have the chance to stay on top of new trends. To avoid being behind on a trend, corporations invest so much time and money in it.

Trendwatching can be a competitive advantage and a secret weapon in any company’s growth and development. How can we do it ahead of others?

Trends’ Birth Date: How to Time it?

Timing is a sensitive issue in trend-watching. The purpose of this is to gain a competitive edge over other competitors. To succeed in it, Some businesses have developed a variety of efficient mechanisms to help them identify the trend while they are still in testing mode. Let’s find out the next thing we have: the timing.

1. Monitor Everything in the Industry

It is important to keep up with industry news. Companies can increase their competitive edge by studying industry literature and expert publications. They can also monitor market technology innovations and study statistics and reports that can help identify trends and hypotheses.

Many people attend conferences and lectures on the latest trends. However, these events often cover outdated developments that have been implemented by large corporations. If you’re a novice in your industry, conferences are great for networking and getting acquainted with others in the field. Professionals consider conferences a wasteful use of their most valuable resource, time.

However, trend monitoring is more effective when you read industry literature and other expert publications. It is a key part of any business’s success if they want to create a unique business strategy that will outperform the rest and make a name for themselves in the market. It is important to have a variety of reading materials. It is not a good idea to focus on one viewpoint when there are so many other options.

My experience is that I follow many resources. For example, I read the Andreessen Horowitz blog which reports trends in their newsletters. INC.5000 is a blog that discusses the fastest-growing business model. You can also use industry information by following Twitter people and subscribing to newsletters. Many venture capitalists I follow on Twitter include Sam Altman, Y Combinator’s founder, who discusses topics such as artificial intelligence and trends.

Read news from top e-commerce companies like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. These newsletters are great sources of information, particularly business insights, and strategies. It’s fascinating to observe how trends change in Asia and America, and how different they are.

2.  Brainstorming, Modeling, and Forecasting.

As effective as market trends monitoring, brainstorming with an expert team can be just as effective. Futurological forecasting (potential scenarios that are based on current trends), extrapolation, modeling, analogy, reverse predictions, or simply roadmaps can be used to generate ideas. These tools are powerful tools to see how trends are created.

Also read: Best Tools and Resources for Launching a Successful Startup

3.  Keep an eye out for startups and emerging markets

It is important to analyze the activity of competitors in the market, but businesses need to think outside the box and be open to new opportunities and markets. This is a must-have in any business strategy and should not be an option.

High-end technology, innovation, and agile testing are the driving forces behind most startups. With their help, new trends are born. Don’t be surprised to find a startup that is considered a top trend in 2023.

You must also keep an eye out for emerging markets in order to understand the progress and achievements of the industry. This will help you identify key performance indicators. China is a great example of a market that is trendsetting, given its incredible success in e-commerce.

Taobao is a Chinese online shopping site. It was the result of a series experiment: Taobao’s live broadcast became an instant success. This idea was quickly adopted by the company, which continued to develop it. The company’s competitors then saw the concept and adopted it into their business strategies.

It is difficult for businesses to follow every competitor in their industry. Businesses should not follow all the competitors in their industry. Instead, they should concentrate on emerging markets and startups where innovation and trends are continually being created.

4. Tips for E-Commerce News: What to Do?

There are many sources that report on the latest trends in eCommerce. Here’s a list of publications I love that are worth following:

Practical eCommerce, and Digital Commerce 360 give an overview of the e-commerce market and its future direction in marketing, design, and analytics. Econsultancy offers a fresh view of digital marketing trends and Retail Dive discusses major retailers like Walmart, Amazon, Lululemon, and Lululemon. Glossy shares beauty brand trends while Modern Retail reveals omnichannel trends.

The latest news can be found in Lean Luxe and 2 PM, Chips + Dips. You also have the option to subscribe to Vogue Business newsletters. My favorite podcasts include Retail Gets Real and Future Commerce, Modern Retail and Goal Talk.

A Case Study on Implementing Trends in Business Strategy

Trends can be confusing and difficult to implement in a business strategy. A striking example of an emerging trend is “hype”. Companies need to be able to distinguish between hype and trend. It is important to know the basic needs of a person before you can distinguish between hype and trend terms. In the e-commerce world, Maslow’s pyramid is still a crucial tool.

It is the best time to start testing when a business has established a true early trend. Trend-watching has the advantage that you can try as many of these trends as you like while they’re hot. There’s no need to be concerned about missing out on a trend. You can try all of them. However, companies must set up a framework to test their products. It should be short-term and preferably for three months.

It is crucial to keep track of all performance metrics during this period, including conversion rates, profits, and other key performance indicators. Only these key performance indicators can tell you if the trend was a good idea or not.

Analytics — An Essential Role in Trends

Analytics are essential in trend monitoring. When you see your competitors trying something new, it is important to test it yourself with your audience. In China, for example, industry journalists wrote about live commerce and industry experts saw the trend.

We looked deeper into analytics to find that this trend is expanding in many countries. We began to analyze the growth of startups in this area and how quickly they were appearing. After analyzing the numbers, we made a decision: If you see this trend growing, then you should enter the field.

Also read: 4 Things You Can Learn From Competitor Web Traffic Analytics

Cultural Differences

Analytics can be tricky because of cultural differences that could hinder your company’s growth. My experience was with the application of live commerce trends from China to the CIS. We started to monitor the trend using live commerce. We tried to transfer the trend to the markets in the CIS countries but people weren’t as keen to go live. They also associated live commerce — and live broadcasts on Instagram — with the live commerce trend.

What works for trends in CIS countries?

Even though the implementation of the foreign trend didn’t work out the way it was supposed to, my team recognized the potential trend based on the behavior of audiences in the CIS countries. This led to the implementation of an unexpected but successful trend. The short video format worked well, we discovered.

We began to dig deeper and discovered the psychology of people and how they prefer short, engaging content. We were impressed by TikTok’s stats and ad formats. A native ad is often caught in the middle of other ads and has a much higher engagement rate than any other ad type on Instagram or Facebook. We chose to focus on short videos. This worked well for us.

Testing 

The best way to implement a trend is to test the hypothesis. It may fail or succeed — there is no right or wrong strategy. You need to create a clear hypothesis before you can implement a trend, what you want in the output, and what success looks like in hypothesis testing. You can determine if it worked by setting clear indicators and checking the output over a period of time.

Wrapping up

Trendwatching is a way for businesses to satisfy their customers’ needs in the most innovative ways. You can use trendwatching to build your next empire if you are able to do so. You are on the right path to make it happen.

Written by
Isla Genesis

Isla Genesis is social media manager of The Tech Trend. She did MBA in marketing and leveraging social media. Isla is also a passionate, writing a upcoming book on marketing stats, travel lover and photographer.

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