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Cross-border e-commerce trends that you just cannot ignore

Tag: trends

Cross-border e-commerce trends that you just cannot ignore

Cross-border e-commerce trends that you just cannot ignore

E-commerce is a rapidly evolving area and it can be a daunting task trying to keep up with the trends. With the advent of technology, some of the ways in which we meet our basic needs have undergone a tremendous change. Online retailing is one such major gift.

As more and more people have begun to prefer e-commerce, it is becoming essential to adapt accordingly for the businesses to keep growing. Brick and mortar stores are no longer the preferred choice, as many brands and companies have begun to adopt e-commerce instead.

And the e-commerce market is not confined to a specific location, like a particular country, but has a worldwide presence. In keeping with the times, it has become vital for businesses to keep up with cross-border e-commerce trends, not only to sustain but to grow.

Access to the web

Everyone you meet, every person that you know and even people on the street, everyone owns a smartphone. As internet literacy grows, people find themselves with easier access to businesses around the world. This is a great time for businesses to expand into the e-commerce world and cash in on the general global trend of growth in internet usage.

Global becomes local

With the mammoth growth in internet marketing, more and more businesses are joining in the e-commerce world. People now have access to global stores right from their screens. Products are available from anywhere in the world and can be sent to anywhere. The need to travel distances to make specific purchases is long gone. The businesses that have made themselves available globally have seen massive growth and have managed to take over the cross-border e-commerce industry.

Ease of access

For the growth of any e-commerce undertaking, it is essential for the business to make itself as easily accessible as can be. With monetary transactions being a major concern for prospective buyers, providing secure and simple payment options is vital. There is a myriad of online payment platforms available that provide complete security and good services. Making the process of purchase simple is a great way to grow in the e-commerce industry.

Competitive prices

One of the most significant ways to make the consumers happy is to give them the best rates for your products or services. With e-commerce, it is all the more essential to keep on top of the competition at all times. With consumers having so much access to so many businesses, without having to physically go and find the best bargain, showing them that you offer the best product at the least price is vital. It is very important to change online prices according to the changes in currency as well.

Understanding the local consumer

When setting up a cross-border e-commerce business, it is essential to understand the customs and traditions of the local people. A smart study of the local market and its trends can help a business brings forth products and offers that the local majority cannot refuse. Catering to the needs of the local consumer in the best way possible is the only real means of survival when it comes to cross-border e-commerce.

Customer support and services

When competing in an e-commerce setting, it is wise to create an easily accessible customer support system. For international customers to feel safe and satisfied, around-the-clock consumer support system is a good idea. Auxiliary services not only keep the current consumer happy but also help bring in new business through word of mouth and internet reviews.

The Bottom Line

E-commerce is exploding and with it comes a great opportunity for local businesses to go global. By providing a great product, and a reliable payment gateway and customer support system, any business can establish a global presence in a short duration. However, as easy as that might sound, it is exceptionally important for businesses to stay on top of their game by adopting best business practices.

Top UX Stats of 2019

Whether you are looking to launch a new website, or you are simply curious as to the latest UX trends for 2019, this interesting infographic 15 Website & UX Statistics of 2019 is a must-read.

One of the standout stats that might help you to formulate design ideas is that 59% of people prefer a beautifully designed website. In other words, you can spend as much time curating useful and valuable content, develop a great navigation format, have super-fast loading but if it doesn’t look pretty, you’ve lost nearly 60% of your target audience. Lots of different factors play into what is perceived to be beautiful but it helps if you don’t dabble with unusual colours and fonts, or use poor quality images.

When it comes to UX, slow loading images are a real killer. In fact, they can cause 39% of users to abandon the website, so avoid using slow loading images at all costs. No image is in some cases much better than a slow-loading image.

Another intriguing stat shows that 2 out of 3 minutes spent online are via mobile. So it would obviously make a lot of sense if you were to ensure that your website is set up to handle mobile users well, giving them easy navigation options and easy-to-read text.

One more stat to keep in mind is that video content is 53% more likely to reach the first page in Google, so creating good quality video content for your website is a definite consideration to take into account if you are looking to drive more traffic to your website. The popularity of video content is only going to grow over the next few years, so now really is the time to get started with creating video content for your website.

Top UX Stats of 2019

Top UX Stats of 2019

About the author

Kerry is an experienced content writer, with a First Class Hons Degree in Multimedia Journalism. She currently works for UK Web Host Review, providing content on SEO, web hosting, web performance, UX, web security, web design, and much more

Important E-commerce Trends You May Be Missing Out On

Important E-commerce Trends You May Be Missing Out On

More than half of the global population today loves to shop online from the comfort of their homes. Clearly, the e-commerce boom has brought about remarkable changes not only in consumer buying behaviors but also in the retail segment. For most companies, having an online presence isn’t optional; it is necessary for survival in the current internet-oriented market. You should be able to showcase your products and take payments online.

If you truly want to be a leader in the e-commerce marketplace, you’ll need to know all the online shopping trends. Below are some ever-changing trends you can explore to stay relevant in the industry.

Increased Mobile Use

Mobile devices have become an important factor in online shopping, and this isn’t about to change. According to estimates, it’s projected that 50% of revenue will come from mobiles this year. A large part of consumers now reach to their smartphones and other mobile devices to place orders rather than logging onto websites through their PCs. What’s more, Google’s announcement regarding the ranking algorithm that counts on the responsiveness of a site on mobile devices has made these devices even more crucial.  Mobile shopping is set to increase the overall e-commerce revenue since people can shop online irrespective of their location.

Increased Voice Purchases

The recent mobile devices come with voice assistants that consumers can rely on to operate the gadget or search the internet via speech. Additionally, smart home speakers such as Google Home and Amazon Echo have gained a lot of popularity too. E-commerce has managed to leverage this to provide more customized shopping experiences to their customers. An e-commerce application can deploy the feature to help buyers search products simply by voicing their wants. 40% of millennials have used the voice assistant before making an online purchase.

Enhanced Payment and Fulfillment Options

Other than the flexible shipping options, e-commerce owners are providing offers like free shipping above a specific order amount or within a certain distance. More lucrative fulfillment is being provided to beat the competition. Currently, businesses are creating premium shipping options such as speedy, same day delivery, etc. New options have also been unveiled on the payment side such as mobile pay, e-wallet, purchase now pay later, etc. Therefore, consider all these options if you wish to secure your position in the current competitive market.

Big Data Analytics

Due to big data and analytics, all types of industries have been transformed, including e-commerce. Almost all actions users conduct online can be converted into data, which can be later used to analyze and optimize e-commerce websites.

Through big data analytics, businesses can predict the demand, optimize pricing to boost sales and personalize consumer experiences.  You should always keep in mind  that a slight increase in price can lead to a huge increase in profits. Simply put, big data analytics will help you make informed decisions to increase sales and also offer your customers the best experience.

Chatbots and Messenger Apps

The chatbots which operate via messenger applications like Facebook Messenger are on the rise in the e-commerce sector. Online businesses can use these technologies to send special coupon offers and deals, send customized marketing content, and suggest a purchase to customers. Furthermore, chatbots also help retailers to heed to their client’s queries and requests and free up staff to handle more complex customer service problems, among other projects. Since the technology is still improving, chatbots and messenger application marketing are going to become even more popular and useful.

Personalization

Through online shopping, businesses get the opportunity to create unique consumer experiences for each individual client. For instance, a platform like Amazon suggests products depending on consumers past purchases, and streaming services such as Netflix recommend similar shows to those you watched in the past. Personalization will likely be common in the future so your business should adopt it to improve customer experience in order to retain old customers and attract new ones.

It is clear that e-commerce has become a substantial segment of the overall marketplace and companies that do not plan to make their presence felt in this segment do so at their own peril. If your business doesn’t have an online presence or you haven’t implemented any of these e-commerce trends, you are likely missing out on a significant section of your potential sales. By keeping up with the ever-changing trends, you will be able to capture the growing online audience and convert this into more sales and profits.

How mobile technology is shaping the e-commerce industry?

How mobile technology is shaping the e-commerce industry?

In today’s world, both online retail and offline retail sales are crucial for retailers. Often, these two are closely intertwined, one driving another and vice-versa. But there is one phenomenon that is influencing both these retail methods – mobile technology. Here we will emphasize the influence of mobile technology in the e-commerce industry.

The statistics reveal that almost half of the global internet traffic, 52.4% in the third quarter of 2018, is generated from mobile devices. You can boost e-commerce sales if you implement m-commerce strategies or adopt mobile technology to drive e-commerce sales.

Check out the following mobile technology trends that can be fruitful for your e-commerce business.

The surge in smartphone and internet penetration

There were 1.57 billion smartphone users in 2014, and the number is expected to reach 2.87 billion by 2020. In addition to this, the internet penetration rate stood at 53% in 2018 as the number of internet users rose to 4.021 billion, a 7% year-on-year rise. These statistics depict the importance of smartphones usage. Therefore, it becomes obligatory for every business entity to establish its presence on mobile. This is applicable to e-commerce businesses as well.

Ask your developer to create a responsive website that adapts comfortably according to the screen size of the device. Moreover, you can also consider investing in a mobile shopping app, if budget allows. The ultimate aim is to streamline e-commerce business for mobile users. This will ensure that buyers can access your online retail store anytime and anywhere.

Mobile payments

With the evolution of mobile technology, secure payment online systems have been developed, exclusively meant for mobile phones. There are numerous payment options for users, such as credit or debit card payments, net banking, mobile wallets, UPI payments, EMI payments, and so on. The mobile wallets and UPI payments specifically target mobile users and enable them to complete a payment in a couple of steps. These are secure payment processors that ensure end-to-end encryption, preventing any chances of fraudulent activities.

Customer engagement

When you emphasize m-commerce, you get an opportunity to target a custom audience, showcasing customized content. Based on the preferences of the buyers, and their browsing history, you can deliver custom content and notifications. Similarly, you can easily determine the peak hours when mobile users are online. Send a push notification during this time period, as there is a high probability that a user will check it out.

Ensuring an interactive user interface is the key to boost mobile sales. For example, uploading high definition visuals like 360-degree photos, videos, etc. enchants onlookers. You can also opt for augmented reality wherein, users can actually analyze products in a real-world scenario.  Another way is to enable live chat feature on the app or mobile website. The users prefer conversing on a mobile phone as this is the most convenient mode of communication.

Social media integration

On an average, a user spends 116 minutes per day on social media, and 61% social media usage is on a smartphone. Since social media allow users to browse and shop products without leaving their social media account, you can harness this opportunity to drive e-commerce sales. For example, Facebook shop, Instagram shop, and Pinterest’s buyable pins are examples of social media commerce. After browsing products and services, users click on “Buy or Shop” icon, the link redirects them to the payment gateway page, resulting in the order confirmation.

Conclusion

This is the right moment for adopting and implementing mobile technology in your e-commerce business. If you delay it further, your competitors might gain an edge over you by driving sales via mobile purchases. Make yourself future ready by targeting the right audience with the right set of strategies.