What will 2016 hold for eCommerce?

01 Mar What will 2016 hold for eCommerce?

From the growth of mobile, to ‘Buy Buttons’ and one-touch payments, 2015 saw the world of digital commerce not only advance in innovation and technology, but also in popularity. With a predicted online spend of £60bn in the UK alone, eCommerce in 2016 is set to be bigger and better than ever before.

So, with no sign of the eCommerce revolution slowing down any time soon, we ask what does 2016 have in store for eCommerce?

With the annual growth rate for mobile projected at 36%, and with over 60% of traffic and 40% of revenue attributable to mobile commerce during last years Black Friday weekend, it is no surprise that mobile commerce is the front runner for growth in 2016. Some retailers are predicting that traffic from smartphones will overtake desktop traffic for the first time ever, while tablet traffic and revenue are expected to stagnate. With such high levels of growth, there is no doubt that as consumer confidence for shopping on mobile gets ever stronger, retailers who do not have a responsive / mobile strategy at the forefront of their eCommerce development roadmap in 2016 risk being left behind.

Equally, more and more eCommerce is now taking place on marketplaces, from Amazon and eBay to more recent entrants like Etsy and Notonthehighstreet. The advancements in marketplaces have opened up a variety of benefits to retailers of all sizes. While providing an additional channel to market and sell products, they can also be a great way to test out new markets with opportunities for overseas sales. Although the marketplace ethos does not suit every retailer, this relatively low cost sales channel can help to boost revenue steams for your business, particularly during seasonal trading periods where competition is high (and expensive).

Additionally, as front runner Amazon continues to set the bar for consumer expectation on dispatch and delivery times, small retailers often find it difficult to complete. Our advice? If you can’t beat them, join them – literally. With Seller Central, Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA) and the newly launched Vendor Express options available, Amazon are making it easier than ever for retailers to take advantage of their enormous and loyal customer base.

As announcements of the “Buy Button” came from Pinterest and Twitter in 2015, transforming marketing channels into transactional ones is bound to be high on the list of priorities for 2016. Millennials are the most active demographic on social media, and there is over 2 billion of them living in the world. According to estimates, millennials already account for half of all retail spending, and by 2025, they will make up 75% of the global workforce. As the final generation of the 20th century, millennials have grown up alongside the digital landscape, and as such are savvy and discerning consumers that will reward the retailers that innovate, evolve and developer their online offering. This makes it no surprise that they are one of the key demographics for eCommerce companies in 2016, bringing to light the main strategy behind these social media giants.

2016 will no doubt see these trends continue, and likely accelerate. Meaning that businesses who don’t remain at the forefront of the eCommerce revolution, risk missing out on the tremendous opportunities it brings!