E-commerce makes up a significant percentage of purchases in almost every age category. Regardless of whether customers are buying books, clothes or groceries, their order (and delivery) is only ever a few clicks away.
In order for your online store to maintain profitability, you need to know the current e-commerce trends.
Why follow e-commerce trends in 2024?
- You will stay competitive and keep up with the ever-changing online environment.
- You’ll meet customer expectations because trends often reflect the changing needs of buyers.
- You will be able to allocate funds to innovations in good time if you know when and what changes lie in store.
- By following trends, you will be able to adapt to market changes faster.
- You don’t have to react to every change, because many trends will come and go. Some will affect your segment, others will not. But it is always more advantageous to be aware of them and evaluate their potential in your segment.
Which e-commerce trends to watch in 2024?
The future, powered by AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the most fundamental technology to shake up the advertising industry since the advent of the Internet and the arrival of mobile devices. The amount of information searched for on the subject of AI has soared beyond wildest expectations.
The new era of AI marketing is no longer about when the technology will arrive, but rather what marketers will do now that it’s here.
It is a waste of time to ask whether using AI tools in e-commerce and marketing makes sense. People in marketing should stop fearing whether AI will replace them in their roles. Instead, marketers should worry about the fact that in 2024, they are much more likely to be replaced by someone who knows how to use “this AI business”.
“It’s been decades since we’ve seen anything like the impact of AI on marketing. GroupM estimates that by 2027, up to 90% of digital advertising campaigns will be influenced by AI.” comments Phil Wilson, Google’s vice president of marketing for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
“We’re using AI to power our marketing at Google and I truly believe we’re at a tipping point with this technology. A key ingredient moving forward will be combining AI-powered solutions with human expertise to deliver results.”
Marketers, experiment!
You’re not competing with AI – you’re competing with others using AI. The sooner you start experimenting with AI-powered campaigns, the bigger the advantage you’ll gain.
The key to growth and profitability with AI is to start from the ground up. Get inspired by ChatGPT commands (which we use, too).
Importance of product videos
Product description videos have been trending since 2023 and are still hugely popular among customers. If you haven’t added them to your products yet, definitely do so in 2024.
When people shop online, they face the same issues as any other customer in a brick-and-mortar store. They want to take a good look at the product. To achieve this, answer them digitally – through a product video.
A good-quality video sells more than 100 photos ever could.
Get inspired by an Australian pushchair retailer who created great sales videos for their products. They did not focus purely on providing a ‘tour’ of the pushchair, rather, the video directly captures situations from everyday life.
One of the e-commerce trends of 2024 are product videos. Thanks to artificial intelligence and a multitude of smart applications, you can now create a product video much more easily than was possible three or four years ago.
Increasing demand for quality
If a customer is thinking about how to pay for living expenses, there won’t be much left over for shopping. Be extra careful in times of financial uncertainty.
Avoid talking about profits – even if you are doing well. More than 70% of customers do not like companies that profit from the crisis.
At the same time, customer interest in quality increased during 2023. Paradoxically, despite declining purchasing power, demand for premium and luxury products is growing. Interest in second-hand products, bazaars and marketplaces is also increasing.
Looking at the table below, price is still one of the most important criteria. More than 45% of people buy clothes based on price. On the other hand, this figure is almost 10% lower than it was four years ago.
In the segment of food, soft drinks and cosmetics, the situation changed ever so slightly in 2022 and 2023 and price sensitivity experienced a marginal increase. Customers have now again become interested in lower prices. The reason is clear – rising prices across the board and an increase in the cost of living.
The e-commerce trend of 2024 is a slightly decreasing emphasis on price. At the same time, interest in premium products is increasing. Source: Statista.com
How can you adapt?
- Invest in the development or purchase of quality and premium products. Offer them in your online store, emphasising their quality and longevity.
- Promote product recycling in your segment. The Martinus bookstore has mastered the ‘marketplace trend’, whereby it now buys used books in a good condition from people and, in return, sends them vouchers for the purchase of new books.
Focus on collecting First-party data
If your marketing campaigns are to work properly, you need customer data. You will no longer be getting this in 2024. Google Chrome will be joining Firefox and Safari browsers and cancelling third-party cookies.
Therefore, focus on collecting first-party data. This is the data that customers hand over to you themselves – and voluntarily. This includes data from interactions with your website, social media or email campaigns.
Unlike third-party data, which is obtained from external sources and is not as accurate, first-party data offers quality information about customer behaviour, preferences and needs.
How to collect first-party data in 2024
- Create user-friendly forms and incentivise customers to fill them out in exchange for valuable content.
- Send feedback/review prompts.
- Gain newsletter subscribers and evaluate how they respond to your content, what they click on and what they order.
- Use social media to create interactive content, such as quizzes or competitions.
- If possible, consider implementing a loyalty programme that will provide you with data about customers, their buying patterns and preferences.
Delivery of goods within 48 hours
Online shopping has one major disadvantage – the customer has to wait a period of time before they receive their goods. In the past, customers used to tolerate delivery times of 7 or 14 days. Today, this is no longer the case.
E-commerce trends for 2024 indicate that customers not only demand express delivery, but are also not interested in buying from online stores that take more than three days to deliver.
However, in the case of a major sale or a well-communicated event, it’s still true that people can wait for something they can’t buy elsewhere or don’t need right away.
How to convert the trend into practice
Satisfy customers who need goods as soon as possible. Offer same-day delivery for orders up to a certain time cut-off, for an additional fee, of course.
Are you thinking about introducing free shipping from a certain order limit? Learn more about pricing and shipping.
Sustainability and ethical marketing
E-commerce trends of 2024 show that the consumer is no longer only interested in buying a product or service. They are also interested in brand values, how the company handles profits and how it treats its own employees.
Sustainability is not just a trend. There is an increase in the number of customers who consider themselves to be so-called ethical shoppers. This type of customer buys from a proven and ecological brand, even in times of recession.
In USA, 45% of consumers consider themselves ethical buyers, in Britain the figure also stands at 45% and in Germany it is as high as 48%. Almost half of people are willing to pay more for food that is in line with their ethical and ecological values.
Reduced trust in reviews
In recent years, customer trust in reviews has decreased significantly. The existence of artificial intelligence and fake profiles on social media negatively affects the credibility of reviews. In the last five years alone, the number of people who find reviews helpful has decreased by 20%.
The opinion of influencers still counts
One way to give reviews more weight is through influencer marketing. People who have long been perceived as experts in a certain field on social media, or those who are very popular generally, can increase the credibility of products and brands with their recommendations.
For a review to carry the necessary authority, don’t confuse media recognition with expertise. There’s a difference if Attila Végh promotes a baguette from a petrol station, or if the product is a specific brand of nutritional supplements which he takes when preparing for a match.
You can also use the power of influencer marketingInfluencer marketing is a popular marketing tool used by brands as part of their communication strategy to promote the sale of products. More more creatively, for example in newsletters. We saw huge success when we did it. Every second customer opened the campaign for DUOS opticians and monthly sales increased by 74% .
Declining trust in reviews is a global e-commerce trend that is likely to be exacerbated by the arrival of artificial intelligence. Source: Statista.com
How do you get transparent reviews?
- Only get reviews from verified customers who have actually purchased the product or service.
- Let customers know how you get reviews. Reassure them that you do not edit or filter profanity-free reviews in any way.
- Encourage satisfied customers to share their experiences on social media, where the review feels more natural and believable.
- Actively respond to reviews – both positive and negative. Transparent communication with both satisfied and dissatisfied customers will increase the credibility of the reviews.
Personalised advertising is always less irritating
While almost half of customers were annoyed by advertising in 2019, in 2023 this number dropped to roughly 35%. Many annoying pop-up windows and irrelevant offers have disappeared.
The reason is simple. Thanks to data, online stores can create more personalised advertising, which is ultimately less annoying. At the same time, people have become accustomed to advertising that is displayed based on their browsing history.
How to personalise advertising even more successfully in 2024
- Use advanced data analysis. Collect data from a variety of sources, including websites, mobile apps and social media. Use artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyse this data.
- Use dynamic segmentation. Instead of static customer segments, use dynamic segmentation that is constantly updated based on current customer behaviour and preferences.
- Be transparent about how you use data. Talk to customers about their data. Explain to them how you use it and how it benefits them.
Do you want your online store to kick off 2024 successfully?
If you have a quality product, success is just one small step away. The foundation lies in a responsive “mobile” website, the right marketing strategy and the desire to grow. Get help from our international team of e-commerce marketing specialists
If you want to see for yourself, look at the results of our partners.
Join them and drive your online store beyond any boundaries in 2024.
