Changes in Online Shopping in 2020
The year 2020 brought some massive changes in online shopping or e-commerce space. If you want to know what they are, continue reading below.
Consumers are Shopping Via Social Media
These days, social media is not just likes, shares, and cute dog photos. Many social channels are currently turning into mini e-commerce search engines of their own and as a result, close to 55% of online shoppers are now buying products directly through a brand’s social post. Taking note of this rising trend in 2020, many platforms are now making it easy for e-commerce stores to sell directly via their social pages with in-built embedded links. This means that consumers will be able to click on specific products within a post and be led directly to the product page where they can make a purchase.
Both AR and VR are Contributing Heavily to Online Shopping
As of right now, one of the biggest challenges that online stores are faced is the fact that their customers cannot see the product before they buy it. This makes it very difficult to sell items such as clothing, furniture, and other accessories. These are things that people generally want to preview before purchasing. This is where AR and VR are stepping in to help to solve this problem by enabling customers to virtually try on these products without ever touching them physically. Companies like Warby Parker have launched an app that relies on the use of AR allowing customers to virtually try on different glasses before they order.
Personalized Products
In 2020, personalization has been upgrading to the next level with products that are completely customized for the individual who is ordering them. Many online stores are now taking advantage of interactive content such as quizzes and surveys to build entirely customized products that can easily cater to the needs or preferences of the person ordering them. Now, one particular area where this trend is specifically observed to be very active or prevalent is in health and wellness. Online shopping stores such as Curology and Gainful are creating customized product lines based on the health needs and goals of an individual.
Flexible Payment Options
If your online store’s products tend to range on the expensive side, then it can be hard to convert new customers simply because they will be viewing those products as more of a risky investment than a meaningful purchase. One e-commerce trend that has been spotted in 2020 that can help combat this is the option of flexible payment. Through third party services such as Afterpay, Final, and Affirm, these services tend to automatically break down large purchases into smaller and equal chunks of payments over several months. This, in turn, happens to make large purchases a little easier to swallow.
This brings us to the end of our discussion on the changes in online shopping in 2020. Now, do let us know some of your own personal thoughts and opinions on the same.
