BROUGHT TO YOU BY ECOMMERCE AGENCY, PURENET

7 Ecommerce Trends for 2017

PureNet is an expert Ecommerce and Portal Development Agency that specialises in award-winning, fully integrated solutions. PureNet has been delivering ecommerce and portal solutions to B2C and B2B businesses such as The Royal British Legion, Krispy Kreme, Saddleback, LighterLife and Puzzler for over a decade. The PureNet team’s immersion in the ecommerce industry means we are always looking to innovate and recommend new, proven ecommerce features that keep our clients at the forefront of the industry – let’s take a look at our top 7 ecommerce trends for 2017!

#2 The Rise of Fast Delivery

Over the last few years we have seen ecommerce delivery timescales not only shorten, but become much more precise. Customers now expect to be able to Click and Collect, even from pure play ecommerce retailers with the rise of collection points from companies such as Collect+. So what does delivery look like in 2017? ASOS, New Look and Boohoo have recently launched ‘precise delivery’ with 1-hour delivery windows, and the majority of retailers now offer next day delivery if ordered before 10pm. We predict same-day delivery will continue to rise in 2017, and more ecommerce integrations with drop-off point providers such as Doddle. We’re not quite sure drone delivery will take off yet, but it’s certainly time to step up your delivery options!

#3 Ecommerce Personalisation

Big Data and AI

Ecommerce personalisation has been trending at Enterprise level for some time now, so what’s new? 2017 is the year that ecommerce personalisation will become accessible for all sizes of business from SME to Mid-Tier to Enterprise. Customers have been exposed to personalised experiences from the likes of Amazon and Netflix, and have come to expect this same level of personalisation from online retailers, where product recommendations are highly targeted and not simply ‘one size fits all’. 2017 is the year that retailers will embrace personalisation and Artificial Intelligence – starting by collecting behavioural data from each website visitor and moving on to developing highly targeted campaigns based on customer segments and previous online experiences.

#4 Loyalty Schemes

Ok, we know Loyalty Schemes within ecommerce are not a new development so, what’s our prediction? As retailers continue to compete to achieve the perfect ecommerce experience, the importance of customer loyalty and experience will come to the forefront. With such a vast amount of choice when shopping online and 49% of consumers stating they would gladly switch brands for a coupon, customer loyalty is one thing that cannot be underestimated. We’re not talking about the traditional cards in your wallet, digital loyalty schemes can be extremely… well, rewarding! The real winners when it comes to customer loyalty schemes will be the ones who capture information about their customers as they shop and use this information to offer highly personalised promotions and rewards.

When it comes to the type of ecommerce loyalty schemes, you have a few options including points based systems, a tiered system, upfront fee (including Delivery Membership) and partnership promotions. Our advice? Keep it simple!

#5 Even More Omni-Channel

Many years ago, commerce was limited to bricks & mortar stores, then came catalogue sales, phone ordering, ecommerce, social commerce and even TV commerce. The issue facing many retailers today is channel fragmentation. We have a large number of channels, and we have single, focused ideas for each rather than one unified approach. As more features and trends are released, the gap between channels can easily widen, resulting in a confused client base and diluted brand image. We expect 2017 to be the catalyst for retailers to begin truly unifying their shopping channels by delivering features such as multichannel wishlists and real-time stock information. We like to think of it as ‘getting the basics right’. Once you have these, you can begin experimenting with more innovative omnichannel technologies.

#6 Mobile Mobile Mobile

Mobile commerce had a breakthrough year in 2015. This year, expectations are mobile commerce sales will account for over £25billion, an increase of more than 25%. This figure is predicted to continue to increase, reaching over £30billion in 2017 and £42billion by 2020. According to eMarketer, this growth is driven by larger screens, smoother buying experiences, better mobile search and context-driven discovery. The trend in mcommerce is no longer simple optimisation, customers don’t just expect a website to ‘work’ on their phones – the retailers reaping the rewards are the ones we see thinking truly mobile-first. Designing a unique experience that works in synergy with a phone’s size and functionality, not seeing a phone screen as an ecommerce limitation but as the new shop window.

#7 Introducing Chatbots (Sales & Support in One!)

Over the last few years we have seen mobile messaging apps explode with popularity, and thanks to ecommerce personalisation, artificial intelligence has been adopted with many of the large retailers. 2017 will see these two trends combine to deliver a new way of shopping and communicating, – chatbots. Chatbots are AI-led automated messenger services that allow your customers to engage with your brand via instant messenger. The smartest Chatbots detect exactly what the customer is looking for, suggests products, places orders, answers customer service queries and even detects the style of language used in order to converse in a similar manner. Clever stuff!