Best Ecommerce Trends
Do you know how many times Facebook and Instagram and Google and pretty much every other piece of online technology has changed in the last 8 years? 3,852 times.
Okay, so I COMPLETELY made that number up…but the point is that when it comes to working and selling online, there is ALWAYS something new happening.
You may be thinking, “But Alison, does that mean that it’s harder to be in the ecommerce space?” And my answer to you is NO. There are way more opportunities to succeed in your online business than ever before!
Ecommerce Back in the Day
I love it when I hear stories from my grandpa about what happened back in “his day” and I’m about to do kind of the same thing with you. I’ve been doing ecommerce a long time, and how it worked when I launched my first online business is vastly different than it is today.
When I got started, I was basically able to get someone’s email when they wanted to purchase, process payments, and promote whatever product I was selling with a picture on Facebook. (Can I mention Instagram didn’t even exist and Pinterest was JUST getting started?)
Anyway, all of the things I could do back then are STILL DOABLE (yay!) but changes in social media and technology allow us all to:
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- bring our products to life more easily
- communicate with customers more consistently
- personalize interactions on our websites, social media properties, and emails
- land sales that otherwise could have been lost quickly and easily
My Favorite Among the Ecommerce Trends Right Now: Messenger Bots
I have the biggest fan-girl crush on Facebook Messenger bots. (Don’t worry—my husband Jared is totally okay with it.) Messenger bots are literally changing the way I am able to communicate with customers in a simple, effective and in a way that feels very personal. And yes, it’s freaking cool!
If you haven’t used them in your business yet, my bet is that you’ve experienced them as an online customer. You may have received a message from Paypal letting you know that your payment was processed, for example. Or from a retailer letting you know your order has shipped. Or a great freebie from me!
Here are the more trends in E-commerce you need to know about in addition to Messenger bots:
- Multiple ways to accept payments
Remember—the easier you make it for people to pay, the more likely they are to buy from you. In addition to just having them pay with a credit card, look at adding PayPal, ApplePay and similar options to your online store.
- Creating an EXPERIENCE
You guys, make shopping with you an experience from start to finish. The fact is, people have a lot of options when it comes to shopping, so give them a reason to choose you. Make the arrival and opening of your customer’s purchase seem like their birthday and Christmas all rolled into one.
- Engage them early
This kind of goes with creating an overall experience for your customers. Share a story or vision for the product you’re selling, craft amazing product descriptions, create a special offer—anything that catches their attention and keeps them wanting more.
