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The Future of Ecommerce for Digital Businesses 3 Trends You Need to Know
The Future of Ecommerce We continue to see a convergence of the digital and physical world that is radically changing the way people buy and consume. In fact, Mary Meeker’s highly-anticipated annual internet trends report paints a fascinating picture of the forces that are likely to define the future of ecommerce including social media, personalization, and subscriptions. These trends present a massive opportunity and complex challenges for digital businesses. Regardless of size, market, or industry, buyers demand a seamless, anytime, anywhere contextual commerce experience. We’ll dive into the details of these three major ecommerce trends that are transforming the way consumers around the world are shopping and making purchases online.
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Trend #1
The Influence of Social Media and Social Commerce Social media and online shopping have always functioned as a natural partnership. However, social commerce hasn’t been an overnight success. Social media “Buy” buttons drove initial hype, but have been slow to catch on. Meanwhile dedicated social shopping platforms have remained a niche phenomenon. However, as Meeker points out, reports show that social commerce might finally start making progress. Rather than making direct purchases through social platforms, consumers are discovering products on social networks in record numbers—and often end up purchasing them. A survey of one thousands U.S. consumers shows that 78 percent of 18 to 34 year-olds said they discovered products on Facebook within the last three months. Even more impressive, 55 percent of people reported buying a product or service online after discovering it on social media.
Ecommerce EcommerceTip: Tip: Drive more sales with automated referral links for customers to share on social media. A discount for the customer and their f riend will simultaneously drive customer loyalty and net new customers.
Furthermore, the number of referrals from social feeds to ecommerce sites is on the rise. According to Adobe data, the percentage of ecommerce referrals f rom social media has risen by four percent in three years—from two percent in Q1 2015 to six percent in Q1 2018. The ecommerce power of social media is its ability to drive more opportunities for products and service discovery. It also offers a source of valuable data that can fuel personalized ecommerce experiences.
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Trend #2
Growing Focus on Personalized Shopping Experiences We’ve all experienced it—you finish looking at a product on a website and end up seeing an ad on social media for the exact same product a few days later. Or when you add items to your shopping cart without making a purchase and receive a reminder email to complete your transaction. Personalization is driving a huge wave of growth for ecommerce. Today, data is king. Data is what drives the ecommerce experiences that we have come to expect from digital businesses. And businesses who invest in personalization are earning more customers and revenue. In fact, 88 percent of consumers say they’re more likely to shop with retailers that deliver personalized and connected cross-channel experiences according to Swirl Networks.
Ecommerce Tip: Customer data is a powerful tool, but don’t forget the responsibility involved. Make sure your ecommerce platform collects data while remaining compliant with local and global regulations like PCI DSS and GDPR.
Consumers expect to see curated products and services across an array of devices at any given moment. However, personalization has also changed the way enterprise software and legacy B2B brands do business. It’s all about the end-toend experience—from initial browsing to completed purchase. Ecommerce Spotlight: Wistia, a leader in video hosting software, has gone above and beyond the usual email template that simply fills in the blank for the greeting—Hello John Smith,— with their powerful (and free!) chrome extension, Soapbox. This tool gives anyone the ability to record, edit, and share high-quality videos in minutes. Whitepaper: The Future of Ecommerce for Digital Businesses 4
They practice what they preach by incorporating these highly personalized videos in their sales process. These videos help humanize the salesperson and cut down on the hours spent sending emails, making phone calls, and holding meetings. Prospects can engage with the video on their own time and learn exactly what they need to know in order to make an informed purchase. The personalized experience helps drive sales and build customer trust. Personalization doesn’t end at the product offering. Consumers also expect a localized experience during the transaction process—that includes localized pricing, currencies, payment options, and language. Research shows that 68 percent of consumers have abandoned an online purchase due to the payment process, and almost half of them chose not to complete a transaction because they weren’t offered their preferred payment option.
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Trend #3
The Rise of Subscriptions
Consumers are evolving from one-time buyers to subscribers. In fact, 15 percent of online shoppers have subscribed to an ecommerce service over the past year. Odds are you’re subscribed to several digital services like Netflix and Spotify. While many legacy software organizations took a SaaS approach years ago. More and more businesses are making the switch to subscription-based models. A recent report f rom McKinsey shows that the subscription ecommerce market has grown by more than 100 percent year over year for the past five years, with the largest retailers generating more than $2.6 Billion in sales in 2016.
Ecommerce Spotlight: Adobe has developed a suite of powerful tools for creatives. In order to keep up with changing consumer habits, they created the Creative Cloud which provides the entire collection of Adobe desktop and mobile apps—including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere—all in one cloud account. Creative professionals and enthusiasts alike have access to their adobe tools when and where they need it so they can create, collaborate, and get inspired.
Ecommerce Tip: An end-to-end ecommerce platform automates the subscription billing process with a full suite of tools. Automatically send invoice notifications to subscribers when their payment information is about to expire, their payment has failed, or if it’s time to renew their subscription. Your customers will never experience a lapse in service, and your business can rely on the consistent revenue.
In order to make this suite of creative tools appealing to individuals and businesses alike, Adobe built out multi-tiered subscription plans. You can find the plan and price that fits your needs. You can even try specific features like Adobe Stock for free with a special trial offer. Adobe understands the importance Whitepaper: The Future of Ecommerce for Digital Businesses 6
of building a subscription that drives value for each and every customer. This inspires more sales and longer-term customer relationships. The subscription market shows no signs of slowing down, and the value is clear. Businesses who switch to a subscription model experience: • • •
A predictable stream of revenue growth. Deep insights into customer behavior. Long-term customer relationships.
And the benefits of a subscription model are passed on to the consumer. Subscriptions offer a convenient, personalized, and often lower-cost way to buy what they want and need.
FastSpring enables global subscriptions & payments for thousands of digital businesses around the world.
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