eCommerce predictions for 2024

If a modern brand wishes to make any notable profit in 2024, it needs to consider eCommerce as the main source of revenue. The numbers show that over the years eCommerce has slowly grown from something that is only suitable for tech-savvy customers to an easy-to-use commodity for pretty much everyone. But, while eCommerce is in wide use it is by no means easy to situate your brand within it. So, to help our readers, we will give our eCommerce predictions for 2024 and hint at what you need to focus on when it comes to brand development.

What are the biggest influences on modern e-commerce?

E-commerce is heavily influenced by both technological advancements and customer attitudes. The former dictates how brands can create, promote, and use content for their products. The latter dictates how customers will react to that content. Therefore, it is important to have them both in mind when discussing e-commerce trends.

AI

From a technological standpoint, AI is arguably the biggest influence on e-commerce. Through it, brands are able to not only gather extensive data about but also use that data to automatically alter their content to cater to specific customers. Even now, it is both exciting and scary to think how much AI has grown, and how it will likely continue to develop especially when it comes to publishing and content creation.

This is important to keep in mind as AI has found its place in pretty much every aspect of eCommerce. If you wish to create an online store, you will likely use AI to create certain assets and help with the programming. Once you start running the store, you will likely use AI to gather customer data, make market analytics, and outline the next steps for brand development. AI can also help with customer support as modern Chat Bots can easily respond to basic customer needs. So, if you are dealing with eCommerce as a brand in 2024, you need to get used to AI.

Of course, customers are well aware of the presence of AI. After all, its influence is by no means a secret. And we can all notice how effective modern stores have become at predicting our needs and reaching out in a timely fashion. Here most customers are at an impasse. On the one hand, the comfort that AI provides is enjoyable and few of us mind getting recommendations for what we actually want. On the other, it is a bit scary that even now AI knows a fair bit about us. We feel that in 2024 we will see further discussions about data privacy and AI, and hopefully get sensible legal measures that help protect our personal information.

Big data

Big data goes hand in hand with AI. After all, AI couldn't do what it does if it were not able to gather and process vast amounts of data. This is important to remember as an eCommerce brand as the best way to find out what your target audience is like is by using data providers.

The traditional way of growing to understand your audience took time and patience. You would slowly learn what your audience is like and develop your brand and your content accordingly. In certain cases, it would take months if not years for brands to outline who their target audience is and how to best reach them. Meanwhile, today, you can skip much of this initial trial-and-error. If you employ quality third-party data, you can easily determine who your target audience is and how to engage them. Of course, you will have to do further analytics and adaptation based on first-party data. But this initial step is far easier.

As a result, we feel that in 2024 we will see even more companies that gather and distribute data to eCommerce brands. This increased competition will force such companies to highlight the quality of their data, as well as optimize their costs. And, hopefully, it will further motivate our legal systems to limit the reach of data gathering. We also hope that customers will be safer with their data in 2024. Remember that you shouldn't always risk your personal information for a bit of extra comfort in online shopping.

Personalization

It is slowly becoming obvious that personalization is no longer a single marketing strategy that big businesses use but a key factor that all businesses will have to adhere to. Especially when it comes to eCommerce brands. The better you can segment your audience, the more likely you are to reach an audience and see a notable increase in sales. This was true in 2023 and is only going to increase in relevance in 2024.

One thing that customers seem to pick up upon is the overabundance of personalization. Namely, we've all likely experienced the situation when we talk about certain products with our friends and family, and, low and behold, we get those product recommendations on our social media. While this does bring a certain level of commodity, it does start to get annoying. So much so that certain customers might feel deterred from buying certain products simply because they were annoyed by endless, personalized ads. Therefore, while personalization is and will be a powerful marketing tool, we advise that you don't overuse it.

Creative Ads

Considering how often we see while spending time online, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that a truly creative ad is a breath of fresh air. It is by no means uncommon for ads to go viral, especially if the community also finds the advertised product to be of sound quality. A great example of this is Stanely Cups, where a single review sparked a whole viral trend. Now, of course, no single ad can carry the whole of marketing. But, we would advise that you prioritize quality and creativity in 2024.

Adaptability

Another important factor for modern eCommerce is the brand's ability to adapt. Modern AI and Big Data might give us the impression that we have a fairly good grip on marketing and that we understand what our customers are like. But, practice has shown time and time again that you cannot fully understand and predict your audience. Even if you are a huge brand with a multi-million dollar marketing budget. Brands that thrive in the modern marketing landscape are those that are able to recognize the ongoing trends and orient their brand image accordingly. In some cases, this isn't that difficult as the brand's message is in line with an ongoing brand. But, in most, it does require serious changes within the company, and especially within marketing. So, whether you are big or small, be ready to change yourself if need be.

Notable eCommerce predictions for 2024

Now that we have a general idea of what online shopping will be like, let's consider some data-driven eCommerce predictions for 2024.

Increase in online shopping

Firstly, to little surprise, it is safe to say that online shopping will steadily increase throughout 2024. Around 22% of all retail sales will be online. According to Statista, the total revenue from online shopping in 2023 was around $3.154 billion. In 2024, the projected revenue is around $3.647 billion, and for 2028 it's $5.307 billion. Therefore, it is safe to say that online shopping will only become more prevalent as time goes by. Considering how easy it has become to set up and run an online store, and how many different ways are to pay online, we would expect that more brands than ever opt for running an online store.

Social media shopping

A rough estimate states that in 2024, the US will have 110 million social buyers (people who use social media for eCommerce). In 2023, this number was at 106 million. Not a significant increase, we know, but it does show a steady trend over the past couple of years. Seeing that in 2021 this number was at 97 million, it is safe to say that social shopping is on the rise. If you are an emerging brand, you might want to orient your marketing towards TikTok and Instagram.

Combining online and physical stores

While online shopping is on the rise, some are still quite willing to visit actual stores. In fact, some see it as a great pass time, and won't shop online if given the choice. Crafty brands have made use of this and looked to integrate their online and physical stores. Some of them are:

Click and Collect (Buy online, pick up in-store) 

A great way to avoid shipping costs + offer an extra sale. Allow customers to purchase items online and pick them up at a nearby physical store. For extra convenience, designate a pick-up area within your store.

In-store returns for online purchases 

It might seem counterintuitive, but having customers return items to your store doesn't have to be a bad thing. Stores that understand this enable customers to refund items purchased online in physical stores. This provides customers with flexibility and convenience while also driving traffic to physical locations. The return process should be seamless and straightforward to encourage repeat business.

Interactive digital displays in stores

While a bit more costly to set up, it does provide a bit of novelty. What you do is that you implement digital displays in physical stores that allow customers to browse and order products available online. These displays can provide additional product information, reviews, and recommendations thus enhancing the shopping experience. Furthermore, doing so helps bridge the gap between online and offline channels. You can also look to utilize QR codes to provide information about products within the store and help your customers research your brand.

Mobile Apps with geolocation features

If you have a customer base that enjoys in-store shopping, this will be a godsend. You develop a mobile app with geolocation features that provides personalized offers and promotions to customers when they are near a physical store. This encourages customers to visit the store and make purchases while leveraging the convenience of mobile technology.

Seamless customer service

If you plan on running both a physical and an online store, this should be a must. Ensure consistent and seamless customer service across all channels, including online chat, phone support, and in-store assistance. This requires the integration of customer data and communication channels to provide personalized and efficient support regardless of how customers choose to interact with the brand.

Social media integration

Lastly, to lean on a previous trend, we would advise you to integrate social media channels with both online and physical stores. Allow customers to shop directly from social media platforms or promote in-store events and promotions through social media channels. Doing so helps drive traffic to physical stores while leveraging the reach and engagement of social media platforms.

As 2024 progresses, it is safe to assume that we will only see further implementations of this.

Final thoughts

While our eCommerce predictions for 2024 do paint an exciting picture, they aren't much different from 2023. Instead, it they lean on trends that were active in 2023 and will continue to be so. So, to sum up, start using AI as soon as possible. Use it to determine what your audience is like and how to navigate the marketing landscape. What you don't want to use it for is content generation. While there are powerful AI tools for content creation, they won't give you top-notch content. And quality and creativity are what you need to focus on in 2024. We cannot wait to see what creative content will become viral and capture our attention. And we hope that that content will come from one of StorifyMe's clients. Good luck in 2024!

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