7 Innovations That Will Redefine the Success of E-commerce

E-commerce has received a lot of praise for being quick in adopting new innovations. Part of that stems from the rapid increase of startups which has made the market a lot more competitive. To remain relevant, businesses are now forced to adopt new ways of increasing traffic conversions and realize more sales. In this article, we look at the top 7 innovations that will redefine how to achieve success in e-commerce.

1.    Mobile Buyers Pushing for Mobile-First Optimization

We have witnessed mobile traffic surpass desktop traffic. Therefore, most e-commerce investors have to find answers on how to deal with the browser-to-buyer divide.

According to data from eMarketer, there are over 185.5 million mobile users who browse and research products they want to buy using their smartphones. However, just over half complete their shopping via mobile devices. This shows that there are more mobile users than desktop users but still smartphone purchases dwarf those made from desktops.

Ways to Optimize

E-commerce is trying to look at innovations that will facilitate mobile-first optimization and increase mobile traffic conversions.

This optimization can be made fast and easy through:

• The provision of mobile-friendly payment methods such as PayPal and Amazon Pay. This should include product pages that are used to bypass traditional checkouts.

• Using the order of visual prominence to enable checkout entry through the payment methods mentioned above.

• Design of mobile pages that are tailored in their content such as separate visuals, prominent placement of ‘Buy Now’ CTAs, full-screen online search, and videos that are based on the layout of a single column as opposed to grids.

• Personalization of mobile experiences embedded with page URL notification would facilitate the display of recommended products instead of the much-disliked pop-ups.

• Top-of-the screen placement of status bars for adjustment of cart value based on different dynamics such as shipping costs or tiered discount.

• Separate optimization of desktop and mobile.

Recently, there have been innovations such as progressive web apps(PWA) that are designed as standalone apps with push notifications, instant loading, saved user data, and offline modes for mobile websites. Such moves could redefine success for e-commerce in 2019 and more years to come.

2.    Installation of an Advanced Filter Function in E-commerce Websites

Advanced product filtering is an innovative way to keep your customers content with the speed at which they can search and shop for products on your website. Consumers want to save as much time as possible when it comes to shopping. In fact, those who are unable to find the exact product they are looking for easily bounce from your site.

Therefore, adding an advanced product filter function to e-commerce websites selling different variations of the same product could work magic.

Customers utilize this function to easily sort a wide array of product options. Unfortunately, 42% of well-known e-commerce businesses do not have a category-specific filtering function for most of their product verticals.

For an online shoe store, this innovative function can help visitors filter through different sizes, brands, color, and designs.

3.    Innovative Delivery Options

A delivery is only successful if the customer is able to receive their goods on time and in good shape. Delivery is an important component of successful e-commerce. It needs to be fast, convenient, timely, reliable and safe.

Therefore, to maintain your e-commerce business ahead of others, you will need innovations that will make your delivery options achieve all these attributes. According to Shipbob, shipping is one of the key deciders amongst e-commerce businesses that are competing for a certain customer base.

One main source of delays in the delivery of products is when the receiver is not at home. This means delivery address can change quickly and without prior notice, which is why e-commerce bigwigs such as Amazon are testing new delivery options such as the use of drones. This has already been done in countries like Australia and England. There is a high possibility that other e-commerce companies will try it out.

System innovations are also trying out new techniques like in-home delivery using smart locks. This is a home delivery service where the person delivering the goods sends a notification to the customer and if the goods’ recipient is not at home then they can use a remote unlocking system to give the delivery person access into the house.

This clearly shows that speed and efficiency are going to shape the e-commerce business in the future.

4.    The Power of Content Will Be Sought After

The true power of content comes from the galvanizing effect it has on an audience; striking the mind and sitting well in their hearts such that it unfolds like a story well told, with the consumer at its epicenter. According to David Herrmann, the director of Advertising at Social Outlier, your target audience should connect and merge with your content first. It should be able to drive inspiration. Herrmann also adds that poor content is to blame for expensive traffic and low sales.

Therefore, to have a successful e-commerce brand, a combination of visual, experiential and audio content need to be used to drive full-funnel marketing campaigns. In addition, when designing content, don’t target to sell a product. Remember, great content sells to the consumer an opportunity to better their aspects of life.

5.    Personalization

Innovative ideas capture consumers’ expectations before they happen. This is why 45% of customers prefer shopping from e-commerce websites that can deliver personalized recommendations. What is even better is that 56% of these shoppers would still prefer returning to sites that offer such tailored services.

Currently, there are e-commerce sites that deliver such personalized recommendations based on your shopping history. Most involve sending emails with exciting offers according to the customers shopping behavior.

However, AI and machine learning are going to make the personalization of consumer recommendations a turning point in e-commerce in future years.

6.    Voice Search to Alter SEO

As SEO continues to evolve and ranking algorithms change on a continuous basis, we are heading into an era where this same SEO will be altered altogether by voice search. ComScore estimates that voice searches will account for just over 50% of total online searches. Now, we all know that e-commerce websites adjust according to searching engine updates and Google have made it clear that they will always ensure users get the best voice search results.

Voice search is expected to be a big game changer in SEO and e-commerce websites are already optimizing their sites to conform to voice searches. Some of the businesses that have already taken care of this are Walmart, Dominos, and Lyft.

7.    Cryptocurrency to Offer Faster and Safer Payment

Several years back, everyone was fearful of online payments. However, this fear is dissipating. More people are growing more confident in paying online. Moreover, although PayPal and credit/debit cards have been popular, wallets are quickly taking over. In addition, the use of Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Android Pay, and Walmart Pay are increasing.

On the other hand, with the introduction of cryptocurrencies, e-commerce will be more likely driven to a point where buyers want to pay via cryptocurrencies. This is because they are quick, easy and safe to use.

E-commerce has a lot of dynamism to it but there are key tenets that if well tweaked could steer your business in a steady growth direction. Optimizing for mobile-first, voice search, personalization, easy and faster payments as well as efficient delivery could be the new determinants for a successful e-commerce site in the future.

At INDYLOGIX Solutions, we have rich experience in optimization of e-commerce sites for increased conversions and sales. If you would like to see your site stay on top of the leaderboard in terms of adopting innovative ideas that could revolutionize the future of e-commerce, we invite you to take advantage of our unbeatable offers. Request your quote and get a handcrafted digital experience that gives your ecommerce the real boost it needs for better sales with little effort.