Predicted Ecommerce Trends in 2018

Ecommerce trends 2018

Econsultancy have shared their collection of expert reports on the ecommerce trends expected in 2018. Here are a few of the highlights.

Increased Reliance on Smart Tech

Hames Gurd, the owner of Digital Juggler doesn’t expect to see much of a change for the ecommerce customer experience, but he is expecting it to evolve into using tech such as voice search and chatbots using personal assistants and when reaching out to customer service.

Salecycle’s Graham Charlton also predicts a rise in the number of voice purchases being made via mobile voice assistants and gadgets such as the Echo and Alexa. Charlton goes on to discuss how he sees this type of tech as a form of personalisation, expecting forward-thinking retailers to focus on voice purchases in 2018.

As technology has advanced, we are relying on it doing so much more and therefore the marketers must ensure they stay ahead of the game so their customers can find their products and information using this tech. So, tell us, have you started working on optimising your website for voice search?

Faster Deliveries 

Katie Smith from Edited predicts that consumers will expect their deliveries to be even faster and even same day in many cases. Easier returns and time scheduling deliveries shall also be expected. Retailers will need to find ways of serving their customers with improved delivery and distribution without cutting into their margins. Smith’s prediction was also supported by Graham Charlton, who agrees that consumers want convenient and fast deliveries that are free or very cheap.

Increase in Mobile Spending

Paul Rouke of PRWD told Econsultancy that consumers will expect improved and intuitive online shopping experiences but a negative usability experience. Many leading retailers are still lacking when it comes to usability on mobiles, resulting in frustrating experiences for the consumer. Mobile browsing and shopping will continue to increase and consumers will become more comfortable making larger purchases on their mobiles.

Read more about the predicted ecommerce trends in 2018, here.