Perceptible e-commerce trends – as we move into 2017

Did you know that e-commerce accounts for approximately 8.6% of all retail spending  generating a revenue of $1.915 trillion in 2016? There is also an estimate that this double-digit growth will continue through 2020 toping $4 trillion. Pervasive connectivity and consumer-driven transactions have fuelled e-commerce in a big way. And with the first quarter of 2017 underway, let’s look at some of the various ecommerce trends that are set to grow and dominate the landscape further.

Trend 1. Demographics – Asia market is booming

China’s ecommerce market is growing at a rapid pace. They spent approximately $563 billion in 2015.  US is number two in the ranking where ecommerce hauled in approximately $350 billion in 2015. Japan’s ecommerce market logged in $89 billion in 2015, whereas UK online sales was pegged at $60.4 billion in 2016.

Trend 2. Industry – Retail is still the frontrunner

Retail industry is still the ecommerce market leader, with Amazon and Alibaba as the busiest and largest ecommerce companies dominating the space. Amazon processed approximately 37 million orders on America’s biggest shopping day – Cyber Monday, while Alibaba in China processed 278 million orders on an annual shopping holiday – Singles Day. While retail industry makes up for the majority of market share, luxury and health and wellness products are also making their way into the ecommerce market and is likely to continue to rise as consumers increasingly make cross border purchases.

Trend 3. Technology – M-commerce is on the rise

As smartphones, tablets and wearables continue to proliferate and mobile technology advances, mobile driven e-commerce revenue will see a rise by approximately 50% by the end of 2017. With 50% of retail audience using mobile for shopping, the market may witness number of retailers exclusively focusing on engaging shoppers through mobile, investing in mobile optimized websites and apps, while phasing out desktop options.

As we move ahead into 2017 – we will witness further disruption and new standards being set as chatbots and location based technologies slowly make their way into the market and become the new normal. While we wait to see how the future of ecommerce will be shaped with newer innovations, it is time for players to adapt to these growing technologies to keep pace and drive deeper engagement with their consumers.

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