The most important e-Commerce trends in 2020

Formerly augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) were unreachable as useful technologies because they were too futuristic and underdeveloped. But this time is over. Technology has changed and now we can see how its impact shifts us towards fluid, fast, engaging and personalized experiences.

Trends that can be seen in digital commerce in 2020 can have a direct impact on your e-commerce business. Remember, however, that the competition also has access to them, so you will lose if you decide not to accept them. For those who are interested in these trends in their strategies of customer engagement, we have collected 5 proposals that will certainly be interesting in the context of implementation in an online store. Get to know them!

Implementation of Headless Commerce

Without going into technical details, Headless Commerce occurs when e-commerce frontend and backend are separated. This means that they exist independently of each other. Traditional e-commerce is much more static and less active than Headless. However, companies that want to compete in today’s market using traditional e-commerce solutions may experience difficulty meeting customer requirements.

As the site progresses, which is becoming more reliable and dynamic, shopping in more channels is becoming more difficult in traditionally monolithic architectures and all interrelationships associated with them. According to Jason Woosley, Vice President, Trading Platform and Products at Adobe, the way to compete on today’s marketplace is by implementing Headless. If you have already invested in content, you must now make the content available for purchase. The easiest way to do this is to implement Headless.

Advantages of implementing Headless Commerce

The transition to Headless Commerce allows your company access to content that can be purchased in real time. It also gives the opportunity to expand the site, making it flexible and provides a personalized impression. “In 2020, there is pressure to make everything available for purchase immediately,” says Woosley. “Every experience that you provide to the customer should be feasible and every time you presented this new dress, this wonderful new drone or new toys and you managed to interest the buyer – you must be able to present him the opportunity to buy at this time” .

Headless Commerce will be the best way for companies to improve the quality of multi-channel store service. Organization of promotions and content will be faster and easier than ever before. There are many possibilities for expanding the omnichannel as well as a mobile channel and increasing the conversion rate thanks to Headless.

Share your product range immediately

Personalizing e-commerce products, services and content is a practice that is currently being implemented by many B2C and B2B e-commerce websites. “Personalization is important to customers because the company has taken a process that can be tedious and simplified it to meet the needs of customers,” says Vish Ganapathy, managing director and leader of Global Retail Technology at Accenture. “Customers are not only satisfied with the results, but with each interaction with the customer, the brand gains insight into how to improve its product and targeted marketing techniques.”

In the case of B2B sales, personalization will help attract customer interest, as well as provide additional information about the customer’s activities on the site. However, in 2020, creating personalized experiences must be based not only on demographic and behavioral data. The approach can also be relevant, personalized and contextual.

How to build customer trust?

Convincing customers to the brand is the result of personalization at the individual level. It consists in creating a satisfying experience for the consumer. To do this, determine who the visitor is and what he needs. Relying on offers and ads is not enough to increase customer engagement. Over 74% of online consumers are discouraged from shopping when offers, ads or promotions have nothing to do with their interests. Everything that is presented to customers browsing the store must be tailored and unique to the interests of a particular visitor.

Guarantee of online shopping security

However, securing information to provide personalized content can be difficult. You need to be very careful about how you serve this content without causing discomfort to customers. “There is a clear line between wise, smart and calm and obtrusive and repulsive,” says Ganapathy.

“Customers make transactions much more often when you display relevant content. When does it get too pushy? When you say: Hey, I know you are at the Radisson, room 302, and I can provide it to you within 10 minutes, “says Woosley. Here you have to draw a border.

The trick is to provide customers with relevant, personalized shopping experiences that they find exciting and original. This can be achieved thanks to the right combination of precisely selected data delivered to the client at the right time.

Combining online sales with modern content

In 2020, the most emphasis will be on personalized content. If companies go with the times and use the technology in the right way, they will not only gain more sales, but also loyal customers. One way to get attention is relevant content.

How to create content for an e-commerce website

Any content created must be connected to digital commerce and shopping. The content must be edited for the client only. Before they start buying your products, they consume your content. They use what is provided to them.

Providing customers with the ability to consume content at every stage of their purchase is part of the long-term commitment of customers. Content must be interactive and related to each other and to purchases. Thanks to today’s access to customer data and the ability to understand buyers’ preferences and expectations, a change in approach to Content Marketing must be included in the 2020 marketing plan.

Implementation of augmented reality in an e-commerce application

AR (Augmented Reality) has been around for years. Maybe you even use it everyday without realizing it. If your car has a reversing camera with parking assist, you use AR. If you send photos with a face filter, you also use AR. Although some applications of this technology are often underestimated, companies are already changing the image of trading with AR. Many of them have successfully implemented it in their e-commerce applications.

Examples of using augmented reality in e-commerce

More and more companies are already using AR to enrich customer service. Neiman Marcus uses MemoMi, a multi-layered, sophisticated AR engine and artificial intelligence engine that provides an augmented reality experience. Houzz, a company that sells home furnishings, has also been very successful thanks to the “View in My Room” mobile application. “Visualization requires commitment, and this has proven to increase sales,” says Ganapathy. “Over 2 million customers use the View in My Room app, and Houzz said its users are 11 times more likely to buy than those who haven’t used it.”

Although the first AR applications have been successful, the advancement of augmented reality has some challenges. Machine learning and voice command functions must work together seamlessly to create a multi-sensory approach. In 2020, both AR and AI will work together more smoothly as more and more companies will begin to integrate these technologies with their e-commerce platforms.

Progressive Web Apps and its advantages

In 2019, we observed an increased number of Progressive Web Apps (PWA) implementations, and this trend will become even more popular in 2020. Gartner predicts that by next year PWA will replace 50% of mobile shopping applications.

Is Progressive Web Apps useful?

What distinguishes PWA from traditional applications? According to Woosley, PWA is the next step in the evolution of internet technologies. “We have already moved from static websites to computer websites, and then to responsive mobile websites. PWA is the next stage of evolution. ” According to him, PWA with its qualities can not only replace the application, but has the advantages that using the application will become pointless.

PWA have already been successfully adopted at various large companies such as Twitter and Starbucks. They can now use their websites to offer clients instant access to their services or push them to notify them, even if their clients are offline. “When you enter Starbucks.com, you can place their icon on your home screen and use it exactly like the Starbuck mobile app. There is no difference, and in my opinion it is even faster, “said Woosley.

Advantages of Progressive Web Apps

Speed ​​is a key part of the customer experience. A well-constructed PWA offers companies the opportunity to provide information to areas with poor internet coverage. “[PWA] Works best in emerging economies such as Africa and India, where cellular coverage may be 3G or worse. For traditional websites or mobile applications, all information must be compressed to be transmitted. PWA only provides the resources that are needed. This makes them a much better option in countries with low transfer capacity. “

What platforms does PWA work on?

A fast, responsive and mobile optimized website is important, but building it properly can take time. You need to make sure your customers can view your information no matter what platform they use. This is not a problem for PWA. “You don’t need to encode for iOS. You don’t need to code for Android. Just build it once and deploy it to all platforms at the same time, “explains Woosley from Adobe. “Every new project in 2020 should be based on PWA technology. There is no reason to build traditional websites. It will take a while, little players implement this technology, but now you can see that all new projects are PWA projects. “

It is good business practice to keep a finger on the pulse and know what trends are emerging in the industry. Even if you only have a small B2B e-commerce site and you cannot implement the latest technologies in your daily operations, you must remember them. From personalization to PWA – these trends in 2020 will have a direct impact on how you shop online and how you sell your products online.