Ecommerce and online shopping trends for 2023
The world of eCommerce is vital for businesses because it’s a way more people can access your products or services. With the UK being the most popular country around the world for internet shopping (with consumer eCommerce accounting for 30% of the total retail market), it’s vital to keep up with the latest macro trends and adapt appropriately.
This can have an impact on how consumers interact with your brand, so staying up to date on these trends means you can change the way you sell your products or services ahead of time, not only improving the customer journey but also staying ahead of your competition.
Here at Varn, we are keeping an eye on these latest macro trends to see how this will affect the way consumers engage with businesses, which can have the potential to impact SEO strategies as well as the way you can optimise content. Keep on reading to find out some of these latest trends.
1) Phygital Retail
One of the latest trends for online shopping is the use of phygital retail. This is where a business takes the best elements between physical and digital retail, enhancing the performance of both leading to a better customer experience.
For example, consumers can interact with a brand in-store to browse, before moving online and using apps at their convenience to confirm a better-informed purchase. This allows for an omnichannel experience that builds trust and loyalty between the business and the consumer.
The advantage of using phygital retail is you are resonating with a wider audience. You are able to cater to the 77% of shoppers who prefer internet shopping, whilst also incorporating the remaining buyers who enjoy a more tangible experience.
2) The use of video
Another trend is the use of video content. Businesses use video content to help connect with viewers about products and showcase their uses. This leads to a more engaging experience for the readers, and videos can be located in multiple places like social media, SERP’S, as well as your own website.
Consumers’ favourite type of videos includes those that explain something, which in hand can lead to consumers moving from the desire to the purchase stage, when linking to the marketing funnel.
Online videos now account for more than 82% of internet traffic, as well as directly contributing to a 78% increase in sales according to Modern Retail.
3) Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
The use of Augmented and Virtual Reality is seeing an increase in the world of eCommerce, and changing the way shoppers engage with brands online. The use of AR and VR allows people to try on clothes, and see a furniture item in their own home, before purchasing. This interactive experience can be seen as an alternative to shopping in person in a brick-and-mortar store, but from the convenience of your mobile.
The industry was valued at USD 19.44 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow to USD 165.91 billion by 2030 (Fortune Business Insights, 2022), showing the significance of this technology.
4) In-App Shopping
Another trend is the use of apps for online shopping. For example, TikTok recently launched a new in-app shopping experience that allows users to shop inside the app, without having to open a web browser at all. This will have a significant impact on the customer journey, as well as the way brands can interact with consumers. Data by Mordar Intelligence suggests that by 2028, the eCommerce App Market is set to grow at a CAGR of 9.80%.
With the steady growth in popularity, this will only lead to an increase in users purchasing through apps, as well as the desire to purchase through them. Therefore, it’s vital businesses consider incorporating their products on apps such as Facebook and TikTok.
Leverage SEO to take advantage of the trends
Overall, these trends show how the world of eCommerce and shopping trends are changing. However, to experience maximum returns on your business, you need to have good SEO to bring people to your digital space. One way this can be done is by ensuring you have a good content strategy, to ensure your videos are well optimised so they can be easily crawled and indexed and that your landing pages are optimised from an onsite perspective to capture those searching for your products and services when they are in the market.
If you would like to speak to one of our team about any of the trends discussed above or talk about how you can be better positioned for the growing eCommerce market, get in touch with us today.
This article is uniquely written by a member of the Varn team.
