As a maker or manufacturer who sells products online, it can be hard to keep up with everything and update your website. Here are 10 top trends that you shouldn’t miss to keep up with competitors.
Soon, we will see an increase in product visualization through augmented reality. The furniture giant Ikea has shown earlier this year what that could look like when they launched an app that you can use to find out how the furniture would look like in your house.
Since mobile usage is on the rise, a lot more people use their devices to purchase things online. Therefore, it is about time you make sure your website is optimized for visitors that use a smartphone or a tablet to purchase some of your goods.
Generation Z, which includes people born between the mid-nineties and early 2000, will become the biggest generation of consumers in 2020. To sell your products to them, you should learn about their needs and shopping habits.
In the age of globalization, you should consider selling internationally as many countries still have huge potential for buying goods online. For example, it is expected that online sales in Western Europe will grow 11.9 % on average in the next five years.
When addressing an international audience, you will have to face the problem of different currencies. If you want to offer your goods to the same price to all your customers, you can use cryptocurrencies as a payment option. That will save your customers bank fees when purchasing goods from your store.
As things are getting more complex, it will become harder for small businesses to keep up with their competitors who have more resources to grow, especially when you have to keep track of everything yourself, you should consider automating your business operation and implement software that can keep track of your orders and raw materials inventory.
As customer communication is essential for making sales in your online shop, you should have a look at artificial intelligence. Not only can a bot help you to handle customer inquiries, but also collect useful data that you can use to create a unique customer experience (see 10.)
Did you know that you can make more sales if you combine your online and offline channels? By allowing people to order online but pick up the goods in your physical store, they’ll save shipping costs, and they might get tempted to buy more while in your store.
Social media is not just a platform for advertisement anymore. It is also changing into a marketplace for online merchants. By implementing a “buy” button, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter are now allowing users to purchase products directly from their sites.
Your customers have grown with the marketing strategies and they expect more from a webshop than they did before. People want a unique shopping experience instead of a generic website that seems to offer everyone the same.