{"id":18829,"date":"2023-02-17T12:22:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T09:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.x-cart.com\/?p=18829"},"modified":"2025-03-26T11:58:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T08:58:59","slug":"blog-future-of-ecommerce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.x-cart.com\/blog\/future-of-ecommerce.html","title":{"rendered":"What Shapes the Future of eCommerce? Top 7 eCommerce Industry Trends to Watch in 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the world of eCommerce, nothing is constant but change. New technologies and trends emerge regularly, pushing online businesses to adapt to the needs of today\u2019s customers. It especially rings true in the current economic landscape<\/a>. While business owners just started bouncing back from the post-pandemic supply chain issues, global inflation hit them anew, provoking further logistics bottlenecks and changing consumer behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under these circumstances, the ability to timely spot emerging trends and pivot your business accordingly is essential for winning more sales and standing ahead of the pack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are here to help sellers identify the recent changes in the industry and use these insights to gain a competitive edge. Read on as we uncover seven notable trends that best describe the future of online selling.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n 1. Customer Experience Is Key <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The eCommerce truism that no seller can ignore is that shoppers’ perceptions of a brand’s products, services, and values can impact consumer purchase behavior significantly. As per EY Press Release<\/a>, 42% percent of respondents admitted they will only buy from brands aligning with their values and providing flexible shopping experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trickiest thing is to keep up pace with the constantly rising customer expectations in terms of convenient online shopping. In other words, today’s consumers are looking for seamless options to shop whenever, wherever, and however they want, dictating new digital commerce trends for 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n 2. Omnichannel Presence Matters More Than Ever <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The omnichannel strategy involves marketing, selling, and providing customer service on all channels to create an integrated and cohesive customer experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The omnichannel approach promises sellers a significant bump in sales along with improved customer loyalty. As for shoppers, it gives them the anticipated flexibility of buying the product how and when they see fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumers use offline and online sales channels seamlessly, often within the same shopping journey blurring the lines between brick-and-mortar stores and digital commerce.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n \"Consumers<\/picture>
\n Source: Deloitte Digital<\/em> <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

One of the ways to successfully merge the online and offline experiences for your customers is adopting the Buy Online Pick Up In-Store <\/a>(BOPIS) option. According to Business2Community<\/a>, 50% of consumers expect flexible shipping and fulfillment options like BOPIS and curbside. At the same time, 93% of surveyed retailers cited that enabling ship-from-store had resulted in a positive uplift in online revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Quick Facts: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

50% of consumers<\/strong> expect flexible shipping and fulfillment options like BOPIS and curbside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choice in fulfillment option is important, with 44% of consumers<\/strong> preferring multiple fulfillment options when purchasing online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, across categories, 27% of online purchases<\/strong> are fulfilled at the physical store (in-store or curbside pickup).<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In a highly competitive eCommerce market, the omnichannel approach can give you a significant advantage over those sellers who underestimate this strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n 3. Social Commerce Keeps Gaining Traction <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The concept of social commerce has evolved enough to become an integral part of your omnichannel strategy. Gone are the days when social networks were used to redirect customers from Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok to your online store for a purchase. Today, social media platforms have become powerful sales channels that embrace all operations: from advertising and brand-building to sales and customer service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global social commerce sales are estimated to be $1.298 billion in 2023<\/a>, with TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram being the most popular social commerce platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n \"Most<\/picture>
\n Source: Insider Intelligence<\/em><\/a> <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

The main reason behind the growing popularity of social shopping among consumers is a more interactive social and shopping experience. For online retailers, it’s the enhanced customer engagement opportunity, and growth-oriented eCommerce businesses make the most of it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n 3 Main Social Trends for 2023 <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Trend 1. Brands double down on authenticity. <\/strong>Authentic communities are prevalent on social media, involving customers in the brand’s story and making them avid brand lovers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trend 2. Socials quietly mature out of solely marketing tools. <\/strong>In 2023, more businesses are expected to extend customer experience across social storefronts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trend 3. Demand for customer service on social media continues to surge.  <\/strong>Businesses consider customer service as another crucial area for social media marketing<\/a>.  Providing assistance during and after the buying process lets businesses meet customers where they are and quickly answer questions, ultimately improving customer loyalty.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n

\n 4. Mobile Commerce Is Seeing Growth <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Partly thanks to social shopping, mobile commerce<\/a> keeps gaining pace. Along with purchasing through social media channels, buyers are actively using mobile shopping apps. According to Tidio’s research<\/a>, the time consumers spent on shopping apps in 2021 has increased by 18% year-over-year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey conducted by NewStore in 2022<\/a> only confirms this rising trend. As per their findings, 1 in 3 U.S. consumers prefers to shop in-app to all other channels, using mobile shopping apps a few times a week on average.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n \"Mobile<\/picture>
\n Source: NewStore<\/em><\/a> <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

All this makes it essential to design your eCommerce website for mobile-first experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Mobile Responsive vs. Mobile-First Website Design <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although these two concepts have a lot in common, allowing users to view your online storefront from their mobile devices seamlessly, they are not the same. Creating a mobile responsive website doesn\u2019t automatically make it mobile-first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mobile responsive design <\/strong>starts on the desktop and then scales down to the smartphone screen. Even though the content and layout are adjusted to fit smartphones, the navigation and download speeds are intended for the desktop view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mobile-first design <\/strong>is based on how your online storefront would look on a small screen in the first place. The whole layout is based on providing a mobile user experience: fast download speeds, rich media content to engage with your audience, touchscreen navigation, and more. The layout is also designed to be viewed neatly on tablet and desktop devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pro Tip: <\/strong>Mobile-first design is always responsive, so you don’t need to start a responsive website when you have already implemented a mobile-first one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the mobile-first approach, sellers can:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n