Online commerce has seen significant change over last 5 years. E-commerce stores are harnessing new technologies and new ways of marketing to drive more frequent purchases by consumers.
In 2014, etailers focuses majorly on Search Engine Optimization, responsive websites and improved user interface. e-tailers have also been putting a lot of efforts on mobile, social networking and analytics. All these together have made a huge impact on the way ecommerce marketing is done. Here are some of the key trends that we will witness in coming times.
Wearable Devices
Along with smart watches and wearable devices introduced by well-known brands, many more wearable devices with newer features are set to make a tremendous buzz in the market in 2015-16. We can expect retailers and e-commerce stores to come up with more discounts and offers to attract customers with wearable devices.
Improved Delivery
Amazon’s drone delivery project is a big leap towards improving the delivery cycle. In 2015-16, e-commerce stores will be focusing more on reducing delivery times and offer more shipping options. We have experienced the next-day delivery option already and we may see the same day delivery option soon.
Mobile Optimized Websites
Google search results have already started showing ‘Slow to load’ notification for to those websites which are not mobile optimized and slow to load. Mobile shopping has become the way of shopping. In 2014, responsive web design is widely adopted by most e-commerce stores. In 2015-16, we will witness improvement in mobile shopping experiences with innovative features, user-friendly app features to make purchase via mobile and tablets.
Personalized Experiences with Marketing Automation
A number of e-commerce stores use personalized product displays and suggestions for registered website users. By using analytics, more stores will give personalized experience to their customers and prospects. Personalized user experience and targeted marketing can potentially help turn them from prospects to paying customers.
Long Content
New search engine marketing policies will push stores and ecommerce stores to provide more details related to products and services. This will soon start a trend of long-form content. Additionally, along with articles and blogs, the length of videos will also be extended. Wider adoption of data and analytics will lead to creation of more meaningful content.
Social Ads
With more stringent Google search engine policies, it has become difficult for online marketers to benefit from traditional SEO techniques. This will turn more marketers towards social media and search ads to attract customers. Targeted social media ads will become more effective, that will ultimately drive large Pay-Per-Click ads.
Author Identity
Traditional and standalone SEO is almost dead. It is all about interaction now. More retail marketers will be focusing on creating meaningful content and exploring newer ways to interact with customers directly. This will build author’s identity with better web visibility. Continued efforts in this direction will attract more customers and this authorship will become a priceless asset for retailers.