The 7 Most Surprising & Important e-Commerce Trends to Watch Out for in 2023…and Beyond!

What are the e-commerce trends you need to leverage in 2023?
What does it take to be on the cutting edge of e-commerce?

Below are 7 of the most surprising and important e-commerce trends to watch out for.
And to leverage.
So your team will crush your 2023 goals.

There’s hidden opportunities when you can see them.
And easier than you think to execute.

We’re here to help.
See how we helped this retailer increase $420K in sales by fixing ONE thing.

If you’re in e-commerce, 2023 can be a pivotal year for growth.

e-commerce is already 20.8% of all global retail sales.
Hitting $6.3 Trillion in sales this year alone.
And very soon, 95% of all retail will be bought online.

This post is here to help you BE the cutting edge.
Use these 7 emerging e-commerce trends to:

✅Increase revenue
✅Improve customer satisfaction
✅Reduce costs
✅Recover revenue 

Before the internet, retail stores needed to optimize in-store purchases.
Since the internet, online stores need to optimize online purchases.

However, we’re long past “the internet”.
And your customers expect it.

As an e-commerce pro, your work is to optimize online shopping.

Before you look at the stats, it helps to see the bigger trend:

RETAIL = E-COMMERCE

It’s funny to think that they’re different. 

You don’t think of travel as “e-travel”. 

When you want to plan a trip or buy a ticket, you do ‘e-travel’, i.e. ‘travel’. 
Same for retail. 

The biggest trend is the fusion of ‘ecommerce’ and ‘retail’.

By 2028, global e-commerce sales will reach $58.74 Trillion. 
Online retail sales are projected to skyrocket at a 14.6% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) from 2021 to 2028.

As an e-commerce manager, this is super important for the reason above:
RETAIL = E-COMMERCE

So before you go any further, here’s the biggest takeaway:

Make Your Online Store MORE OPTIMAL than Physical Store Experience.

See how a retailer recovered $3 Million in lost revenue from ONE optimization.

Think about it this way:

Media (TV/Radio/Malls) ⏩ Social
Stores ⏩ Sites
Products ⏩ Pages 

The shopping mall = social networks.
Physical stores = online sites.
Products on the shelf = product pages.

7 Mind Blowing e-Commerce Stats:
1. Nearly 80% of all consumers shop online once a month (IPC)
2. 63% of shopping experience start online (Think With Google)
3. ~50% of all e-commerce sales are done in a mobile wallet (Paypal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc) (Statista)
4. 25%+ of the entire global population are digital consumers (Statista)
5. There are 12 Million – 24 Million global e-commerce stores in 2023 (WP Forms)
6. In 2023, e-commerce sales will be 20.8% of total retail sales worldwide (Statista)
7. Gen Z has $44 Billion in buying power (Forbes) and 85% use social to learn about new products (Marketing Charts)

E-COMMERCE TREND 1: PERSONALIZATION

Imagine shopping for a shirt and being told:

“Hmm, now you look like… just about anyone”.

Or being told:

“Wow, that is so YOU”.

Personalization > Generalization.
People want it… and even crave it.

Personalization increases conversions and UX.
That’s why you’ll see a whole lot more e-commerce personalization in 2023.

It’s why 91% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands who recognize, remember, and provide relevant offers and recommendations for them. (Accenture)

Ok, I know what you’re thinking.

People want their privacy.

Consumers don’t want to give away their privacy for personal information.

FALSE.

Turns out, 83% of consumers will share their data to get “the benefits of a personalized experience.” (Accenture)

It goes even further.

52% of consumers want personalized offers BASED on their data. (Oracle)

It’s not the 1800’s. 

People know when they shop, whether online or in stores, the store knows who they are, where they live, their habits, etc.

So consumers prefer the brands who use that to the consumers’ advantage.

No wonder 89% of businesses are investing in personalization. From Coca-Cola to Netflix to Wells Fargo. (Forrester)

Thanks to growing available solutions (see below), even startups and small e-commerce stores too.

PERSONALIZATION: YOU CAN’T AFFORD NOT TO USE IT

As Retail = e-commerce and vice-versa, personalization will become more sophisticated, prevalent and dominant.

Here are 9 personalization solutions for e-commerce brands:

1. Moengage
2. Clerk.io
3. Nosto
4. Barilliance
5. Webengage
6. Yieldify
7. Bluecore
8. Segmentify
9. Coveo

E-COMMERCE TREND 2: SOCIAL COMMERCE

Trivia question for you:

Who holds the record for selling the most commerce in a single day?

(A) Home Shopping Network?
(B) Oprah?
(C) Some YouTuber?

This time Oprah wasn’t even close.

Because TV and Radio have nothing on Social Commerce.

(A.K.A the “Creator Economy”).

During Alibaba’s Singles Day 2021 in China (i.e. Black Friday on Amazon) a pair of Livestreamers sold over $3 Billion worth of merchandise (Jing Daily).

$3 Billion in a single day from a pair of livestreamers.

That’s roughly 3X the average daily sales of Amazon.

Why do livestreamers sell so much?

Simple.

If the new Media (TV/Radio/Malls) is Social Media, then Creators are not simply stars or celebrities.

Creators are the new Networks.

Social Commerce is the new Media.

And Social Media as e-Commerce (“Social Commerce”) is growing faster than you think.

In 2023, Social Commerce is projected to hit $1.3 Trillion (Influencer Marketing Hub).
By 2030 Social Commerce will surpass $6 Trillion (Statista).

Look how fast it grew in China.

The Chinese livestream selling market grew from $3 Billion in 2017 to $171 Billion in 2020 and to $625 billion in 2023!

Ok, so now what?

How can e-Commerce managers leverage this?

We got you.

Here are 7 Ways e-Commerce Managers Can Use Social Commerce to GROW sales, brand and customer loyalty.

Then see how 2 retailers leveraged social commerce for growth.

7 Ways e-Commerce Managers Can Leverage Social Commerce:

1. Targeted Advertising: The more you build an audience on social networks, the more you can leverage precision audience targeting with paid campaigns. You can run campaigns based on your ideal demographics, location, interest and more.
2. Customer Insights: Social commerce platforms give retailers valuable customer insights, from purchase history to preferences that e-commerce managers can leverage to personalize campaigns and improve the customer experience and loyalty.
3. Pre-Test Campaigns: Instead of just publishing campaigns, you can first test content and creative with your audience organically. TikTok, Instagram Reels, Facebook and YouTube Shorts are powerful tools that show you what resonates with your audience BEFORE you create an entire campaign.
   
   You can leverage the platforms to creatively showcase your products, promote brand awareness and drive traffic to your store.
4. Engagement + Social Proof: When your audience and customers see how deeply your content resonates with them, it increases trust and credibility to buy and stay with you long-term. Plus, when you interact with your customers on social and respond to their questions and comments you build a loyal community that drives sales.
5. Improved Customer Engagement: Old media (TV, Radio) has a distant relationship to the consumer. There’s no instant tracking of engagement. With a social campaign, you have real-time relationship with the consumer. As soon as you publish, you’ll see how effective the campaign can be.
   
   HOT TIP: This is why top-creators can often change their YouTube thumbnail and title within minutes or hours of publishing a video. Out of the gate they see if something is working or not and what can be changed.
6. Identify Best Buyers: Did you know that 71% of companies that surpass revenue targets have formally documented personas in place? You can identify your best buyer through social commerce content, campaigns and insights. You can start by identifying your target audience and best buyers on social platforms and then tailor your content for them.
7. Encourage User-Generated Content: Encourage customers to share their experiences and purchases on social media, creating social proof and building trust among potential customers.

Want to see how other retailers leverage this?

Glossier’s User Generated Content.

One way brands leverage Social Commerce is by featuring their users’ posts on their social profiles and then tagging that user and the products they’re wearing. 

Milk Bar’s Creative Content.

Milk Bar started as a small New York bakery in 2008, founded by the celebrity chef Christina Tosi. 

Prior to the pandemic, 75% of its revenue came from its physical stores and 25% was from online purchases. They quickly pivoted to Social Commerce to save the day.

Step 1: Post an Irresistible Video of Product

Step 2: Link to Purchase

Here’s a creative TikTok that has over 400k views.

Because they don’t serve “Vanilla”. 
“Cereal Milk” only.

E-COMMERCE TREND 3: AI IN E-COMMERCE

AI will impact e-commerce for the same reason any new tech sticks:

✅Easier
✅Faster
✅Cheaper

It’s not about technology.
It never was.
It’s only about the benefit to the customer.

Here are 3 key ways AI will be used in e-commerce:

1. CUSTOMER SERVICE
   
   Customer service reps are trained.
   If you can train a person you can train an AI-model.
   You’ve likely engaged with one yourself.
   
   The value is when most of the questions are the same questions anyways.
   This can save customer service representatives countless hours.
   When needed, the professional rep can jump in when the AI can’t solve the issue.
   
   AI won’t replace customer service.
   AI streamlines customer service.
   
   As Tech Target put it: 
   
   “As the demand for an improved and personalized customer experience grows, organizations are turning to AI to help bridge the gap.” (TechTarget)
   
   In fact, Juniper Research says eCommerce websites managed by chatbots will reach $112 billion in 2023.
2. DATA & ANALYTICS
   
   Data means personalization.
   Personalization means optimization.
   That’s how 35% of Amazon’s sales are from AI.
   The product recommendation feature is AI using data to optimize conversions.
   
   It’s why 75% of consumers say they’re more likely to purchase after a personal recommendation.
   
   e-commerce brands will use AI to leverage data for:
   
   ✔️Product Recommendations
   ✔️Personalization
   ✔️Conversion Optimization
3. ERROR REDUCTION
   
   As of January 2023 Alibaba has a market cap of $300.36 Billion. 
   This makes Alibaba the world’s 28th most valuable company according to Companies Market Cap.
   
   Know how they increased sales?
   By reducing failures.
   
   Alibaba invested $807 Million in an AI solution that reduced their delivery errors by 40%.
   
   Want to reduce failures & increase sales?
   Want to see how Webeyez can perform the same magic that Alibaba needed for your store?
   Click here to get a free session with our growth experts.

E-COMMERCE TREND 4: VOICE COMMERCE

“Hey Alexa, order toothpaste.”

Voice commerce is e-commerce via a voice prompt.

Why not just type on your computer or phone?

Because voice is fast, natural and easy.

In 2021, 11.5% of digital buyers used Amazon Alexa for online shopping.

According to Capgemini, around 74% of shoppers used a voice assistant to research and buy products and services online. 

Capgemini also reports that consumers also used voice assistants for shopping lists and checking an e-commerce order status.

Think about it.

7 Billion voice notes are sent on Whatsapp.

A DAY…

People like voice options.

Speaking into a device or into the air is seamless.

So more and more e-commerce brands will include voice as an in-site solution.

Like Voiceable. 

Voiceable allows customers to engage with a sales person right from a product page. 

This means customers get their questions answered live. 
Right when they’re considering a purchase. 
Voice solutions like this help convert the sale and increase cart value.

Watch out for more and more voice platforms and solutions.

E-COMMERCE TREND 5: MOBILE COMMERCE

If you spend ads, your visitors will likely see it on mobile.

Meaning…

Your site needs to be ready for mobile.

Driving traffic to a page that’s designed for a desktop will hurt mobile traffic.

e-commerce is becoming more and more Mobile e-commerce.

Here’s why:

1. 77% of US adults own a smartphone. (Pew)
2. Nearly 1/3rd of US internet users used their mobile device to buy something every week in 2021. (Statista)
3. Mobile made up 58.99% of all web traffic in Q2 of 2022. (Statista)
4. 49% of Americans used a shopping app to compare prices. (Criteo)

What’s critical is knowing how your customers engage with your site on a mobile device.

👉Do mobile visitors abandon checkout more?
👉Do mobile visitors abandon product pages faster?
👉How can you optimize for longer site mobile sessions?
👉How can you optimize for mobile conversions?

You rely on analytics for that.

The problem is that teams don’t always have visibility into the critical errors their customers experience daily.

Errors that cause sales to drop without teams knowing why.

Especially on mobile.

From payment errors, add to cart failures, coupon code errors, ads leading to 404 pages, to slow load times, there are countless errors that hurt sales. 

It’s critical you recover that lost revenue. 
Especially in 2023.

Webeyez is a complete monitoring and analytics solution that automatically detects, identifies, prioritizes and resolves all operation and technical issues that impact customer experience and revenue.

E-COMMERCE TREND 6: SUBSCRIPTION COMMERCE

Acquiring a new customer is 5X as expensive as keeping an existing customer. (Huify).

Monthly subscriptions are powerful drivers for revenue and retention.
Trends point in a strong increase in subscription commerce for those two reasons.

The e-commerce subscription market is said to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of roughly 71% between 2023-2028.

Reaching $2.4 Trillion by 2028. (Globe Newswire)

Shoppers love it. 

Almost 35% of weekly online shoppers use subscriptions.

It’s also easier for the customer.

It removes manual ordering and delivery. 

Subscriptions give your customers consistently seamless revenue.

There are 3 categories of Subscription models:

1. MEMBERSHIP: Buyers of the Membership or Access Subscription get access to content, events, discounts and exclusive products. Examples: Netflix, Business Insider, Audible.
2. CURATION: Buyers of the Curation Subscription model get regularly delivered, curated “boxes” of products. These can range from food to beauty to clothing to pet supplies and more. Examples: Society Socks, BarkBox, Everyplate.
3. REPLENISHMENT: Subscribers get recurring deliveries of specific products that are used often, often at a significant discount. Examples: Rent the Runway, Dollar Shave Club, Staples.

Subscription models can be complex.
Causing customer frustration.

⚠️Failed charges
⚠️Returns
⚠️Login Errors

These can cause massive loss of revenue and negative customer UX.

How can you see those errors sooner?
How can you prevent them?

Talk with one of our “Revenue Recovery” experts here, free.

E-COMMERCE TREND 7: OMNICHANNEL RETAIL

Customers shop online and offline.
Now they expect and require a seamless shopping experience.
Not simply offline and online, but a merging of the two.

Omni-channel retail refers to the integration of physical and digital channels. 

And it’s growing fast.

The global omni-channel retail solutions market size is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.6% between 2022 to 2030. 

A great example of Omnichannel Retail is Orvis.

Orvis is a retail and mail-order business for fly fishing, hunting and sporting goods.

They realized their best buyers were affluent individuals over 50.
To create a more seamless experience, they gave employees tablets.
However, these were no ordinary tablets.

The tables had e-commerce optimization tools pre-installed.

The tools helped order out-of-stock products to the store.
It helped make purchases both online and offline.
If customers needed help or had a question, they could use the tablet from the rep to learn more.

Not only did this omnichannel strategy help the customer, it helped Orvis.

They ended up learning more about the customer by integrating both online and offline.

When you have more understanding of your customer experience, you increase conversions, customer experience and reduce revenue loss.

By leveraging these trends, e-commerce teams can win big in 2023, no matter the environment.

Especially when you better understand and see your customer’s experience. 

Here’s to you crushing 2023 🚀.

What Say You?

What are the e-commerce trends you’re seeing?
Would love to hear your thoughts: [email protected]

If you’d like to speak with one of our experts on how to recover your lost revenue, you can book a time here.