With new technology and process innovation, 2021 is a transitory year in eCommerce. The industry has had many decades worth of innovation and growth in the past year. There is no evidence of that changing this year. Even more brands have been forced to take up online shopping as an avenue to stay afloat and for revenue growth. This means the competition in all spheres of online commerce has become quite intense. However, in 2021, there are certain innovative businesses that adapt quickly will be able to compete effectively.
Social media commerce
Called social commerce, social media in eCommerce is now something online customers have become accustomed to. With billions of active social media users on Instagram, Facebook and others, the opportunities for sellers are obvious. Instagram Checkout for one has made the term social purchase mainstream. It allows small business buy and sell within the app. Instagram Checkout, make it easy for customers to make social purchases. It eliminates roadblock allowing companies to find customers where they are native – social media. This is especially true for young customers. Moreover due to the pandemic, social media commerce will expand from $89.4B in 2020 to $604.5B by 2027. There will be significant year over year growth between now and then. This is a great addition to an omnichannel eCommerce strategy.
Set-and-forget subscriptions
Subscriptions are a good way to manage a loyal customer base. This is especially for cyclical products. It is useful for products that are bought regularly and repeatedly, sometimes on regular intervals. Customers can sign up for repeat deliveries of toiletry products like toothpaste, soap, lotion, and aftershave for example. These products are prime for repeat purchase. The subscribe and save options allows businesses to better calculate quarterly and annual revenue projections. This provides savings for the customer and reliable revenue for businesses. This is vital especially post pandemic.
Payment options
Payment options keep evolving and all online businesses must watch this space to succeed in 2021. Online sites must be armed to manage any type of payment. Whether PayPal, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay or the numerous options on the market. Companies must be up to date with this. Payment options eliminate friction from the store experience. Online stores must present their customer base with as many payment options as possible to stay competitive. It is a plus for the buyers and sellers.
Voice Commerce
Finally, voice commerce is all the rage now in eCommerce in 2021. This year it will continue to be a big thing. Fortunately it will be normalized in the eyes of the digital customer. For example, smart speakers are becoming more and more common. Customer dependency is increasing and will only continue to grow, voice commerce is set to be the next major retail disruptor. According to OC&C in the US alone, voice commerce will be $40B of retail sales by 2022, a big increase from $2B in just four years ago.
In conclusion, this is a big year for eCommerce and the better prepared companies will win the year. There are many more features that could have been highlighted. The unpredictable nature of business means we can expect further innovation with eCommerce. Companies must regularly run maintenance and take advantage of support services. Part of doing this is regularly updating the digital infrastructure with the but competitive features for your business. eCommerce in 2021 is going to be quite interesting.