How much of your 2018 Christmas shopping did you do online or how many products did you research online before going to the physical shop to purchase them? If the answer is more than in previous years this is no surprise to us. In line with web and app development, e-commerce also shows no signs of slowing down. E-commerce represents an ever-inclining line on the sales charts for most businesses. Everyone is selling online so how can you make sure to give your customers the best shopping experience and get them to convert on your site? To stay on top of your game you need to be aware of the e-commerce trends for 2019 and beyond which we have laid out for you below.
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Physical shopping experiences through AR and VR
Augmented reality and Virtual reality have already entered the online arena and will continue to grow and become mainstream features on many e-commerce sites in Hong Kong and beyond. Undoubtedly you have already come across this technology on and offline. Think of Lego and their in-store screen that lets whatever is in the box you’re holding come to life right in front of your eyes and IKEA’s app that lets you virtually place a piece of their furniture in your own environment, true to size so you can make perfect purchasing choices. Expect much more of this in the coming year. As visits to physical shops are dwindling offering interactive and immersive e-commerce experiences could be a quick fix to this problem.
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Advanced product filtering
Helping the customer to find what he/she is looking for will increase conversion rates. An extended range of filtering attributes can help to find the right product before the customer becomes bored of searching or can’t see the trees for the forest. More advanced and extended filtering mechanisms help you get your customer press the CTA button.
Video product content
Visual content can hold on to a visitor’s attention much longer than textual content. It makes sense therefore to communicate increasingly through videos to encourage the customer to stay, find out more and take action. Learning about a product through video has even proved to reduce the return rate. You can’t go wrong with video content if it is done appropriately and the content is on-point.
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Voice Search
The use of voice is increasing. Already people use voice assistance on smart devices for playing musing, asking for directions, creating shopping lists, setting alarms, finding product information etc. It’s a quick and efficient way to find out information while multitasking. In the next months and years it is expected that actual online purchases through voice will grow significantly as companies are increasingly developing voice based customer experiences, services and initiatives. If you offer voice technology to search and purchase please keep in mind that this development will have a lasting impact on the way SEO needs to be approached. Online content will need to be written in a more conversational tone instead of being based on search terms that people would use when typing a query.
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Highly customized suggestions
People like to be treated as individuals. Just like you would appreciate the staff of your favorite physical shop to remember your sizes, preferred styles, flavors, brands and colors, you would appreciate it if your online go-to’s did the same. In the next year more sophisticated analytical tools will be developed and become available that allow a visitor’s online offering to be super tailor-made and personalized. Interfaces of online stores can be adapted to each customer, which has proven to lower the threshold to CTA significantly.
For more information on the above trends and what they could do for your business please do give us a call +852 2555 7220 or send a message. We’ll be happy to be of service.
