The Biggest eCommerce Trends from 2021

The e-commerce landscape saw unexpected shifts and trends in 2021. Largely driven by ever more people embracing online shopping, shifts in routine such as a rise in ‘work from home’, and evolving technology. Changing consumer behaviour continues to shape and influence the consumption of products.

In this blog, we’ll be examining the biggest e-commerce trends in the year 2021.

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1. Growth in Mobile Shopping Thanks to Millennials and Gen Zs

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Across the globe, young consumers are driving mobile shopping. Millennials and Gen Zers are mobile-first generations, making most of their online purchases on a mobile device. To cater to this huge mobile shopping market, forward-looking brands redesigned or improved their website to increase its mobile-friendliness.

As the spending power of Gen Zers continues to grow, you can expect more and more shopping to be done on mobile devices. If this is your business's target demographic, a mobile-friendly shop design will be a veritable tool in your business’ growth toolbox.

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2. Social Commerce Became Even More Important

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One of today’s key drivers of e-commerce is Social Commerce, which is partially a resulting factor of the shift to mobile. With billions of active users on major social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and TikTok, e-commerce brands – both big and small – have migrated to where it matters. It is even more interesting to find that social commerce enables customers to complete the product purchase process without leaving the apps they love.

With social commerce, the traditional use of social media has evolved. And still evolving. More than 90% of business executives are in on this, willing to increase their social media spending in the next three years. This model has come to stay and has been tipped to become the primary channel of connection with customers in the future. 

Setting up a shop is pretty easy on leading social apps like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. You can set up your shop on Instagram, link it with your Shopify account, and have customers buying from you right on the Instagram app.

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3. Chatbots Generated Sales in 100s of Millions

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In the past six years, there has been a rapid rise in the use of Artificial Intelligence in business. One such AI tool is a chatbot. Today, chatbots are not merely designed to manage customer interactions. They are critical in closing sales, even at odd hours. So whether it is midday or midnight, customers love that they can have most of their questions answered. It is why as many as 64% of consumers list the 24-hour service feature as the best feature in chatbots.

Businesses have cut costs by 30%, increased efficiency, and improved sales by integrating chatbots into their business model. And the stats are in favour of chatbots adoption in the coming years. So, adopting chatbots in the coming year would be a decision in the right direction made by your business.

Using professional chatbot providers like e-bot7 and Botsify you can insert AI chatbots into your website and existing messaging channels like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. On a website, you are just a plugin away from having a chatbot such as nibble integrated. Whichever suits your business goals, integrating chatbots is pretty much a walk in the park. 

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4. Increased Sustainability Consciousness

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Consumers are becoming ever more environmentally conscious. They consider the position of a brand and its products with caring for the planet and the future. What this means is that there is a growing concern for sustainability among consumers. And by consequence, opportunities for sustainable business continue to rise.

Gen Zs are more than likely to buy high-quality, sustainable products. According to a report by First Insight, 73% of Gen Zs are more inclined to pay 10% more for sustainable products. What sustainable practices have you incorporated into your business? If you don’t have any, now is the time to find one, as the sustainability trend is one for the long term. Why not check out the Bezos.ai green delivery service.

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5. Voice Commerce Taking Shape

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From Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Assistant to Apple’s Siri, voice based assistants are becoming commonplace and offering astounding functions for consumers. Voice commerce is a relatively new implementation where users are now able to purchase products through voice commands! 

Still unsure if this is a tool you need to scale your business in the coming year?

Stats don’t lie.

Companies are giving voice commerce the green light in their next year's spending. But that’s not all. An Adobe Analytics study showed that over 90% of 401 business decision-makers surveyed are already investing big in voice commerce, and more will join in 2022. The era of touch will usher in the era of voice commerce.

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6. Direct To Consumer Sales Keep Growing

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Quality products. Purchased online. Delivered with speed. These sum up customers’ expectations in the current market. Consumers are increasingly opting to buy directly from their favourite brands’ stores. This best explains why businesses - big and small - are adopting the D2C model.

D2C allows customers to purchase products without having to go through a middleman. This direct relationship between the business and customer cuts costs for the customer, which is an added incentive. And as mentioned earlier, customers today want quality products, and they want them fast - two factors that a D2C business working with the right partners can easily provide.

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A Leg Up on the 2022 eCommerce Landscape

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Regardless of your size or niche, you can expect the 2022 e-commerce landscape to remain competitive. However, there are some trends from 2021 that you should still see holding sway in 2022 and beyond.

Sustainability consciousness is here to stay for a while longer as consumers become more conscious about their impact on the environment and society at large.

Other trends like mobile shopping, voice commerce, and chatbots are still expected to grow in 2022.

Social media will continue playing a big part in consumers’ online purchases thanks to the direct-to-consumer sales trend that is here for good. 

Take advantage of these trends to get ahead of the competition by setting up your shopping profiles on the social platforms your customers use most.

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Our Agile Fulfilment Solution for B2C & D2C Brands

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