A week is a long time in politics and 12 months is a suitably long time in ecommerce. With the rate of change as fast, if not faster, than it has ever been, we expect big changes in e-commerce in 2015 and beyond.
So, what are the big game changers that we can expect to see in the next 12 months or so? Well, let’s take a closer look and get some perspective – here are 7 Ways ecommerce will change over the next 12 months:
Marketplaces Continue to Dominate
The vast majority of e-commerce business will take place between six main marketplaces. According to Scot Wingo, when he opened ChannelAdvisor Catalyst, the main contenders in ecommerce are Amazon, eBay, Google, Apple, Facebook and Alibaba.
Cross Border Trade
Consumers demand that companies release products globally, rather than region by region. Nowadays it’s a lot easier for consumers to purchase items overseas. This renders the idea of anything other than a global release obsolete and brands have to accommodate this reality.
The likelihood is that the future requires businesses to be capable of competing not only with businesses in their area but also factories in manufacturing nations such as China, who will sell directly to consumers.
Same Day Delivery
Expectations are going to be dramatically changed and outlook suggest that same day delivery will become an increasingly widespread reality. Amazon is already offering the service within a number of cities in the UK and US, and eBay Now is rolled out to five major metropolitan areas in the USA. In turn, presume independent websites will also make efforts to provide the same day service and following this anticipate to see consumer anticipations change to reflect the new standard.
Click and Collect
Click and collect is also assumed to continue to grow. According to IMRG, click and collect is “actually one of those ‘overnight’ market developments that has in fact been around for 15 years, but has only come to the top of the e-logistics agenda over the past three years to meet a number of strategic market needs”. Expectations are this trend is set to only grow in size and popularity over the next 12 months.
Buying on Social Networks
Social commerce has been on the horizon for a number of years now, however it looks like it will manifest itself in a far more widespread manner in the next 12 months or so. First signs of the emergence of buying on social networks came with plans to launch a ‘Buy’ button on Pinterest. When we consider the size of social media platforms as potential marketplaces, the true potential value of social commerce is revealed. It could usher in a whole new era, prompting us to think again about a fundamental question: what is ecommerce?
For example, Facebook has 1.4 billion users, while Amazon and eBay have 270m and 155m respectively. Of course, social media has to firstly establish itself as a potential market place, however if and when it does, it could be a big player – expect to see efforts to make this happen in the coming year.
PayPal and Payments
PayPal and eBay are set for divorce in Q3 of 2015 and though this will most likely have a positive impact in terms of commercial freedom for either business, it’s a big change. Outlook is that both will be targets for acquisition, though anything could potentially occur. The arrival of Apple Pay and also Klarna, which promises a new approach to checking out, could create additional big changes to payments and ecommerce in the next year or so too.
Mobile is Mainstream
Mobile is mainstream and because the power of advertising, buying, price-checking and payment processing is all in our hands, assume the playing area between e-commerce and the high street to be even closer than even before. In some cases, expect e-tailers to even take a mobile first approach. In 2015 we imagine more and more businesses will enter the e-commerce area, while high street retailers will increase their focus on Omni channel retail efforts in 2015.
So, these are out tips for the next 12 months – why not let us know what you think is going to change in 2015 and beyond below in the comment section.
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: 7 Ways Ecommerce will Change Over the Next 12 Months
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