There’s no denying that eCommerce has matured as an industry. It’s easy for a business to get started due to software like Magento making it easy to open an eCommerce website. Getting a website up and running with items for sale is straightforward, as is creating a presentation to attract a buyer. But eCommerce has to evolve as technology keeps advancing and buyers become more savvy. Here’s a look at the future of eCommerce and what online retailers might face.
High-Resolution Displays on Phones
Image via Flickr by byebyebirdy_dk
It’s a fact that more people are buying via phone due to the ease of access. This has allowed e-tailers to get away with putting lower- resolution images on their pages, which saves on bandwidth and storage. However, phone manufacturers are including high-resolution displays with their phones, which means shoppers can zoom in to see the smallest amount of detail. If an e-tailer has low-res images, it’s going to look bad on a high-res display.
E-tailers should shift to using high-res images on their websites to prevent customers from bouncing due to poor image quality. Because a majority of images are photographed in higher resolution to begin with, the shift won’t be difficult to make. About the only issue that might be faced is cloud storage, but prices are dropping in this area, as well, making less of an impact on the bottom line.
Using Customer Data to Personalize the Experience
This is a touchy area because people don’t want eCommerce sites to know every last detail about them. But you can use back-end software to recognize when the customer is a frequent shopper or buyer of a specific item. You can use that information to give a discount on the current order or offer expedited shipping at a reduced price. Couple this with a message along the lines that you’re rewarding customer loyalty while protecting personal information goes a long way toward generating goodwill from your customers.
Selling Through Social Media
Instagram has taken off as a platform for catching the attention of potential customers. Users don’t have to scroll through a feed to find new items from retailers, and retailers don’t have to hope for a customer to notice an ad on Facebook. Instead, they can see everything in one place and click on whatever catches their eye. This may seem counter-intuitive to a retailer who’s trying to stand out, but Instagram users like the ability to see everything in one place and have the option to select images they want to see up close. If that user is following an e-tailer, he’ll see the latest offerings from that store and have the same option to click on it, then follow links to buy from the website.
ECommerce is here to stay, but it’s going to keep evolving as customers expect e-tailers to keep up with their demands. Keep an eye on the trends and be willing to make changes when necessary, and you’ll find that your business will grow.