7 eCommerce Trends to Watch in 2024

The new year brings new opportunities, and it’s a great time to evaluate what has worked while looking ahead to eCommerce trends forecasted for 2024. What trends should you focus your time, energy, and resources on? Which eCommerce trends will yield the most return on investment?

This article will examine the seven eCommerce trends we predict will either continue growing or step ahead for the first time in 2024.

eCommerce Trend #1: Online Shopping Will Continue to Grow

According to Shopify, global eCommerce growth for 2021 through 2026 will continue onward and upward. In fact, Shopify projects that “by 2026, world retail eCommerce sales will exceed $8.1 trillion,” and the overall eCommerce share of retail sales will hit 24%, according to Oberlo.

Several factors contributed to this sharp growth, starting with the 2020 pandemic, which shifted offline shoppers to online shopping out of necessity. As customers grew more comfortable with online shopping and its convenience, of course, they continued online shopping post-pandemic.

Customers also began to trust the online shopping experience and became comfortable making purchases online. Secure checkout, easy online transactions, and on-time deliveries increased their confidence in online shopping.

Last, the time-saving benefits of online shopping are undeniable. Comparison shopping is no longer an all-day event. Brick-and-mortar has its benefits, but there’s no going back to a time when online stores only added minimal value to a brand’s bottom line.

eCommerce Trend #2: Mobile Shopping Will See Impressive Growth

Yes, this trend has been in progress year after year, but here’s what is new in mobile eCommerce trends.

In 2024, mobile commerce (m-commerce) is significantly impacting retail and eCommerce landscapes. According to Insider Intelligence (formerly eMarketer), U.S. retail m-commerce sales are expected to reach $558.29 billion, representing 7.4% of total retail sales.

This growth is part of a larger trend where mobile commerce is predicted to exceed $710 billion globally by 2025, highlighting a shift towards mobile shopping. The United States is a key player in this expansion, with m-commerce values surpassing $400 billion and anticipated to grow significantly within the next two years.

This boom is attributed to evolving consumer behaviors and technology integration, making mobile a predominant shopping channel. Furthermore, m-commerce is forecasted to constitute 44% of total e-commerce by 2024, marking a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.5% from 2019.

These statistics underscore the transformative impact of mobile commerce, necessitating businesses to adapt to mobile-optimized shopping experiences to stay relevant and competitive.

What factors are contributing to m-commerce growth?

(1) The number of mobile users has grown to 5.22 billion worldwide and counting

(2) Consumers spend more time on mobile devices, approximately 188 minutes per day.

(3) Mobile sales have increased to 72.9%, up from 52.4% in 2016

Want to increase your m-commerce share? Approximately 90% of consumers want to see an improved mobile shopping experience.

Here’s how you can get an advantage over the competition:

Make your site responsive

This is something all successful brands have implemented by now. Responsive sites win with customers, Google, and your bottom line. Responsive sites adjust the experience by device (screen size), providing customers with consistent experiences. Plus, responsive sites are SEO-friendly and rank better on Google and other search engines.

Make Your Navigation User-Friendly

Mobile sites are notorious for limited navigation. So instead of replicating your desktop navigation, dig into your data mobile user analytics data to find the most popular pages and identify any navigational issues. Then, optimize and fix based on the data.

Build Fast-loading Pages and Sites

Sales are won and lost at the speed of your eCommerce site, especially on mobile. If your site takes too long to load, especially during a purchase, you could lose the sale — and the customer for life. Use AMP Protocols to create mobile experiences that are fast and consistent.

eCommerce Trend #3: Personalization Will Dominate eCommerce

According to a SlideShare survey, “80% of consumers are more likely to buy from a company that provides a tailored experience.” Just a few short years ago, personalization was optional; today, customers want personalized experiences and expect them.

But how personal should you get?

Very, but without the privacy invasion factor. You should have an intimate understanding of your customers’ wants, needs, and buying preferences without overstepping too-personal boundaries like health data, for instance. Current eCommerce trends point to privacy as still being of high importance.

So, while privacy concerns exist, most Americans prefer highly personalized product recommendations and content — within reason.

Here are some ways to safely incorporate personalization into your eCommerce marketing strategy:

• Use customers’ names in all communications
• Make search-based product recommendations
• Get personal with product recommendations: “It’s time to refill product XYZ.”
• Recommend related products at different touchpoints, including the checkout process.
• Display available products by location
• Enable personalized SMS experiences
• Display personalized “Most Popular” list. Think: “People like you also bought….”
• Use customers’ browsing and shopping history to recommend products

eCommerce Trend #4: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Can Not Be Ignored

Like it or not, artificial intelligence is part of our everyday life. Why? Artificial Intelligence has helped companies like Amazon improve product recommendations with upselling and cross-selling, accounting for 35% of their revenues — and that was back in 2019.

AI’s integration into various facets of eCommerce is revolutionizing the way businesses operate and interact with customers.

That number has since grown.

What can AI do for your eCommerce store? Here are a few areas AI can help:

• Product recommendations and recommendation engines

AI-powered recommendation engines analyze customer behavior, purchase history, and browsing patterns to suggest products that are most relevant to each individual.

This personalized shopping experience can significantly enhance customer satisfaction and increase sales. Businesses can increase average order value and improve the overall shopping experience by showing customers products they are more likely to buy.

• Improved search results (including voice search)

AI can refine search functionalities on eCommerce websites, making them more intuitive and accurate. By understanding natural language and learning from user interaction, AI can deliver better search results, thereby enhancing user experience.

The integration of voice search powered by AI also caters to the growing trend of using voice assistants, making it easier for customers to find and purchase products using voice commands.

• Improved chat box services

Chatbots equipped with AI can provide instant customer service, answer questions, resolve issues, and even assist in shopping 24/7. These AI-driven chatbots can understand and respond to human language, providing a more natural and engaging customer service experience.

This improves customer satisfaction and reduces the workload on human customer service representatives.

• Auto-generated product descriptions

AI can automatically generate detailed and SEO-friendly product descriptions, saving businesses time and resources. These descriptions can be tailored to include key features, benefits, and relevant keywords, thereby improving product visibility and search engine ranking.

• Personalized virtual shoppers

AI can create personalized shopping assistants that help customers make purchase decisions based on their preferences, history, and behavior. These virtual shoppers can provide a bespoke shopping experience, making recommendations and offering advice as a real salesperson would, but with the added benefit of data-driven insights.

• Social commerce

AI can analyze data from social media platforms to identify trends, influence purchase decisions, and personalize ads more effectively to target audiences.

This can help eCommerce businesses tap into the vast potential of social commerce, leveraging social networks to increase sales and brand visibility.

Ultimately, AI is here to stay and can help improve conversions, sales, and profits. As Christopher Penn highlighted during last year’s Content Jam conference, ‘AI will not take your job. A person who is skilled with AI will take the job of the person who is not.’

eCommerce Trend #5: Social Media Will Play a Bigger Role in eCommerce Sales

Social Shopping involves buying directly from a social media platform. Whether using recommendations from friends, family, or influencers, social commerce is growing significantly.

Just look at forecasts from Insider Intelligence: “Insider In forecasts that US retail social commerce sales will rise by 24.9% to $45.74 billion in 2022” and “we project social commerce will be a $79.64 billion industry in the US by 2025.“

Here are a few examples of social commerce on various platforms:

Facebook Shops – Launched in 2020, small- and medium-sized businesses can create a free store.

Instagram Checkout allows brands to sell directly on the platform.

Pinterest – Relevant contextual shopping via a visual search engine allows brands to create inspiration for what to buy. Hot categories: Interior design, fashion, and health and fitness.

TikTok, which recently partnered with Walmart, uses its algorithm and influencer-based users to grow quickly.

eCommerce Trend #6: Green Product and Packaging Will Score Big with Consumers

Environmentally conscious consumers demand sustainable products and packaging that align with their core values, and values-based purchase decisions are still high on the list of eCommerce trends. Consumers want to feel good about their purchases. Green consumerism is gaining popularity, from space-saving, energy-efficient products to minimalist packaging. Three out of 10 consumers say environmental factors influence their buying decisions.

Here are a few areas where green consumerism is popular:

• Food: Free-range meat and vegan groceries
• Beauty: Vegan and all-natural skincare and beauty products
• Cars: Electric and hybrid cars
• Eco-friendly packaging: Minimal shipping and package design

What can you do to score big with green consumers?

Start small by introducing one green product/product design at a time. Check your customers’ temperature. Then, tweak the designs as needed. You can always introduce more green product/product designs based on customer demand.

eCommerce Trend #7: Visual Design Will Be a Significant Factor in Purchasing Decisions

When consumers hesitate to purchase specific items online, they usually purchase high-ticket items or those that need to be touched, like clothing and fabric. While product photos can help sell most products, some require a bit more convincing.

Enter visual commerce.

Visual commerce allows you to offer alternative visuals for hard-to-sell-online items, like furniture. For example, will that couch you love so much look right or even fit in your small studio apartment? Using visual commerce options like “see it in my space,” consumers can envision the product in their space—without having to buy it first.

Along with consumer-generated media (photos, videos, reviews, etc.) and brand-generated content, customers have more options to determine whether a product fits their individual needs.

And with 75% of consumers researching product visuals before making a purchase, visual commerce is ripe with opportunities.

Visual commerce is not an option for eCommerce businesses; it’s now an expected part of the online shopping experience, especially for high-priced and hard-to-return products like appliances, furniture, and cars.

Conclusion

While you may want to implement all seven eCommerce trends in 2024, you don’t have to scramble. Start small to test your audience. Execute on those, and when the time is right, add a few others to your arsenal.

And remember, if, at any point in the process, you need help, contact us.

Our team can develop a strategy and execute a plan to take your eCommerce business to the next level.