Did you know that the global e-commerce market is set to be worth over $7 trillion by 2025?
The current e-commerce market rakes in over $5 trillion but has no intention of slowing down anytime soon. While the pandemic in 2020 did shift a ton of sales online, e-commerce trends in 2024 seem to build on that momentum to drive more people to online stores.
The recent trends in commerce have also seen the rise of mobile technology driving younger people to online stores. This has effectively shifted the target demographics for many retail businesses, making mobile-first design essential.
Looking for the best e-commerce trends to leverage in 2024? You're in the right place. Here's a quick look at the current trends in e-commerce.
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1. AI and Chatbots
Over 2023, AI tools have completely changed the way we do many mundane things, including shopping. Thanks to Large Language Models and the AI text generators built upon them, creating blog texts, SEO-friendly data, and product descriptions has become much faster, easier, and cheaper.
AI-powered chatbots are also a great investment to help shorten the response time for customers wanting help. While having a good customer service department is essential, they are subject to working hours while your website remains online throughout the night. This means that if a customer has a problem outside of working hours, you may end up losing a sale.
2. Personalization
One of the central themes of e-commerce is personalization. Brands and e-commerce platforms around the world are spending serious money to learn about you so that they can curate landing pages and recommendations specifically tailored to your exact needs. By making things personal, they increase the chances of converting you into a paying customer.
Personalization goes further than just recommendations and helps build a relationship between your e-commerce store and your customers. This relationship allows the customer to return to your store again, creating long-term value for your business.
If you're looking to take your e-commerce personalization to the next level, look no further than Amasty's range of extensions. Our Improved Layered Navigation, Elastic Search, and Automatic Related Products extensions provide powerful tools to help you create tailored experiences for each of your customers, boosting conversions and driving long-term success for your business.
3. Environmental Sustainability
While plastic packaging may have been affordable in the past, businesses and brands can't afford to pollute the environment any longer. This is why being environmentally sustainable is a key factor to consider for 2024.
The market itself is getting younger and more aware of the environmental impact that brands have on the environment. From your packaging to your supply chain, it's important to prioritize environmental sustainability in everything that you do. Despite the extra costs that this may bring in the short term, it can help you attract and maintain a recurring customer base.
In some cases, being environmentally friendly is an asset and a selling point. It's no secret that global warming is now a mainstream topic in everyone's mind, so showcasing how eco-friendly you are can help attract customers to you and away from your competitors. Even if you're just a platform, buying carbon offsets can help you rise above the competition.
4. Mobile-First Design
Mobile devices are responsible for more internet traffic than traditional computers. This highlights the evolution of the e-commerce market as more people are using their smartphones to browse websites and apps to make purchases from their favorite stores.
While this is a good thing for those with mobile apps, it can be terrible if your e-commerce store does not scale properly for people visiting from their phones. This is why mobile-first design is so important in the modern era of business. Mobile-first design simply means that you craft your website to work seamlessly on mobile devices from the ground up.
In this way, your website can easily scale up for larger displays on laptops and computers. Since websites have an easier time scaling up compared to scaling down, your website will always look great no matter what device your customers are using.
5. Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is set to grow even further in 2024. With billions of people around the world active on social media every month, platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer you the unique opportunity to reach millions of people overnight. This can be an effective tool to help build and maintain your brand.
6. Customized Packaging
Packaging is a great way to showcase your brand. This is because the packaging you use can help embody your brand and elevate the entire shopping experience for the customer. In most cases, investing in premium packaging is what brings customers back for another purchase.
7. Social Media Stores
While social media is great for marketing, modern platforms also allow you to run entire e-commerce stores directly from their website. This helps streamline the entire process as customers can discover, view, and buy your products without having to leave the app.
8. Data Protection
Privacy is incredibly important to customers and has been a growing trend over the last few years. This is a difficult topic to navigate for online platforms as consumer data is what allows you to customize the entire shopping experience for the customer. This is why the best way forward is to be transparent and honest with the customer from day one.
In addition to this, it's important to invest in cybersecurity so that the data and information that you do have on the customer remains private. This includes personal information such as names, addresses, and credit card details. Investing in this kind of security can help you build trust with your customers over the long term.
We take data protection seriously. Our GDPR, US Privacy Laws, and CCPA extensions help ensure that your e-commerce store is compliant with global privacy regulations and that customer data is protected. With our powerful tools, you can build trust with your customers and create a secure shopping experience.
9. Mobile Shopping
As mentioned above, mobile shopping is the future. While it's one thing to have your e-commerce website scale perfectly for smaller displays, you should also consider investing in an app. With your own app, you can build a closer relationship with your customer and send them specials and discounts directly to their smartphone.
In addition to this, having an app can help streamline the entire shopping experience and make life a lot easier for them.
At Amasty, we understand the importance of mobile shopping and offer a range of extensions to make the experience even better. Our AMP extension will help you create lightning-fast and engaging mobile experiences, while our RMA and Improved Layered Navigation PWA add-ons will help streamline the shopping process, ensuring your customers keep coming back for more.
10. The Role of Influencers
Love them or hate them, influencer marketing is here to stay. While we may have seen the rise and dominance of influencers in the last few years, the truth is that this form of marketing is the evolution of product placement and affiliate marketing. In this way, you can help brand and position your products in the right place with the help of influencers on social media.
Social media influencers are building followings online and are often more affordable than traditional celebrities. Because of this, you can leverage influencers to drive traffic to your brand's social media accounts and e-commerce store through sponsored brand partnerships. While this kind of marketing does get more expensive as you climb the ranks of influencers, it's an effective way of building brand awareness online.
11. AR Features
Augmented reality is a cutting-edge technology that can help transform the way you communicate products to potential customers. Even major companies like Apple have integrated AR into their product pages to help give customers a feel for their new products.
Since most customers do research on their mobile devices, it makes sense to leverage their smartphone hardware to elevate the entire shopping experience. Including AR in your product pages can help give potential customers a personalized experience of the product, helping drive sales in the process. Whether you're selling paint or a new television, AR technology is a game-changer that can't be ignored in 2024.
12. Tons of Payment Options
Allowing customers to pay for their goods or services online streamlines the entire process. This is because you can offer a wide range of payment options directly on your e-commerce store to make life easier for the customer. While allowing customers to pay with different credit cards is great, there are tons of other payment options rising in popularity.
This includes allowing people to settle their bills with PayPal, an instant EFT, and even interest-free loan programs. Hosting a wide range of payment options on your website can make shopping easier for a larger group of people. Adding convenience like this can help boost your conversion rate overnight.
Looking to simplify the payment process on your e-commerce store? Check out Amasty's One Step Checkout and Payment Restrictions extensions. With these tools, you can offer a wide range of payment options to your customers and streamline the checkout experience. And for those looking to accept payments via Stripe, our App for Payments with Stripe is the perfect solution. Try them out today and watch your conversion rate soar!
The Best E-Commerce Trends 2024
When it comes to e-commerce trends in 2024, mobile technology is a must for everyone. From social media marketing to mobile-first online store design, its essential to invest in evolving your e-commerce store accordingly. While influencers and digital marketing are set to grow even further, modern technology such as AI and AR has the potential to transform the space.
If you're looking for the most advanced tools to help you boost your e-commerce store, click here to look at how Amasty can help.
