As 2013 ended with immense growth in ecommerce, digital age is now growing faster as old brands expanding their operations and taking over small markets worldwide. We have seen the trend of mobile commerce on the rise for 2013 and it is expected to remain same for 2014.
Big giants like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple spent billions of dollars in expanding their ecommerce activities. Amazon is now competing with Wal-Mart indirectly by becoming the digital giant. Similarly, Google is focusing on increasing ecommerce transactions by expanding Google Wallet services.
Let us look at some of the rising trends for 2014:
Mobile Commerce
Mobile commerce grows much faster than anticipated in 2013 and it is going to remain the same in 2014. As smartphones users are growing rapidly, there will be growth in mobile shopping worldwide. People are utilizing mobile devices to search for products. Google has reported that percentage of mobile searches are growing every year.
Many ecommerce stores launched mobile versions and mobile apps to facilitate the users. Google is now focusing more on improving their ads services for mobile devices. Facebook is soon going to launch mobile ads to increase their ad targeting.
The need for mobile optimized websites is ever increasing because most of the internet users are finding information through mobile devices. If you are running behind on Go-Mobile revolution, Techliance can help you create mobile friendly website or application.
Social Commerce
We have seen social game Candy Crush Saga getting famous on Facebook. Demand for social commerce has increased a lot. People prefer to use social channels to do transactions and activities. Websites are now providing options for the users to directly sign-up using their social media profiles. Social media has become one of the main channels for companies to increase their revenue. Facebook alone has more than 850 million users that is more than the population of most countries. Creative minds are taking advantage of this trend by implementing strategies to better utilize social media channels.
Personalization
Crowdsourced commerce is also increasing and companies inviting customers to be involved in production or launch of new services by voting, funding and feedback. Companies like Shapeways provide products on demand using 3D printers. Personalized products market is expected to grow in 2014.
Same Day Delivery &Localization
Amazon, eBay, JCPenny and many other companies are focusing on providing same day shipping. Now you don’t have to wait long for your orders to arrive. It is expected that the competition for same day delivery will increase in 2014.
People prefer to get products and services from local businesses because it tends to deliver fast. Big companies are focusing on providing the products from local retailers to fulfill the promise of same day delivery.
Simple Payment Processing
We have seen Bitcoin getting immense coverage in 2013 and Google making changes to Google Wallet to compete in payment processing. Customers are preferring online payment channels for transactions like PayPal, Skrill and Google Wallet. The trend for online payment processing is expected to rise and there will be an increase in number of users using online payment processors.
Competition and Discount Shops
There is a fierce competition in online shopping, people have different choices to shop online. In 2014, companies offering discounts and price cuts are expected to lead the competition as users become knowledgeable and have quick access to services that help them buy products with lowest price offering. In 2013, we have seen a huge increase in sales during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
Advertising & Promotions
Bing reported significant growth in PPC ads in Q2 2013 that shows more people are utilizing online channels to promote their products and brands. In another report published by TechCrunch, digital ads remained at 22% of all U.S ad spent and Global Ad spent growth at 3.5%.
It shows that companies will be utilizing digital channels to promote their ads. You can see big giants like Amazon utilizing remarketing strategy to sale the products that you visited recently. Online advertising trends are likely to grow in 2014 because of tough competition.
Content Marketing
We have seen many companies launching blogs with their ecommerce stores. According to Forbes, perfectly executed strategy can deliver more sales. Companies are now making strategies for developing content and launching series of content ideas to increase their traffic. In 2014, companies who are deploying well-managed content strategies are going to stay ahead of the competition. If you don’t have a blog or planning to launch a blog, wait no longer because your competitors are already leveraging content marketing.
How to Stay Ahead in 2014?
If you are running an ecommerce store, then you need to adapt the latest trends for 2014 with Mobile E-Commerce on top of list. If you don’t have a mobile ready website, get in touch today or Get a FREE quote to get started.
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