But more online shoppers mean more ecommerce platforms, which has created a competitive and fierce market.To stand out from the competition, you need new ways to promote your products and services , and this requires you to stay up to date on the latest ecommerce trends.

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5 Ecommerce Trends You Can't Ignore in 2020

This article will cover the top 5 ecommerce trends to keep an eye on next year:

• The explosion of social commerce
• AR and VR experiences in e-commerce
• Chatbots to maximize revenue
• Voice commerce is going mainstream
• Mobile shopping and mobile payments continue to increase

Let's learn about them in detail!

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• SEO for ecommerce sites (beginner and intermediate)

Trend No. 1: The explosion of social commerce

As defined by Investopedia:

"Social commerce is the use of network websites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as vehicles to promote and sell products and services."

Campaign metrics include user engagement such as liking, sharing, and retweeting.According to eMarketer, social commerce increased from 23% in December 2018 to 31% in October 2019 among internet users in the United States:

Popular platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest are perfect places because they offer rich visual content, helping shoppers discover, search, and buy different products online.

Social referrals to retail websites have increased by 110% in just two years.This surpasses any other referral channel and with good reason: users prefer a social environment over external websites when searching for or buying something.

Social commerce is so popular because it offers a smooth and frictionless sales experience. CLICK TO TWEET Here are some ways to capitalize on social commerce:

• Make your brand recognizable and authentic.
• Focus on visuals, otherwise your brand could get lost in crowded, flowing customer social feeds.
• Keep an eye on users' purchase intentions and make your move when enthusiasm for your product is at its highest.
• Adopt a mobile-first perspective.
• Grab attention using social content and encourage customers to click to learn more.
• Offer quick and informative answers to build trust among your audience.

Creating an easy and enjoyable social ecommerce experience will encourage users to complete the purchase.Keep in mind that the traditional sales funnel has been replaced by the consumer engagement engine, one of the most recent trends in digital marketing:

Messages that can be purchased

In March 2019, Instagram unveiled Instagram Checkout, which allows users to complete their purchase from Instagram:

Ecommerce brands can create and serve interactive ads that allow users to click and shop with ease, which will help reduce the risk of customers abandoning their purchases because they need to switch apps or log into an unknown store.

Brands like Missguided use Instagram Shoppable posts for a smooth customer journey, which is social commerce in action:

The brand combines eye-catching visuals with seamless checkout through its mobile website.The whole process takes place within Instagram's social environment, and many users don't even realize they've been redirected to Missguided's online store.

Dive Deeper:

• Social Commerce: The Easiest Way to Turn Social Engagement into First-Time Shoppers
• The power of social shopping on Instagram (and how to sell more)
• Why I Like to Hide Instagram (and What It Means for Social Media Marketers)
• The Beginner's Guide to Building a Highly Effective Social Media Strategy

Trend No. 2: AR and VR experiences will influence ecommerce success

Product visualization increases sales and decreases returns.That's why nearly 90% of companies with annual revenue between $100 million and $1 billion now use augmented reality or virtual reality technology.

According to Gartner, 100 million shoppers will use AR online and in-store by 2020. The technology serves as an extension of the brand experience as it engages customers in immersive environments and increases revenue.

For example, Yamaha' s My Garage app allows customers to accessorize official 3D motorcycle models.They can connect to a special VR headset to inspect a bike's mechanics, and virtual renderings of engine status, sensors, and fuel mixture are available.In this way, the customer's interaction with the product is excited.High-resolution graphics allow users to see machine components that would otherwise be hidden.

You can send custom modifications and accessories from the app to your local Yamaha dealer and they can create a new ride based on those specifications:

Here's how your business can make the most of augmented and virtual reality in 2020:

• Develop AR-ready products and add them to your website for an intuitive shopping experience.
• Improve the product discovery process. Combine customer opinions and virtual reality to highlight unique products that appeal to your target audience.
• Emphasize the novelty aspect. Most buyers have never experienced VR or AR.People who have, especially Millennials, enjoy the experience and with their purchasing power rising to $1.4 trillion by 2020, now is the perfect time to cash in on this opportunity.
• Try before you buy. 58% of consumers are more likely to buy a product after testing it first.Use AR and VR technology so that your audience can "test" various items from your site's inventory.
• Explore AR and VR as storytelling mediums. Deliver memorable and engaging shopping experiences.Take users through your brand's narrative in the first person for a lasting impression.
• Host live events to market your products to a wider audience, without worrying about travel/distances.

Dive Deeper: A Quick Guide on Combining Virtual Reality and Content Marketing

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Trend No. 3: Chatbots will increase revenue maximization

According to Business Insider, 80% of businesses will use chatbots by 2020. This AI software is more than just a new channel for consumers to find ecommerce deals and buy products: consumers can use chatbots to identify the products they want and need. 

The big question is, is it worth investing in chatbots for your ecommerce site?In a word, yes!

Here's how to take advantage of chatbots:

• Use chatbots to engage customers on the landing page itself.Help them find the right product, because quick navigation increases the chances of conversion and saves time.
• 94% of online shoppers base their purchasing decisions on product information, so program your chatbot to answer common product questions.While the technology doesn't solve the full query, it can handle initial detection.This will save your employees time.
• Allow chatbots to refer customers to customer service professionals for highly specialized products.
• The average bounce rate for ecommerce stores is up to 45%.Take advantage of chatbots to reduce bounce rate by following buyers.Get actionable insights on how to improve your ecommerce platform and their shopping experience. 

• Give customers 24/7 access to your business or customer service with chatbots.
• Use chatbots to collect customer data efficiently.Monitor their behavior, including purchase history and preferences, and update your activity accordingly.

A great example is eBay's ShopBot.This unique chatbot also acts as a virtual personal assistant to help shoppers find the items they want.Enter some product details and ShopBot will ask relevant questions to find the right color, fit, and style on eBay:

eBay found that their ShopBot received three times more queries than eBay's regular inventory search feature.

In this way, chatbots can expand the limits of what ecommerce sites offer as a shopping experience, improving loyalty, engagement, and sales.

Dive Deeper:

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Trend No. 4: Voice Commerce will go mainstream

Voice search is growing rapidly, thanks to the popularity of digital assistants.

As of 2019, China has 85.5 million smart speaker users, the US has 74.2 million, and the UK has 12.6 million:According to marketing analytics firm Canalys, last year there were around 100 million smart speakers in use,

a number that is expected to reach 225 million by 2020.

In the US,

22% of smart speaker owners have already purchased something through their devices:As Shanhong Liu points out: "Smart speaker devices like Google Home and Amazon Echo pair with smart personal assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa to run commands, search the web, and control other smart devices."

In fact, 60% of virtual assistant owners have made purchases with voice commands.Due to the immense popularity of this technology, it is expected that by 2021 many brands will redesign their websites for search functions and voice support – and that voice search will increase digital commerce revenue by 30%. 

Domino's Pizza launched a voice-activated pizza ordering assistant last year called Dom.Dom takes orders, helps users check order status and finds the best deals for customers:

Developed by voice recognition company Nuance, it integrates technology with the day-to-day operations of the business – and within three months of launch, 500,000 orders were placed.

Here's how your ecommerce store can benefit from voice commerce:

• Treat your search strategy like a conversation. Design long-tail keyword content like a searchable customer conversation.
• Focus on the expected queries and the right keywords. Use keywords for voice searches.
• Don't limit yourself to exact words. Instead, consider the possible context of the customer's questions and offer valuable content that answers the question.
• Mix multiple terminologies to create variable groups of keywords and phrases.They should, of course, cover all relevant application data.
• Find eye-catching product descriptions that sound great when read aloud.Write naturally to align with normal speech patterns.
• Optimize your ecommerce site so that speed appears in mobile SERPs for voice searches.
• Invest in a fluid, AI-powered voice search feature. This improves the user experience and shows customers that you truly want to deliver the best on-site experience.

Dive Deeper:

• Top 10 Mobile Optimization Best Practices for Ecommerce Sites
• How to use content to boost your e-commerce sales
• Your Ecommerce Sales Chart for a Profitable 2020
• Ecommerce Advertising Strategy: How We Doubled PPC Sales for ThinSlim Foods (with a 3X+ ROAS)

Trend 5: Mobile shopping and mobile payments will continue to increase

About 2 billion people worldwide use smartphones for Internet access.That's about six times the size of the American population!

So it's no surprise that 60% of ecommerce traffic comes from mobile users.This indicates a huge impact that mobile devices have in selling products online.That's why platforms like Amazon Pay and PayPal are a boon for shoppers.

What contributes to the rise of shopping and mobile payments?Here are some points:

• Better customer experience. Most ecommerce websites have responsive designs that adapt to the needs of mobile users.These devices offer superior browsing that is attractive to buyers.
• Use mobile payments. Registration data is stored on the mobile device itself, which helps reduce waiting times.
• Make good use of space. Feature important items at the top of your homepage and make sure the search window is visible.
• Make the call-to-action big enough to be easily touched with your finger and bright to grab the attention of online shoppers.
• Tailor the online experience to your target audience so they have a reason to keep coming back.
• Remove all distractions from the checkout process so customers near the "finish line" can easily cross it.
• You provide access to different digital wallets while keeping everything safe on your website.

Mobile shopping has a bright future in 2020: 66% of Americans believe mobile payments will replace card payments, and 61% claim the same for cash.And that's not all; Mobile will dominate online sales by 2021, driving 54% of sales.

As always, Amazon is at the forefront of shopping and mobile payments.The online retail giant prides itself on a customer-centric mobile experience: the app combines the best that mobile platforms have to offer, including intuitive navigation, data-driven recommendations, and easy one-click payments: The brand also personalizes offers by implementing the Amazon Prime loyalty program, Which has solved one of the main weaknesses of online shoppers: delivery.

With Prime, shoppers receive free shipping in two days without a minimum purchase.

Amazon has even launched Amazon Pay, its online payment processing service.This facilitates checkout friction.Merchants also get easy access to millions of Prime members with this service. That's why they added Amazon Pay as a means of payment to increase sales.

Get an edge over digital marketing with our Epic Trends Guide: 42 Digital Marketing Trends You Can't Ignore in 2020

Concluding remarks

The world of ecommerce is constantly evolving, so e-tailers and online sellers need to evolve as well.As consumer purchasing power increases worldwide and social media blurs the line between content and commerce, companies need to identify future e-commerce trends to stay ahead of the curve.As technology and infrastructure progress further, the future of ecommerce becomes brighter than ever in 2020 and beyond.