Ecommerce trends - 2013

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Some of the trends that will continue in 2013 are -

1. Omnichannel


Journey from Single-channel to Omni-channel


Companies were selling their goods through one channel (brick and mortar stores) until 90s when web evolved. At that time, multi-channel came into picture. Under it, customers could buy the product through any of the channels but transactions were separate from each other.

It continued till late 90s when some companies started integrating one channel (cross-channel commerce) with other.e.g. you can order a product from website and go to store for pickup. Companies continued the evolution and omni-channel came into picture.

Omni-channel is about providing a seamless, single brand experience and it seems to be future trend for retail. Big companies like Macys, Apple have already started following omni-channel practice while other companies like Belk are thinking in that direction. Omni-channel Retailing is an evolution to multi-channel retailing and it provide seamless experience to the customers through all available shopping channels, i.e. mobile, web site, computers, bricks-and-mortar etc.



2. Personalization

Personalization is an old concept. It simply means presenting information to a consumer that acknowledges who he is and what his intentions are — to make his interaction more meaningful. Many online stores keep track of your visits and history of what you have purchased, where do you live, your likes and dislikes etc. Stores use that information to deliver targeted content and promotions to the customer, hence personalizing the experience. To cite few examples, guided search, navigation, showing personalized recommendations are all personalization features.

One of the e-commerce site has shown below personalized recommendations.




3. Mobile commerce

The term 'm-commerce' stands for mobile commerce, and it’s the browsing, buying and selling of products and services on mobile devices. In other words, it’s a complete online shopping experience, but with all the convenience of being on a cellphone or tablet. Consumers are not limited to PC to access the site and they access using mobile and tablets.

Why m-commerce?
As per Gartner, by 2013 more people will use mobile phones than PCs to get online. With the boom in smartphone and tablet ownership, m-commerce has followed suit. In 2012, m-commerce sales in the U.S. hit $24.66 billion, which was an 81% increase from $13.63 billion in 2011.

Future of m-commerce?
According to Forrester, annual m-commerce sale is predicted to quadruple to $31 billion in the next five years. So mobile is definitely the future trend as sale of smartphones is increasing in US and other countries.

Nordstrom's mobile site is an  example of a m-commerce site. The entire shopping experience takes place on the mobile web as shown below.


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