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Future of Ecommerce: Here’s What Online Sellers Need to Know

The world around us is changing faster than ever. And you – the online sellers and retailers – must adapt to changes. But, with everything happening at a rapid pace, how do you keep up with the latest trends? If you’re worried about being left behind, here’s the good news for you. Builderfly is here to help.

In this blog, we’ve listed the top future trends in e-commerce in India. Therefore, you should prepare your store for some of these trends before they climb to their peaks, and then watch your sales soar through the roof.

Where Is E-Commerce Heading From The Past Few Years?

Ecommerce has seen a meteoric rise in popularity in the past decade. In fact, with an estimated population of 7.87 billion, almost 2.14 billion are shopping online. The numbers are rising over the years, and they will continue to grow in the coming future.

In India, general citizens who were afraid to buy online finally started buying online after the pandemic.

According to NASSCOM, the growth of ecommerce in India is expected to cross a whopping $200 billion by 2030 due to increased analytics, transaction, and internet penetration.

Here Are Top Factors That Will Help Ecommerce Continue To Grow In The Coming Future.

Ease of Access: Rise in the usage of smartphones and affordable internet access makes it easy to shop online. And, between now and 2024, 5 billion 5G mobile subscriptions and a staggering four billion IoT connections are expected to thrive.

Improved financial system: Top fintech startups like BharatPe, Paytm, PhonePe have been game-changers in the history of Indian finance. Moreover, with the invention of UPI, more and more Indians are moving away from cash to digital transactions. This has made Indian Fintech a $50-60 Bn industry (in FY20), and it is expected to become $150 Bn by 2025.

More millennial consumers: In India, 34% of the population (440 million)  are millennials. Millennials are more comfortable with digital technologies and online shopping and hence contribute to the major revenue of e-commerce in India.

Ecommerce Statistics: What Do They Predict For The Future?

According to Statista, 72 percent of online customers find new stores on social media.

As per a study conducted by Marketing Land, conversion rates from mobile apps are 3X higher than a mobile website.

According to eCommerceDB, India has the eighth-largest e-commerce market with a total value of $50 billion, placing it ahead of Canada and France.

According to a study by NASSCOM, India’s e-commerce sector is expected to reach $200 billion by 2030.

Key Trends in Retail and E-Commerce that will Dominate the Future?

E-commerce has evolved over the years. Future trends suggest making your customers’ lives easier and connecting with them on a personal level. You can maximize your online store’s sales by utilizing these trends forecasts as an e-commerce owner. Alright, let’s dive in.

Moving Towards Eco-Friendly Alternatives

In the past, the only motive of people was to make their lives easier. However, today, more and more shoppers are moving towards eco-friendly practices. In modern ecommerce, showing your business follows eco-friendly practices is a powerful tool. In fact, Harvard Business Review states that 65% of online consumers actively want to align themselves with brands that conduct their businesses in an eco-friendly manner.

Here’s how eco-friendly choices will shape ecommerce in the coming future.

Eco-Friendly Packaging: It’s a well-known fact that plastic is one of the most dangerous materials for our environment. As a result, brands are moving to sustainable materials like paper boxes, recycled plastic.

Adopting Paperless Tech: Instead of providing paper receipts, ecommerce brands use digital receipts to save paper.

Environment-Friendly Shipping: Ecommerce brands are also taking a step forward to provide environmentally friendly shipping options to customers. Some of these services include DHL, GoGreen, etc.

Delivery By Drones: A Faster And Eco-Friendly Alternative

Delivery by drones will soon become a reality in India, with major brands like Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, Zomato, and Dunzo trying drone testing.

The Direction of Aviation has already given a green signal to  Zomato, Swiggy, and Dunzo to start testing beyond the line of sight of drones for deliveries.

Along with others, major delivery partner Delhivery is also planning to start drone deliveries in India.

So, it won’t be much time before we see drones flying through the sky, of course with a package.

Here’s Why Brands Are Bidding Their Money On Drone Delivery:

Fuel costs have soared high in recent years. As a result, shipping costs have jumped by bounds. According to research, customers abandoned carts due to higher shipping costs. Drones can help lower shipping costs by significant amounts.

E-commerce customers are impatient. The longer waiting time can frustrate many online shoppers. Drones delivery could solve this problem by helping deliver within 24 hours.

They are eco-friendly choices as compared to shipping vehicles. This is because drones use lithium-ion batteries, whereas vehicles use fossil fuels to run.

Growth In Voice Search: Hey Alexa, Order The Eggs

From “Hey Alexa, search for the best restaurant near me” to “Hey Siri, tell me a joke,” voice assistants have risen in popularity in recent years.

With the rapid growth of technology, our need for instant gratification has increased to a whole new level. Many people are turning to voice search to save the energy and time that goes into typing.

According to a study by Social Media Today, close to 50% of people are now researching products online using voice search.

Another study by Bright Local highlights that 51% of people claim they would use voice search to find local businesses near them.

As the numbers above point out, voice searches will definitely explode in the near future. So, be ready. Optimize your online store for voice search.

Here are top reasons how voice search will transform e-commerce in the upcoming future:

Saves Time and Energy: An average user can type only 30 to 35 words per minute, whereas a voice search can process 100 words per minute. As a result, voice search saves time whenever you are too busy to type or just tired.

Easy to review: Collecting reviews online has always been challenging for businesses, but no more. With voice search, sharing reviews is a breeze. The ease of reviewing products on voice search also makes reviews sound more genuine and meaningful, which in turn helps products and customers.

Offers personalized shopping experience: Voice search combined with machine learning provides users with recommendations based on their preferences. If someone orders eggs and bananas through a voice search, the machine will ask what they want to do with bananas and may suggest a few more ingredients to buy.

Humanization and Conversational E-commerce: Hello, I am a Human

“The more human your ecommerce brand sounds, the better its chances of survival”

Gone are the days when brands sounded like robots. Zomato is a prime example of a brand using a humanized approach to gain traction.

Neuroscience confirms, ‘people buy on emotions and justify with logic‘. So, if you want people to buy your product, you will need to connect them on an emotional level. Having a human story associated with the products is one such tactic that can help brands connect with customers.

Another trend that is rising is conversational e-commerce. As we know, reviews and recommendations are major drivers of sales in e-commerce. So, why take the word of a brand when customers can just search for thousands of product reviews online?

The core of this trend is that ‘people trust people over faceless brands‘.

This means, if brands want to increase their sales, they need to have users review their products. That’s the reason why influencer marketing is expected to grow to a Rs 2,200 crore industry by 2025.

Virtual and Augmented Reality: Online Shopping in 3D Mode

Statista shows the augmented reality market is valued at $30.7 billion with 810 million active mobile users. 

We’re living in a world where customers are overloaded with information. As a result, retailers and e-commerce brands will use visual strategies to gain the attention of customers and stand out from the noise.

In a Press Release, Gartner states that 100 million customers will shop in Augmented Reality online and in-store within one year. And the introduction of 5G technology should make this even more exciting.

In India, currently, only a handful of companies leverage AR. The prime example is Lenskart. The brand uses 3D reality to help customers try on their glasses virtually. The technology measures the user’s face from all directions. When the user tries on the virtual glasses, they can swipe to change the frame.

However, a Deloitte analysis identifies some products that are ideal for delivering unique AR shopping experiences are:

  • Home goods
  • Technology
  • Makeup
  • Shoes
  • Automotive
  • Furniture
  • Apparels

To become successful in deploying AR, using historical data will make selection easier and 3D face modeling makes it fun for buyers. A win-win situation for both parties.

Growth of Social Commerce: Let's Buy That From Facebook

A new report by Accenture highlights that shopping on social media is expected to reach revenue of $1.2 billion by 2025, three times as fast as traditional ecommerce.

But, what exactly is social commerce? Social commerce can be defined as a person’s entire shopping experience, from product discovery to checkout on social media platforms.

According to Accenture, 8 out of 10 commerce users in India use social media to make purchases.

Here Are Top Reasons Why Social Commerce Will Explode In The Coming Years:

  • Frictionless Experience: Everything is happening inside the social media app. Users do not have to leave for anything. As a result, there is no friction. The more touchpoints users need to complete the purchase, the more opportunity they will get to rethink their buying decision.
  • Instant Feedback: When it comes to online shopping, people rely on reviews to complete the purchase. Good reviews can do wonders. Compared to websites, users on social media provide instant feedback, thus providing more opportunities to boost sales.
  • Increase exposure: As an ecommerce brand, one of your top priorities is to reach as much of your target audience as possible. With more than a billion active users on social media like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, there is a great potential on these social media apps for you to maximize your reach.

How Builderfly Helps You Be One Step Ahead In Your Ecommerce Business?

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FAQs

How Will AI Change Ecommerce In India?

Artificial Intelligence is helping online sellers make use of data to personalize the customer experience. Moreover, AI technologies like augmented reality are gaining traction due to their effectiveness. AI-based voice search is rapidly growing, with more customers relying on voice assistants to search for products.

What Are The Latest Trends In E-Commerce In India?

The latest trends in ecommerce in India include a rise in social commerce, personalization, growth in subscription-based services, adoption of augmented and virtual reality, etc.

What Is The Future Of Social Commerce In India? How Is It Beneficial?

With more than a billion active users on social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, social commerce is exploding in India. The most important benefit of social commerce is a frictionless shopping experience and improved access to the target audience.

How Is Augmented Reality Used In E-Commerce?

According to several studies, AR makes customers 65% more likely to complete the purchase. Ecommerce brands like Lenskart use AR to help users try on their glasses virtually. This makes online shopping easy and fun.

Why Is Mobile Commerce Growing So Fast? How Does It Help In Business?

With around 6 billion customers having smartphones, mobile commerce is quickly gaining traction. Having your own mobile app can make it easy to retain customers using personalization and easy access.

Future of ecommerce

Conclusion

With the explosion in internet users in India, e-commerce is definitely seeing huge traction. That’s why now is the best time to enter the e-commerce market and start your online business. We’ve provided you with the future trends that are expected to arrive shortly.

So, when are you starting your online store? Need help? Builderfly is your friend.

Get started with Builderfly today for FREE!

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