Growth trends of online stores in the world at 2023

An important business principle is if you want to be successful tomorrow, change today. The profitability of e-commerce comes from the ability of owners and managers to anticipate customer desires through rapid adaptation to change and the ability to stand out. The market is changing, but the main trends remain stable for 2-3 years (since the start of the coronavirus pandemic). It was the pandemic that marked the beginning of a new stage in the development of online stores and laid the foundation for trends that will be relevant in 2023.

The number of online stores is growing rapidly

The development of the e-commerce market is determined by several factors.

The main ones are: the

• comfort of shopping online;
• wide range of web sites;
• improving marketing strategies. 

Online retailer growth in terms of orders and sales exceeded 2022 forecasts. Analysts identified the following as the main trends in the growing role of e-commerce around the world.

Transformation of manufacturers into retailers

The trend of selling goods to the final buyer without intermediaries has become a global trend. Manufacturers, using the experience of retail, build direct communication with customers by launching their own IM. Direct communication with customers while monitoring all stages of interaction allows you to strengthen the emotional connection and establish effective feedback, including for product improvement. Suppliers of non-branded products may be at risk of losing business if manufacturers actively develop e-commerce.

Experts recommend that product suppliers look for ways to narrow the niche. This can be done by building an assortment around a product category or a specific target audience. Only in this way stores can supply stores can winn in the fight against marketplaces and manufacturers.

Niche online stores

Specializing in a particular niche is an effective way to cope with growing competition. Modern buyers in online stores are looking not so much for goods as for the opportunity to choose and for information about certain items. 

Therefore, when forming a sales funnel, one should take into account the stage of acquaintance with the goods of a certain group. This means the need for marketplace managers to have complete information about products, including the features of selection and operation. 

Niche online stores are more convenient in terms of maintaining the quality of the assortment, implementing the necessary functionality, studying and understanding the target audience (including personalization). They are more profitable and more promising in terms of competition.

Increasing popularity of chatbots

Chatbots are a convenient communication channel for sellers and buyers, the introduction of which on the pages of online stores saves time. Using the chatbot, visitors of the online store can at any time receive an answer to any question, they are interested in, get an advice about a particular product or information about the status of an order.

The functionality of the code allows buyers to perform various actions, up to paying for goods.

Targeting the youth

The younger generation is the most promising target audience. Its representatives have financial opportunities and purchasing power that grows as they get older. Effective social media marketing provides good coverage of users who, with the right approach, turn from visitors into regular customers. It is young people who show the most active attention to loyalty programs and other incentives used by online stores.

Social Commerce and Influencer Partnerships

Social commerce is growing rapidly. From the stage of redirecting users from social networks to online stores to sales directly in social networks, very little time has passed. The trend has every chance for active further development.

The growing interest of buyers in social commerce is due to the desire to place orders quickly and easily, for example, by clicking on a position while watching a video. In turn, social networks take actions to implement direct sales (for instance, purchases during live broadcasts in real time). 

Social media influencers are in demand by branded online stores as a tool for tracking and reaching the target audience. Online retailers are especially interested in micro-influencers whose content demonstrates good engagement rates.

Voice Commerce

The use of voice assistants to order products is slowly becoming the norm. The advantage of using them is not only in comfort (you can place an order at any time without any effort), but also in the versatility of solutions. For example, a voice assistant can help you choose a product or solve technical issues. Considered the most promising for buying inexpensive goods, “voice shopping” will be used more widely next year.

Only the main growth trends of online stores in 2023 are listed. Among the current trends, we should also mention:

• an increase in payment methods;
• product subscriptions as a tool for profitable convenient shopping;
• increased spending on customer acquisition, personalization and environmental protection. 

Marketers and analysts consider the growth of mobile commerce (buying from tablets and smartphones) to be a relevant trend in 2023. According to forecasts, in 2023, up to 82% of purchases in the world will be made from mobile devices.

Knowledge and understanding of the growth trends of online stores, timely adaptation to current requirements is a prerequisite for successful e-commerce.

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