At the onset of every year, resolutions fill our bucket list in one of the ‘Must-to-do’ things. With so many resolutions, we promise to make every year, very few of them rarely gets fulfilled; so why not make a resolution this year which we can fulfill and feel proud of? A resolution to follow the latest e-commerce trends, to compete with the who’s who of the ever-booming industry. Well, when it comes to technology, the trends keep changing with the blink of an eye and if you miss one of them, you will lag behind.

After doing an extensive research, the UIPL team has come up with a set of trends that will dominate the e-commerce industry in 2016. So, let’s see what’s in store in the e-commerce industry this year.

1. M-Commerce – A Necessity

M-Commerce will no longer be the additional feature in your phone, but a need without which you cannot fulfill your shopping desires. A research done by Kissmetrics reveals that about 78% of searches done through a mobile phone resulted in a purchase. Moreover, it also revealed that 2 out of 3 customers like to shop online through a mobile website rather than a mobile application. These figures show that there is a rise in the use of mobile phones when it comes to online shopping. Any company which offers e-commerce website development services in India needs to make sure that they optimize the website and offer smooth touch screen options as well as high-resolution web page viewing experience. So, that customers enjoy a memorable shopping experience.

2. Shopping Is Fun With A Tablet

A report published by ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) suggests that omni channel customers, that is the one’s who purchase through mobile phones, desktop or any other device, spend 3.5 times greater in online shopping than single-channel shoppers. Now, the ever-increasing screen sizes of mobile phones are diverting customers from their desktop. In fact, it can be said that use of Tablets is on the rise due to their large screen sizes. People these days, either take the help of a Tablet or a mobile phone in order to do a preliminary research of the product and then make the purchasing decision. The convenience that a Tablet provides in terms of better resolution makes Tablets the next best thing for e-commerce.

3. Automated Marketing – The New Language For Email Marketing

Phrases like ‘50% discount only for you’ or ‘Grab your last chance of Christmas sale’ will bring a new revolution in e-mail marketing. With the emergence of more and more online shopping websites, customers are looking for personalized services that will pay more attention to their shopping needs. It is expected that in 2016 features like automatic display of products preferred by customers or automated recommendations, more personalized web pages and special discount offers will shape up the e-commerce space. Hence, Automated Marketing is thus an easy way to keep your customers remain loyal to you.

4. More Details About Product

One of the perils of an online shopping website is the inability to physically verify the product. Well, this peril can be transformed easily into a blessing by giving more and more details about the details. Writing product specifications, posting demo videos of the products and high-resolution images are the keys to bringing the customer closer to the product. By adopting such measures, you let the customers know about your products and establish a relationship with them. Personalization will also play a vital role. For instance: if you share the solution of a technical problem related to the product, then their faith on you and on the brand is bound to increase, thus enhancing their trust over you.

5. The Great Rise of ‘Deal-of-the-day ’

Also known as Flash sales, Deal-of-the-day is finally going to see the light as it is slowly becoming popular with the customers on festivals and any other special occasions like New Year, Independence Day or a Thanksgiving Day. These kinds of sales lasts might last up to few hours or even continue for days. If your e-commerce website is mobile optimized, then it will be easier for websites to boost up their sales faster. Though it cannot be said how effective will be the concept of ‘Deal-of-the-day,’ but once it is received well by the customer, it will certainly stay for a long time.

6. Tracking Customer’s Data Through Algorithms

Use of Algorithms to track all vital information about customers helps an online retailer to get the exact information about the details of the customer. It gives the retailer an idea about the buying preference of the visitor and turn him into a real customer. This trend of analyzing the behavior of the customer will be one of the major trends in e-commerce for 2016. It will prove to be a blessing for small businesses as they will get an accurate data about their customers with the help of statistical data.

7. Improved Shipping For Better Shopping Experience

Receiving a product within few days of ordering it is a much better experience than a 5-day delay in the product delivery. In 2016, improved shipping with on time delivery will be one of the emerging trends. People are going to shift more towards an e-commerce brand that not only promises of fast delivery but actually makes it available at the doorstep of the customer within few days of ordering it.

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As the eCommerce revolution is gaining pace all over the world with the emergence of more and more online ventures, it is important to ensure that a customer gets the maximum return on his or her investment and the time spent in purchasing a product online. The trends mentioned above will help online retailers to return the customers their value and trust while shopping online from their website. Moreover, they will also get a view about the future of e-commerce and the factors responsible for making online shopping a seamless experience.