7 intriguing e-commerce forecasts for 2015
Pre-sales growth, taxis instead of couriers and delivery by drones? Look at the most original and inspirational trends of the next 12 months.
In our previous article, we focused on 10 important trends in e-commerce , which will shape the future of the industry in 2015. It was a review of the forecasts of the most popular experts in this field, based on more than 150 reports and analytics.
However, the juice is always between the lines. As you can see, trends that others did not notice in time can become your competitive advantage. Thus, today we present you with fresh, unique interesting ideas, noted by the authors of the forecasts last week. Some of them you may have already observed on a small scale. Others are gaining strength in distant lands, for example, in Asia. It is still unclear which of them will become a popular standard. But if this happens, you will not be taken by surprise.
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Shmuli Goldberg from Feedvisor, a company developing e-commerce software, states: The view that buyers are always looking for the cheapest product is a myth. This is true only for 14 percent of all buyers. Others usually choose an option that combines brand credibility, convenient navigation, a simple buying process, plus good delivery terms and an attractive price. Goldberg says this trend will be even more popular after 2015.
This observation is supported by other studies, for example, the Gemius report for the Polish e-commerce market. In it, 81% of respondents say that a “positive shopping experience” is a greater incentive than an “attractive price” (73% of respondents) when it comes to returning to an online store. Low shipping costs (important for 61% of customers) ranked third.
In the latest headlines, we see the ideas of giants, such as Amazon, experimenting with instant delivery of goods using unmanned aerial vehicles - drones. Before becoming a daily reality, the logistics revolution could come from another direction - applications, such as Uber, for hiring private taxi drivers.
Crowdfunding success stories (possible with the help of platforms like Kickstarter) are increasingly convincing manufacturers and traders to start their business by raising funds from customers, and only then proceed to the development and delivery of products. BackerKit.com and other crowdfunding management programs can help a lot.
Other thriving e-commerce models are subscription sales, a sales club sales (with the support of platforms such as Cratejoy) and product personalization according to customer profiles (for example, cosmetics from Birchbox or clothing from Trunkclub.com).
This marks a different approach to marketing, which requires much more planning, investment in quality content, product description, and outstanding advertising projects. Effective advertising for charity trading in search engines is still a new branch of electronic marketing.
Due to the fact that customers usually allocate money for a specific shopping case, the winner is the retailer who first encourages customers to open their wallets. Tom Caporaso from the Clarus Marketing Group claims that this year the e-commerce industry will keep a close eye on the calendar and the competition will be even tougher. Already on Cyber ​​Monday, US online sales reached a record 2.3 billion US dollars, up nearly 1/3 from 2013.
Thus, the stores will continue to look for special occasions and dates for the preparation of special offers. Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, September 1, Free Delivery Day - seasonal promotions will start earlier and last longer.
Experts say that we should expect the continued aggressive development of the giants of the Asian e-commerce, which will grow to enormous size, be it China or India. Online stores in Southeast Asia — Thailand, the Philippines, or Indonesia — are expanding very rapidly. The Malaysian Lazada.com.my in the English version attracts customers around the world. Europe also sees many examples of rapid cross-border growth, for example, Zalando, Redcoon or Mall.cz.
This creates a serious problem for online stores with a strict focus on local markets - marketing, price pressure, logistics. But it also creates opportunities for reaching a wider global audience, whose wallets are even thicker.
When we recently wrote about the best trends, we talked about the growing number of customers who want immediate delivery. No less interesting is the reverse trend:
A pioneer in this was Zulily, a fast-growing platform that minimizes inventory and works in a flash sales model. They announce attractive, time-limited promotions for branded goods, collect orders from customers and suppliers - thus facing minimal risks. After that, only repacking and shipment of goods remains. As a result
In our previous article, we focused on 10 important trends in e-commerce , which will shape the future of the industry in 2015. It was a review of the forecasts of the most popular experts in this field, based on more than 150 reports and analytics.
However, the juice is always between the lines. As you can see, trends that others did not notice in time can become your competitive advantage. Thus, today we present you with fresh, unique interesting ideas, noted by the authors of the forecasts last week. Some of them you may have already observed on a small scale. Others are gaining strength in distant lands, for example, in Asia. It is still unclear which of them will become a popular standard. But if this happens, you will not be taken by surprise.
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â„–1. Price is nothing?
Shmuli Goldberg from Feedvisor, a company developing e-commerce software, states: The view that buyers are always looking for the cheapest product is a myth. This is true only for 14 percent of all buyers. Others usually choose an option that combines brand credibility, convenient navigation, a simple buying process, plus good delivery terms and an attractive price. Goldberg says this trend will be even more popular after 2015.
This observation is supported by other studies, for example, the Gemius report for the Polish e-commerce market. In it, 81% of respondents say that a “positive shopping experience” is a greater incentive than an “attractive price” (73% of respondents) when it comes to returning to an online store. Low shipping costs (important for 61% of customers) ranked third.
â„–2. Drones and Uber
In the latest headlines, we see the ideas of giants, such as Amazon, experimenting with instant delivery of goods using unmanned aerial vehicles - drones. Before becoming a daily reality, the logistics revolution could come from another direction - applications, such as Uber, for hiring private taxi drivers.
“Let's imagine that Uber is starting to deliver goods from stores. This seems like a rather likely solution for Asia because of the undeveloped structure of courier companies, ”says Yemini Dhal, a blogger at dealstreetasia.com. The project has already been tested in Bangkok and the Philippines by Amazon and Kiehl, a cosmetics manufacturer.
Number 3. Products on demand
Crowdfunding success stories (possible with the help of platforms like Kickstarter) are increasingly convincing manufacturers and traders to start their business by raising funds from customers, and only then proceed to the development and delivery of products. BackerKit.com and other crowdfunding management programs can help a lot.
Other thriving e-commerce models are subscription sales, a sales club sales (with the support of platforms such as Cratejoy) and product personalization according to customer profiles (for example, cosmetics from Birchbox or clothing from Trunkclub.com).
â„–4. E-commerce and flexible trading
“Customers will be looking for ethical brands. In 2015, we will see an increase in the number of customers for small companies that do good deeds and a good story, ”says Richard Lazazer of Shopify (e-commerce platform).
This marks a different approach to marketing, which requires much more planning, investment in quality content, product description, and outstanding advertising projects. Effective advertising for charity trading in search engines is still a new branch of electronic marketing.
â„–5. Special offers for special occasions
Due to the fact that customers usually allocate money for a specific shopping case, the winner is the retailer who first encourages customers to open their wallets. Tom Caporaso from the Clarus Marketing Group claims that this year the e-commerce industry will keep a close eye on the calendar and the competition will be even tougher. Already on Cyber ​​Monday, US online sales reached a record 2.3 billion US dollars, up nearly 1/3 from 2013.
Thus, the stores will continue to look for special occasions and dates for the preparation of special offers. Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, September 1, Free Delivery Day - seasonal promotions will start earlier and last longer.
â„–6. Customers around the world
“Local customers around the world will demand to open global or foreign websites first and will spend most of the online budget on overseas stores,” says Jørgen Bodmar from the Scandinavian Design Center.
Experts say that we should expect the continued aggressive development of the giants of the Asian e-commerce, which will grow to enormous size, be it China or India. Online stores in Southeast Asia — Thailand, the Philippines, or Indonesia — are expanding very rapidly. The Malaysian Lazada.com.my in the English version attracts customers around the world. Europe also sees many examples of rapid cross-border growth, for example, Zalando, Redcoon or Mall.cz.
This creates a serious problem for online stores with a strict focus on local markets - marketing, price pressure, logistics. But it also creates opportunities for reaching a wider global audience, whose wallets are even thicker.
â„–7. Lower price while waiting for goods
When we recently wrote about the best trends, we talked about the growing number of customers who want immediate delivery. No less interesting is the reverse trend:
“In 2015, it is expected that more online stores will begin to take inventory, giving discounts to consumers in exchange for waiting for products,” said Neith Gilmore from Shipwire, a logistics software company.
A pioneer in this was Zulily, a fast-growing platform that minimizes inventory and works in a flash sales model. They announce attractive, time-limited promotions for branded goods, collect orders from customers and suppliers - thus facing minimal risks. After that, only repacking and shipment of goods remains. As a result
“The buyer wins at a discount in exchange for a longer delivery,” says Gilmore.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/286182/
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