Best ecommerce trends for 2021 to use in your marketing strategy
To run a successful online store you need to be aware of eCommerce trends of 2021 and how they relate to marketing.
To say that the last year was hectic would be an understatement. Once COVID-19 hit nobody knew how long it would stay or how it would affect us. Plenty of industries like tourism, live entertainment, and sport took a big hit. But some not only saw an increase but essentially an exponential growth. One of those is eCommerce and all of its different versions. So, with this in mind, if you wish to keep up with modern eCommerce, it is paramount that you are up to speed with eCommerce trends in 2021. Luckily, we are here to help.
Top eCommerce trends in 2021
One of the biggest impacts of COVID-19 was the overall push to the digital world. Since people had to stay at home everything that could be done online became enhanced. Everyday things like:
• Working.
• Shopping.
• Dating.
• Having fun.
• Learning.
All became much more enhanced and developed as people had to stay at home. This, in turn, drove the development of eCommerce further and helped new trends emerge. Luckily, most of these trends are closely connected to marketing. So, you should have little trouble incorporating them, once you understand what they are all about.
New delivery methods
As more and more stores turned towards e-shopping to make some profit during COVID-19, customers grew to expect a certain level of convenience. Before, it wasn't uncommon for stores to ship their goods in a week or two. But now, customers have grown to expect same-day delivery. This increase in demand has motivated shops to become quite ingenious with delivery methods and find new ways to increase their efficiency. Some shops use electronic scooters, while others employ bikers to deliver their goods for them. There are even considerations about using drones, but this technology is still a bit away from being widely used.
For marketing concerns, you need to emphasize how efficient your delivery is. Positive reviews from customers are always a good idea. But, it is important to explain your shipping process to your customers and see that they are always on track with their shipment. You can even consider having a short presentation in story content as an engaging way of elaborating on how efficient your shipping is.
Personalization
One of the dominant e-commerce trends that quickly found its way into marketing is personalization. Namely, during the past couple of years, shop owners recognized that it is not enough to simply offer products at competitive prices. Instead, you need to go the extra mile and get to know your customer. Once you understand your customer base, you can target them directly and make the right offers at the right time. This practice is referred to as personalization and has become the staple of decent marketing.
Once you understand the current state of online marketing you will see that personalization is the only way to engage your audience in an effective way. No matter who your audience is, they are constantly bombarded with various marketing content, most of which they have little to no interest in. So, in order for your content to stand out, you need to create it so that it naturally catches the viewer's attention. To make this possible, you need to personalize your marketing content and see what suits your audience. The more you are able to personalize and sort your audience into more precise categories, the better your marketing content will perform.
Eco-friendliness
Being eco-friendly is hardly a new concept, both in marketing and in e-commerce. But, it is a concept that is likely to stay for the foreseeable future. No matter what happens in the world, the issue of climate change is still with us. So, whenever you can make your company more eco-friendly you should first do so, and then promote that you are.
More and more people are trying to do their part in protecting the environment. And a large number of them are even willing to spend more if it means that their money goes towards greener business practices. So, the more you can align your business in accordance with eco-friendliness, the better off you'll be.
Story format
As the marketing and eCommerce technology advanced, the average customer's attention span decreased. While the exact metrics are hard to verify, it is safe to say that you can't count on customers to pay attention to long content, no matter how engaging it is. This lack of attention is one of the main reasons why Google started pushing Web Stories as an emerging format for marketing content. Story content is familiar enough, as people have been viewing it through social media. Yet, if you use platforms like StorifyMe to craft stories, they will easily capture the viewer's attention. Nowadays, people are more than happy to view content in story format, whether it is images, written, or video. Just think of TikTok and its recent success.
What the future holds for eCommerce and marketing
While we cannot say for sure what the future will be like, we can make some predictions based on eCommerce trends in 2021. As it is not, there is no reason to believe that online shopping will slow down, even after COVID-19 ends. The overall convenience of online shopping is hard to beat, especially once you consider the emerging transportation technologies. When it comes to marketing, personalization is likely to become more and more prevalent. Companies are getting better and better at monitoring customers' online behavior and predicting their needs. After a while, we wouldn't be surprised that almost all marketing content that you see is personalized according to your behavior.
If you are wondering what your next step should be in marketing we suggest that you utilize web stories and VR content. Web stories are a cost-effective way to present new, and engaging content as they use the familiarity of story content (seen on various social media) to marketing benefit. As for VR, we do believe that the widespread use of VR technology is still ahead of us. But, seeing that good VR content is far more difficult to create, we suggest that you start researching it now.
