Por Laura García/Content Manager Near BPO
In the last decade, we have seen how the way we shopped has evolved tremendously thanks to the internet and the invention of the Ecommerce. Back in the 00’s, we didn’t give much importance to this new form of retailing, but what we didn’t imagine was that (in the not so far away future) new generations will have the Ecommerce as their primary method of shopping. And, as crazy as it sounds, all the data and research implies that this is where the future of shopping is headed.
All this should not come as a surprise due to the digital era we are living in. However, no one would have predicted that the Ecommerce would grow at such an accelerated rate. But if we think about it, online shopping offers many advantages that invite the consumer to keep shopping through this method, for instance, the advantage of shopping without leaving your home that translates into saving time and money in heavy traffic and gas, or having in the palm of your hand many alternatives to the products or services you are looking for.
In the next paragraphs, we are going to tell you the growth of Ecommerce in the last few years and the top 3 predictions for the future of Ecommerce.
Ecommerce Sales Growth
Probably, it is difficult to picture the grow of the Ecommerce just by saying the numbers. That is why we borrow the following image to depicture the prediction of the Ecommerce journey from 2016 to 2020.
This 2016 summary of projected sales from eMarketer shows that retail Ecommerce sales will increase to $4.058 trillion in 2020, making up 14.6% of total retail spending.
Source: eMarketer: Worldwide E-commerce sales growth forecast
Top 3 Trends for the Future of Ecommerce
We already know that the Ecommerce is staying with us for a long time. But do we know what trends are going to dominate this practice? Following, we are going to show you what the experts are expecting in a few years.
Social shopping is going to gain relevance
Expending more and more time on social media, this platform has become an excellent channel to sell directly to the customers. In the last couple of years, some of the bigger platforms have implemented call to action buttons that facilitate the process of shopping. It is expected that in the next couple of years the sales through these channels are going to increase exponentially.
International Shopping
Shoppers are increasingly looking for products outside their country. According to studies, 57% of online shoppers said that they have made an international online purchase in the last six months. Thanks to globalization, buying products from a faraway country is no longer a problem. In the future, offering international shipping in Ecommerces is going to be the norm.
B2B Ecommerce Is Here to Stay
There is a giant that is slowly approaching the Ecommerce sector to change it. And this giant is the B2B (business to business) Ecommerce. Unlike B2C (business to customer) Ecommerce, when online purchases are being made from one business to another, generally, the sales are bigger and more difficult to close. With B2B Ecommerce, it is estimated that the processes are going to be simplified in the next few years, facilitating the way business is being made on the internet.
