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E-commerce has been growing and changing immensely over the past two years. Covid has led to more businesses finally getting on the train of digital transformation, discovering its huge potential on the way. Statistics show that one in four sales will take place online by 2024. In 2021, online sales accounted for 5 trillion dollars worldwide, and this figure is expected to rise to 6.4 trillion by 2024. There is a strong emerging trend in the food sector. Last year for example, one third of society bought food online for the first time. In this context, generation Z as well as millennials are the pioneers in trying out new online services, regarding to a KPMG study.
It might come as a surprise, but interestingly the generation of baby boomers became the fastest-growing group regarding shopping online during Covid. Their trust in online shopping and the internet in general is quite low, so retailers must try building reliability and trust if they want to win customers out of this generation. They are also the ones who are most open to hybrid solutions, such as click & collect and prefer locally customized shopping experience.
Another generation retailers tend to overlook is the group of Gen X. This mistake comes with high costs since it is also the group with the highest average income and therefore with an immense spending power. Indeed, they are known savers and appreciate a good offer, discounts as well as a smooth checkout procedure, but don’t make the mistake to ignore them.They can be caught with customer references since they trust peers more than brand names and have high potential when it comes to sale offerings.
Also known as the “try-before-you-buy” generation are the millennials. Opportunities to return products are a must-have when it comes to this group. But if you think about it, this is nothing out of the ordinary. We are used to trying of clothes in-store, taking a car for a test drive and first-month-free offers. Millennials are simply requesting these amenities in e-commerce related manners as well. In contrast to the baby boomers and Gen X, they are very brand loyal, expect rewards and tons of product information before making a buying decision. Millennials are purpose-driven, so retailers better make an effort when it comes to story-telling and bringing across their values and social goals.
Last but not least comes Generation Z. The so-called Zoomers are the youngest but do have a lot of potential since they grew up with the internet, spending countless hours online. You might be surprised, but they trust information on brand websites more than recommendations on social media and such. Just as millennials, they usually are brand-loyal, but they expect fast websites and deliveries as well as great customer service. Another way to get their attention? Implement video material on your website and in advertising. This generation is all about the visuals.
Even in 2022, 81% of online shoppers are hesitant to buy from a site they are unfamiliar with. Therefore, building trust is indispensable when it comes to the success of your online store. One of the most stated reasons for cart-abandonment for example are hidden costs only reflected at the end of check-out. High transparency throughout the whole buying process eliminates doubt and ensures higher conversions.
What else can you do to build trust? Since there is such a huge amount of fraud out there, adding a trust seal or safety certificate like Trusted Shops or TrustPilot can increase your sales by a third.
Add social proof like customer references, logos and media mentions to your shop. This report shows that testimonials lead to 63% of people feeling more likely to purchase a product. Don’t be afraid to receive negative feedback sometimes. Rather use it to increase the quality of your service and products.
Real pictures vs. stock photos.There are countless surveys about how authentic visual material leads to higher numbers in sales. Consider investing some time and money into taking individual pictures for your e-commerce store instead resorting to stock photos.
Advertising your shop via social media might not be news to you, but have you considered selling directly on Instagram and the like? This trend combines catching people’s attention and closing the deal, what a great way to shorten your customer journey. Social commerce will increase rapidly over the next few years. Therefore, don’t miss this additional opportunity to convert more customers.
You could almost call it a revival of teleshopping. We are talking about a combination of livestream, social media, and online shopping. Often, there are influencers involved as well as a person with expertise about the product. The difference between live-shopping and teleshopping? The opportunity to engage directly with the influencer and brand. Interestingly, the frontrunner in live-shopping is China, but the trend slowly catches on in Europe as well.
The big web 3.0 promises a blend of reality and virtuality. Contrary to all expectations, the trend started more slowly than hoped for. Once again Asia and Northern America are the current innovators and invest tons of money in beta projects. Statistics show that people are convinced that the metaverse will have a big impact on our lives someday and that there is endless potential for the economy, especially for e-commerce businesses. It can only be an advantage for retailers to engage with this trend.
For quite sometime greenwashing was an easy way out of businesses responsibility regarding sustainability. For the majority of people, acting responsibly is extremely important and since we live in a consumer market, it makes a difference. Businesses who neglect these tasks will eventually lose money. The good news are that making your e-commerce shop more sustainable is not as hard as it sounds and way less expensive than you might think.
Fulfilling special customers request by modifying certain parts of your product can get you way ahead of your competition. The trick is to market your services and products in a more tangible way. Especially in the B2C market, product configurators are a must-have but also in B2B it has been a growing trend for years. The reason why this works so well is the possibility of visualizing your product in a certain way. You are not ready to implement a configurator? That is quite alright, but don’t slack on getting your data in order. Because when you are ready, the information and experience you gathered are a key factor in building your software.
In the end it comes down to one thing. Being attentive and willing to respond to customer requests and needs. Little things go a long way, and you cannot strengthen loyalty in any better way than giving your customers what they ask for. Our advice: after gathering peoples feedback, see which pain points are the most common and the easiest to fix. Talk about the changes you made on your social media wall and / or in your newsletters. By doing this, you make your customers feel important and valued and success will follow in no time.
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