Do you know that the global digital buyers will increase to 2.5 billion this current year? In addition, e-commerce sales are anticipated to be 15.5% of the total retail sales. Well, we can draw an inference that e-commerce has an illuminating feature.
The e-commerce industry has influenced almost every retail business. The fashion industry is certainly amidst them, which has traveled to the next stage with new e-commerce trends.
Let’s first have a look at a few important statistics, which shows how it’s growing in the right direction.
- Statista reports that the fashion e-commerce market is expected to increase by up to 12.2% per year at reach about $922 billion by 2023.
- Shopify says that online clothing and apparel business will reach a CAGR of 7.6% by 2022.
- According to research, fashion websites are most effective in converting traffic into sales.
- Mobile accounts for 65.4% of the online fashion traffic, which is why most business retailers have started to build a mobile application.
- According to Internet Retailer 2018, 20.4% of people purchase fashion purchases online, once a week.
So, let’s highlight the major ecommerce trends that will disrupt the fashion industry as a whole.
Table of Contents
Artificial Intelligence
We have already seen a boom in artificial intelligence technology in 2018 and 2019, which is expected to continue now and further beyond. We can experience its impact as it starts affecting the fashion e-commerce sector.
Yes, the influence of artificial intelligence in fashion e-commerce is visible through machine learning and analytics. Artificial intelligence allows online business retailers to gather and leverage large amounts of customer data. You can know their personal preferences and interests, personality, traits, buying habits, and much more.
E-commerce giants such as Amazon, Alibaba, and Privalia have already integrated AI, it’s your turn now.
Chatbots
According to popular research, the use of chatbots in e-commerce websites has incredibly increased during recent years.
Due to the crunch in time, customers prefer a quick and apt response from ecommerce landing pages. This has led companies to implement chatbots, which have streamlined the entire communication process.
A survey states that chatbot has decreased 85% of human involvement in an interaction process. Chatbots offer easy, 24×7, and real-time interaction with customers. We cite the example of Facebook, where over 1,00,000 chatbots are being used to respond to customer queries every month.
We are going to see further improvements in this technology where chatbots will assist users to navigate websites.
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality has become a potent player in driving the e-commerce fashion industry forward. The spectrum of e-commerce has undergone a gradual transformation. Thus, if you want to stay ahead in the competitive market, it’s time to implement virtual reality.
You need to note that it’s pretty challenging to convince a customer today to make a purchase. And surely, virtual reality can help a great deal to accomplish that task.
Customers have the leverage to explore virtual showrooms. You just have to implement this new technology to upsurge their shopping experience. It brings customers much closer to being in the real store even when they are present at their home.
VR provides realistic experiences that further lead to an increase in the purchase. Virtualizing the product before making a purchase is a big boost for the customers. It pushes customers to visit the store.
According to a study, 66% of the customers have shown their interest in virtual reality shopping. Additionally, 63% of consumers agree that virtual reality will forever change their online shopping experience.
Voice Search
Voice searches have incredibly gained momentum with the surge of smartphones and advanced gadgets. You must have heard about Apple Siri, Google Home or Amazon Alexa, which has made voice search technology more popular.
According to research, about 50% of the search queries will be conducted via a voice search in 2020. This is certainly providing a huge impetus and opportunity to online fashion retailers encouraging people to conduct screenless browsing.
You must also note that usually, voice searches are longer than typed keywords in Google or any other search engine. It means you have a good opportunity to optimize your product.
The Use Of QR Codes Or Direct-To-Consumer (D2C)
Direct-to-consumers or the use of QR codes is basically attributed to various reasons.
The D2C is a venerable and effective e-commerce strategy, which has allowed manufacturers and consumer packaged goods to penetrate the market directly without any entry of a middle-man.
One of the major benefits of the D2C strategy is that it removes the obstruction between the manufacturer and the customer. Hence, the manufacturer gains more control over the products and brand reputation including sales and marketing.
Even the QR codes are shaping the future of the fashion e-commerce world. It includes a QR code scanner in the smartphone camera where the customer can view the best price, coupon code, and discount code.
Ending Notes
Advancement in technology has led to enhancement in the various facets of the e-commerce sector including the fashion industry. There are some more trends in the list including micro-influencers, an increase in mobile payments, and more videos. All of these have augmented the customer shopping experience, presenting a strong future for the online fashion business.