Nigel Wilkinson
Managing Director of Daneswood. Nigel has been in sales and marketing since the 1980's and run digital marketing agencies since 2000.
Well, while we all take a breather from ‘that’ year, now seems like a good time to be thinking about what is in store for eCommerce in 2021.
ECommerce has certainly seen growth in the last 12 months as shopping became an online activity rather than a high street hobby. The national lockdowns, and subsequent tier system, made such an impact on peoples shopping habits that it is sure to still be felt for many years to come.
ECommerce sales grew by 30% in 2020
So, what is set to happen in the world of eCommerce this year?
Shopping habits will continue to change
The ingrained habit of visiting physical shops has been aggressively challenged over the last 12 months and this is set to continue into the future. People no-longer cling to the belief that they HAVE to purchase in-store, because more people have not had the choice to do so. And as a result, customers have seen the benefit and convenience of shopping online.
This is especially true when it comes to the older demographic who would previously only have considered purchasing products in–store but were forced to turn online in 2020.
The need to strengthen digital advertising
While more people are going online to shop, so too are more retailers going online to sell. The competition to make those sales is now bigger than ever and so the need for a well-honed, strong digital advertising campaign is bigger than ever.
We are set to see more and more retailers not only making the move into digital marketing, but also those who already use this will be majorly upping their game.
Social platforms are already marching ahead with new ways to advertise to their users, with things such as in-app purchases, shoppable posts and boasted posts. In order to be a successful eCommerce business in 2021, you will need to know how to harness these.
An increase in the demand for more service-based eCommerce
In years gone by, eCommerce was a mainly goods-based industry. People would go online to purchase something they perhaps couldn’t get locally, or that was not in stock in physical stores. Perhaps they had done their research in a physical store, but it was cheaper to buy online.
However, with most people stuck at home and the majority of business closed, the demand for service-based eCommerce grew. This was anything from counselling and exercise classes to libraries and accounting.
Now that service-based eCommerce has been proven to be, not only possible but also successful, the demand is set to continue growing into 2021 and beyond. No longer is eCommerce only for those selling physical goods.
If you want to start selling online, or you’re looking to bypass your competitors in 2021, contact our team today.