So
it's that time of year again where we make Ecommerce predictions on
what you can expect for the following year. We've gotta hand it to
2014 as it's been a great year for Ecommerce, with personalized
shopping, world-class customer service, awesome products and content
marketing taking over the web.
But
what does 2015 have in store for all of you Ecommerce pros?
Check out
our predictions to find out!
1.
Omni-channel retailing will grow
Consumers
are changing the way they like to shop and engage with retailers, so
we're predicting a significant rise in the importance of omni-channel
for 2015. It's a relatively new term, but omni-channel basically
means providing a consistent shopping experience across all of your
channels.
No
matter how many shopping channels you have, whether direct from your
website, on the phone, from your social platforms, or in store, you
need to ensure that you are providing an integrated shopping
experience. For example click-and-collect enables customers to shop
online and pick up in store. As a retailer, it's your job to ensure
that the shopping experience is the same for the customer online, as
it is in your brick and mortar store.
Related
reading: What
is omni-channel
How
to take action for 2015:
It's
important to think about the customer journey and how you can improve
it for your store. We'd really recommend running smarter promotions
that utilize CRM data so you can provide your customers with a
personalized shopping experience. Prepare all of your employees with
the training they need to provide excellent customer service and
don't forget to be agile, to make changes as the behaviour of your
customers change.
2.
Brands
will focus on great storytelling
We're
predicting that brand storytelling is something that many will focus
on in 2015. Don't make the mistake in thinking this is just another
word for content marketing. Sure, telling your story through content
is a powerful way to connect with your customers, but your story
isn’t just limited to the content that you put on your social
channels.
There's
a reason why we choose a certain brand ahead of any other, it's
because they've made a lasting emotional connection with us and their
story resonates. Think about the tone of voice that you use on your
website, your logo, colors, or even your product images – all of
these make up your story and it's important to ensure that you tell
it well.
Related
reading: Creating
an Ecommerce homepage that tells your story
How
to take action for 2015:
Moving
towards 2015 we can see that visuals
are becoming a lot more prominent with huge product images and killer
headlines to really help customers understand what each brand is all
about. Make sure your
story
stays consistent across all channels, and aim to inspire, grow and
connect with your audience.
3.
Customers will come to expect same day shipping
Retailers
including Amazon and Google have started to offer this, so it's
hardly surprising that people are starting to expect it. One of the
main advantages that brick and mortar stores have is the fact that
customers can go in store and get the product that very day. But as
Ecommerce grows, so does the opportunity to offer a faster way to
ship products to a customer.
Up
until recently it has been quite a challenge for smaller businesses
to offer this, but 2015 sees a turning point as the idea turns
mainstream...
How
to take action for 2015:
Find
out if the shipping company you use is willing to offer this as an
option for your Ecommerce store. Make sure you put a strategy in
place so that you and your employees are equipped to take orders
quickly, so you can ship them out fast. It's likely that you will
have to limit it to products ordered before a certain time, but the
sooner you offer to this for your store, the more sales you'll see.
4.
Being unresponsive is not an option
We
talked last year about the rise of mobile shoppers, and it still
continues to grow as we look forward to the new year. In fact, mobile
platforms now account for 60%
of total digital media time spent, so it's clear that mobile
platforms will be driving a lot of traffic to your store – meaning
you need to be prepared for that.
It's
pretty clear that your website has to be responsive across all mobile
devices, but the same rule also applies to your email promotions.
People are viewing emails from their mobile phones, now more than
ever, so whenever you send out an email, keep this in mind!
How
to take action for 2015:
When
designing your website and email campaigns, make sure you test the
design across all devices and don't be afraid to cut out content for
mobile. People are now purchasing from their mobile devices too, so
it's important to ensure that the buying process is streamlined so
you can make an easy sale.
5.
Social selling looks set to increase
We
predict that social platforms will become a key player in encouraging
sales and helping to build reputations. It's no secret that social
media is great for this, but as we've seen from 2014, influencers,
raving fans and brand ambassadors can have a real impact on your
sales – and this looks set to increase through to next year.
Related
reading: 7
steps to raving fans for your Ecommerce store
Not
only do we think it's important to build up a large following of
raving fans and encourage influencers to talk about you, but we also
think you should be integrating your online store with your social
platforms. That way you can make it easier for your customers to buy
straight from your social channels.
How
to take action for 2015:
Show
off your personality on social media and encourage people to talk
about you by posting industry leading content and sharing interesting
posts. Communicate with your customers, respond to their inquiries
and integrate your store so that you can encourage sales via social.
Let's
look to the future!
So
those are just a few of the changes that we predict for 2015! We
recommend that you keep moving with the trends, and provide your
customers with a seamless shopping experience to stay prepared for
success. Do you have any predictions for 2015? Let us know in the
comments below.
Oh
and if you're looking for some of those helpful tools we mentioned,
such as social selling, or responsive web design then check out our
Ecommerce
platform!