SyncSpider wins the Anton Award 2020 for E-Commerce Tool - Community Champion
Let’s face it, your ecommerce business will always be part of something larger. That is why you should always pay attention to various trends to see what kind of decisions you need to make.
This is a continuous process as the needs of the market, and its people, continue to change. This year, 2019, is no different. So we present you with some key market statistics and trends that can surely help you with your ecommerce business.
The main selling point of ecommerce has always been convenience. With ecommerce, shoppers are able to make purchases from the comfort of their own home and avoid crowds. But the number one reason for going online, according to shoppers, is that it gives them the ability to shop for items anytime. This is expected as the demands of life could leave us with no time for shopping at all.
Other reasons people choose online shopping include the ability to compare prices (54%), getting better prices (46%), and to save time (40%), among various others.
As mentioned earlier, most shoppers choose online shopping as it gives them the ability to compare prices. However, this ability isn’t limited to online shopping alone. Even while browsing in physical stores, shoppers look up prices on their phones to find better deals.
This is great news for ecommerce businesses. When you have no physical store, you won’t need to pay for costs to maintain the store and a large inventory. This translates to less overhead – and lower prices.
Shoppers take advantage of their ability to search for and compare prices to do extensive research before making a purchase. Most perform various searches on different platforms to look for the best prices or the best value for their money. Others research details about a specific product.
Shoppers will always put their trust in their friends, family, and peers over businesses. Why? Because friends and family will always want what’s best for you. On the other hand, businesses will always have an ulterior motive when promoting their products with you, and that’s profit.
This is the basic foundation of social proof. Because shoppers always have this notion that businesses are only after their money, they turn to their peers to instill trust.
People are creatures of habit. Once they get used to something, they repeat the activity – especially when they’ve had a positive experience. In the same way, this also applies to ecommerce. Consumers tend to return to stores with whom they’ve had a positive buying experience.
It can be likened to visiting your favorite store inside a shopping mall – and you may have varying reasons why you like that store. It could be their prices, their friendly staff, or their wide selections. Whatever it is, it’s the positive experience that brings you back.
Perhaps one of the biggest pain points of ecommerce is that it’s always under a cloud of suspicion. Brands will always have a hard time building trust with their prospects and getting them to buy because of this dark cloud. That’s why brands spend so much on marketing, not just to build awareness but also to build trust.
However, all of that effort could all come tumbling down if you fail to treat your customers right. Customers can easily bring their business to your competitors if they feel they have been let down. When this is left unchecked, it could mean the end of your business. But if they feel valued, it could drive growth due to repeat purchases.
We’re in the age of fast internet – and low patience. Most online users, if not all, expect sites to load quickly. That is why with the ecommerce revolution comes the need to satisfy your consumers’ need for faster load speeds. The slower your site, the slower your sales will be. That is because waiting for your site to load is the 2019 equivalent of waiting in line – and shoppers want nothing to do with that.
Picture this. You work so hard to promote your store on social media. You spend so much time curating products that you feel your customers will like. Then you meticulously write product descriptions and optimizing the product page to entice your buyers. You do all these things and your customers end up adding products to their shopping cart. That can be incredibly satisfying until you find out almost 7 out of every 10 customers just end up abandoning their carts.
What could have gone wrong?
On the other side of the spectrum, customers feel euphoric as they carefully select each item that goes into their cart. But all of that happiness instantly turns into frustration when they find out about extra fees that were previously undisclosed. These include shipping fees, taxes, and other extra fees.
If you placed something in the shopping cart, that would indicate that you wanted it at that moment, right? But unexpected extra fees scared you away. So what would bring you back to purchase the item?
Lower prices, of course. As soon as the price of items on shopping carts drop, over half of online shoppers go back and continue the purchase.
So, what can we take away from all of these ecommerce statistics in 2019?
Overall, learning about the different trends happening in the market today can greatly improve how we conduct business. Whether you’re looking at how your customers behave or how the market reacts to certain stimuli, the most important thing is that you prioritize the needs of shoppers. In turn, when they feel valued, the sales will follow.
SyncSpider is a tool that connects and automates the data flow of your E-commerce systems (e-shop, ERP, online marketplaces, or any other system). Integrate your systems, make connections and automated tasks. Try it out during a 30-day free trial. Register here.