It is still the first half of the 2023 so why we are talking about 2024 ecommerce trends? I will admit that summer may seem a bit too early to be writing about next years’ trends. Also we cannot really predict the future, but we can and we do constantly guess based on historical data. When it comes to trends, we seem to be rather predictable; taking what’s hot right now and extrapolating it into the near future. Yet, 2023 is different with the dawn of AI era and it is worthwhile to think about how it will change the eCommerce business. Yes, it can be a gamechanger, but it’s not like building a good foundations for eCommerce will not matter anymore. Or understanding the needs of your customer. AI will improve a lot of things, but the basics will remain the same. I have even asked AI about eCommerce trends, and, lucky me, its answers were not much different from mine. So what we can learn from combining my predictions based on reviewing previous “BIG” trends and AI vision for the eCoomerce?

Long story short: build good foundations for your ecommerce, then look at the new, emerging AI solutions and decide which solution makes sense for you and in what scope. Do not jump at any new opportunity. Let’s say you heard about AI shopping assistants, like the new Mercari is now testing in beta. But you’re not a giant international corporation and you don’t have the resources to build a similar solution. I want to give you quick-win solutions, that don’t require the budget and the know-how for an AI shopping assistant, but can nevertheless improve your results. At the same time, I would like to show you what a long term goal might be.

Not every buzzword is a real solution

Around 2016 and 2017 chatbots were all the rage — touted to revolutionise ecommerce in all areas imaginable: from support all the way to the shopping process itself. These bombastic predictions didn’t quite materialise.

Sephora launching 2 chatbots in 2017

Current Sephora website providing human to human interaction in the form of beauty experts

Lesson to be had, not every buzzword is a real trend. And not every trend will become a viable solution. But we can identify what has proven to work and bring ecommerce success. We can also look at trends from the past years and evaluate their applicability.

Trends that stood the test of time:

• personalisation — according to a 2017 online survey of 1,000 consumers ages 18-64, 80% of customers are more likely to do business with a company that offers personalized experiences. “Consumers who believe personalized experiences are very appealing are ten times more likely to be a brand’s most valuable customer – those that are expected to make more than 15 transactions in one year. Additionally, those respondents who believe companies are doing very well on offering personalized experiences shop more than three times more frequently”.
• mCommerce — mobile accounts for 58% of web traffic worldwide and for almost 80% market share of total ecommerce. It’s a no brainer — mobile experiences and mobile shopping should be a primary for most, if not all ecommerce.
• omnichannel experiences — customers care about price, convenience more than they care about channels or touch points. 49% of customers are omnishoppers — regularly shopping across both offline and online channels, according to Nielsen. Though customers may use different channels depending on context, need, time etc. they expect the same level of experience across all channels.

Personalisation, mCommerce and omnichannel experiences are crucial, but we can get deeper still. By that I mean deconstructing ecommerce to its core components — foundations:

1. Offer and presentation
2. Checkout (quick and easy)
3. Payment
4. Delivery
5. Customer Service

Back to basics — foundations of any ecommerce

1. Offer and presentation
Quick win — adapting the offer to your customers

That’s how plantet.pl was born:

• an eCommerce dedicated to B2C, for enthusiasts-amateurs,
• with an offer consistent with the values ​​and needs of customers,
• containing preselected sets of seeds or plants, substrates, tools and accessories,
• with a simple, user friendly checkout

Long term goal — personalisation

Now what if we have a great offer and we show the customer a wide array of products, that are addressing their current needs? What we end up with is Amazon — which not only presents a wide array of its product range, but it also displays products that are more likely to answer the customer’s current needs. Amazon is using data about a given customer to personalise most of the sections on its homepage for that customer, thus increasing conversion. It’s called a “single customer view” and it’s the level you should be striving for in the long run.

There are 6 level (sometimes called “stages”) of personalisation:

1. Static — no personalisation, for example static campaigns.
2. Identity — this simply means using personalised language, like addressing the customer by name. It can also include gender, location and age.
3. Insight driven — breaking down customers into segments and driving dynamic content for these segments.
4. Enriched insight — the crucial difference between this and the previous stage is that an enriched insight approach adds further granularity by increasing the number of variables by which a group or segment can be defined.
5. Single customer view — at this stage the content is tailored to an individual identity, behaviour and context of use.
6. Predictive — at this stage the data from the single customer view is used to anticipate customer’s future needs

If your ecommerce is currently at level 2, you can create a plan to upgrade it to level 3 and so on. But the Single Customer View should be your goal. And by the time your ecommerce gets to level 5, level 6 may become a viable solution and should become the next goal in your strategy.

2. Checkout
Quick win — simply… simplifying the checkout process

According to the Baymard Institute: 17% of cart abandonments happen because the checkout process is too long and/or too complex. A good solution for high drop offs in the checkout stage is simplifying the checkout:

• Use an isolated checkout process, as to not distract the user (i.e. hide the main navigation)
• Make sure the checkout progress bar matches the steps in the checkout (Personal details, Delivery address, Payment method etc.). Users often get confused and interrupt the checkout because of this.
• Minimise the number of input fields displayed at the start of the checkout (display only fields which are absolutely necessary at a given moment).

Following these 3 guidelines will make your checkout more user friendly. It doesn’t require huge investments and may be one of the best quick fixes if you’re on a budget.

Long term goal — one page checkout

Single page checkout may be great follow up, once you’ve streamlined your checkout as per 2.1. It simplifies the checkout even further and makes purchases faster for the customers. A great addition is a “one-click buying” feature, first introduced by Amazon in 1999 and since implemented by many other companies. 

3. Payment
Quick win — simply… simplifying the checkout process

According to the Baymard Institute: 17% of cart abandonments happen because the checkout process is too long and/or too complex. A good solution for high drop offs in the checkout stage is simplifying the checkout:

• Use well-known and trusted payment methods and gateways.
• Use native payments on mobile: Apple Pay, Google Pay to make checkout frictionless
• Offer various payment methods that fit different customer needs: credit card, transfer, Apple/Google Pay etc.

Long term goal — buy now pay later

In 2022, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) accounted for between 7% and 9% of online payments (globally). This share is expected to increase to 24% in 2026. BNPL is an attractive form of payment, especially for young people who do not have credit history. BNPL is becoming a viable option to implement for a growing number of businesses in times of economical instability, as it may attract customers who would otherwise refrain from purchasing.

Improved Customer Service

Another area where AI is transforming ecommerce is customer service. AI-powered chatbots can be used to provide quick and efficient customer service, answering customers’ questions and providing guidance throughout the purchasing process. This not only saves time and money but also provides a more seamless customer experience.

For example, H&M uses an AI-powered chatbot on its website that can answer customer questions about products and make personalized recommendations based on the customer’s preferences and previous purchases.

Visual Search

Visual search is another area where AI is making waves in ecommerce. With the help of AI, ecommerce platforms can analyze images and provide similar products to customers. This not only makes it easier for customers to find what they are looking for but also increases the likelihood of purchases.

For example, Pinterest has an AI-powered visual search feature that allows users to search for products by uploading images. This feature has been so successful that it has resulted in a 20% increase in user engagement.

Fraud Detection

AI can also be used to detect and prevent fraud in ecommerce. With the help of AI algorithms, ecommerce platforms can analyze user behavior and identify patterns that may indicate fraudulent activity. This not only helps prevent fraud but also protects customers’ personal information and financial data.

For example, PayPal uses AI to detect and prevent fraud on its platform. This has resulted in significant cost savings and improved security for its customers.

Will AI permeate all aspects of life? Will it take over the ecommerce from generating code and layout design to populating it with personalised deals, to offering a seamless checkout based on conversational interfaces (or maybe by combining various input methods into one seamless experience)? Or maybe it will remain a back end solution for years to come, before it’s truly ready for client facing solutions? It’s too soon to tell. 

Less tangible trends

While AI has the spotlight and everyone’s attention, there are a few trends that are also worth keeping an eye on. They are not as technologically appealing / technology-based as AI is…

Live shopping

Instagram got into live shopping in 2020 only to terminate the functionality in March of this year. Thus, it might seem justifiable to treat live shopping as a fad that has come and gone — if it wasn’t for Asia — over 70% of consumers buy through live shopping in countries like China, India and Thailand. It’s is a sales channel worth 62 billion USD in China alone (as of 2019, projected to achieve 623 billion USD). It’s part commerce, part entertainment that has been effective in a wide range of market segments from fashion, through cosmetics and even groceries. Live shopping may remain important in Asia, while never catching on in the West. But it’s worth observing and experimenting as the largest group of live shopping consumers worldwide are people aged 18-24 (58% of all live shopping buyers) *[1].

The most popular categories are clothes, electronics, books, and toys. More than half (54%) of shoppers engage in re-commerce because of their values, such as sustainability, but at of economic uncertainty, more customers can be driven by lower price of used products[4]. Currently most used item sales still take place offline, so there’s a lot of that market to gain by the ecommerce. At the same time there’s also a lot to discover, design and develop to tap into that market. Companies like Zalando (with its “Pre-owned” category) are already paving the way.

Customer awareness is one force for sustainable commerce practices. The other is regulatory. In March 2022 the EU presented the “Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles” to address the entire lifecycle of textile products and propose actions to change how they are produced and “consumed”. The strategy is in line with the European Green Deal, the new circular economy action plan, and the industrial strategy for the textiles’ sector. In April 2023 the Environment Committee of the European Parliament[5] voted for recommendations to end fast fashion, adopting tougher rules to fight excessive production and consumption.

Therefore, there are both incentives and directives to seriously consider re-commerce as a sustainable solution.

Final thoughts and takeaways

1. Build the foundations. 
Before you invest millions in AI, take care of the basics – improvements in the design of the home page or the shopping process will bring benefits with a small investment.
2. Get to know your customers and personalise your offer. 
Offer and content personalization is based on good data. Even AI won’t do much without data.

Rome wasn’t built in a day... Don’t chase the latest trends, because they’re the talk of the town. Implement solutions that make sense for your ecommerce and bring value to your customers.

[1] ” The Future Shopper Report 2022”, Wunderman Thompson

[2] “The Rise of sustainable ecommerce”  

[3] „ A ‘natural’ rise in sustainability around the world”, NielsenIQ, 01.2019

[4] “Recommerce report”, eBay, 04.2022

[5] Ending fast fashion: tougher rules to fight excessive production and consumption