Biggest eCommerce Trends in 2023

2023 eCommerce trends to watch for

Looking toward 2023, there are several trends that are poised to shape the way we shop online. From the rise of video shopping and subscription-based models to the continued expansion of mobile commerce and the ever-growing role of personalization, these trends are sure to have a significant impact on the eCommerce industry.

Let’s explore the main trends in detail, so you have all the directions for your online store to stay ahead of the pack.

Mobile commerce

Mobile commerce, or mobile shopping, is a rapidly expanding tendency in eCommerce. With the increasing prevalence of smartphones and other mobile devices, more and more consumers are using their mobile devices to browse, research, and purchase products online. In fact, mobile devices now account for over half of all online sales, according to a report by Criteo, and this trend is expected to continue its confident growth.

In 2020, mobile sales accounted for 72.9% of all online sales, according to a report by eMarketer.

One of the prime benefits of mobile shopping is its convenience for customers — they can shop anytime and anywhere. Additionally, retailers can use native apps and optimize their digital shops for all types of tablets and smartphones — to create a more personalized and seamless shopping experience for customers. This can include features such as push notifications, location-based offers, and personalized product recommendations.

According to a survey conducted by Google, 77% of mobile searches take place at home or at work, and 96% of those searches lead to some sort of action, whether it’s a phone call, store visit, or purchase.

Retailers who want to take advantage of this trend should optimize their eCommerce sites and apps for mobile devices, and also ensure they have a secure and reliable mobile payment system.

Overall, mobile shopping is a trend that is expected to continue growing in popularity as more consumers adopt mobile devices and look for convenient and personalized shopping experiences. By 2025, the mobile sales segment will reach $3.56 trillion, according to a report by Zion Market Research.

New payment methods

Offering a variety of payment options at checkout can not only protect against canceled sales but also increase conversion rates. Customers appreciate a quick, secure, and convenient checkout experience, and the more options you provide, the more value you offer to your customers.

Online shoppers increasingly turn to secure digital payment services like PayPal, Apple Pay, Payoneer, Google Pay, and Square as payment methods.

Instead of providing credit card details on every single website they order from, customers prefer the convenience, speed, and security of these time-tested checkout methods.

Another subtrend here is the growing use of alternative payment options — such as crypto (mainly Bitcoin) and buy-now-pay-later options (BNPL) such as Shop Pay Installments from Shopify, Affirm, Afterpay, Sezzle, PayPal, and Klarna.

Social commerce

The vast expansion of social commerce is yet another ongoing eCommerce trend that keeps the world spinning and it doesn’t show any signs of reducing its speed. On social media, brands can interact with potential buyers directly and, more importantly, personally, while ultimately driving sales conversions.

For this trend, some tips for success include partnering with streamers, influencers, or other brands, using visually striking content, providing exclusive deals, giving loyalty bonuses and discounts, promoting referrals, and incorporating interactive features.

Video commerce

Video shopping, also known as “shoppable video,” is yet another direction eCommerce is moving towards. This trend absorbs all types of video and visual content, including product demonstrations, influencer videos, pre-paid product reviews, and even user-generated photo reviews. Video shopping is extremely simplified showcasing products to customers on the other side of the screen, and more importantly, it allows viewers to purchase them directly through the video. This can be done through clickable links, pop-up buttons, or QR codes that take shoppers to the product page or checkout.

The video format is gaining steam as it allows retailers to engage with their audience in a more interactive and immersive way.

Video can also help increase conversions as the format significantly simplifies decision-making and product purchasing.

The trend for visual content is essentially becoming mainstream as Gen Z and millennials prefer visual content over text, as they’ve grown up in the age of tech and social platforms. Additionally, video is apt to capture the attention of these generations, which are known for having shorter attention spans.

Therefore, retailers targeting these generations may find that incorporating visual content such as video shopping in their eCommerce strategy can be effective in attracting and retaining customers.

AR & VR

Augmented and virtual reality are confidently getting spread across eCommerce, with a huge unrevealed potential to revolutionize shopping as we know it.

AR technology allows retailers to enhance the customer shopping experience by providing a more immersive and interactive way to view products. For example, with augmented reality, shoppers can virtually try on sneakers, outfits, or makeup, see how furniture would fit in their rooms, or explore a new apartment in 3D. This helps shoppers be more confident about the potential purchase, additionally increasing the likelihood of a sale.

One of the greatest examples is Wanna Kicks — the AR try-on-shoes app that allows seeing how sneakers would look on your feet and discover fresh drops from the latest collections of world-known brands.

Yet another great example is IKEA with its AR app that allows customers to see how furniture would look in their homes.

Sephora, America’s largest beauty retailer with the highest eCommerce net sales in the US beauty market, implemented AR features that allow shoppers to virtually try on make-up.

Virtual reality or shortly VR offers users a full immersion into a simulated environment. The tech is used to design 3D showrooms, allowing potential buyers to discover products in a more interactive way, and to simulate the experience of using a product. For example, you can virtually test drive a car or try on the latest outfits in a virtual changing room.

However, VR adoption is still limited by the high costs of VR headsets and the lack of VR content and infrastructure.

Worth mentioning that the adoption rate is lower than AR because it requires a more immersive setup and most of the time it’s more complex to use.

Both technologies have yet to be widely adopted in eCommerce but are considered emerging trends that will continue to grow in the next few years. On the go, VR is getting more accessible and affordable, making it more viable for retailers to implement it.

The Metaverse

Being hyped as a digital world game-changer, the Metaverse is predicted to transform eCommerce, becoming the all-new arena for brands to target customers and sell in a simulated environment — both virtual and real products.

Big brands are already quietly preparing to expand to the metaverse with virtual storefronts, where they could display and sell branded products, or even own NFTs and crypto.

Additionally, The metaverse brings more space for social commerce, where customers can connect and interact with each other, share product recommendations, and create their own digital communities.

Enabling new forms of virtual events and experiences, like virtual product launches, fashion shows, and even virtual tours of factories or warehouses, the metaverse is expected to go far beyond all expectations in regard to monetization.

AI-powered personalization

Across all channels, people are cultivated to feel and treat themselves as unique individuals. This attitude pretty much always converts to the want-to-pamper-myself purchases, resulting in increased sales — regardless of the shopping season or niche.

As commerce is getting extremely customer-centric, in 2023, personalization becomes a must for basically any business. To surpass customer expectations and create long-term customer loyalty, brands are increasingly implementing AI-powered personalization.

AI helps businesses offer personalized shopping by analyzing customer data and behavior. This can include purchase history, demographics, interactions with emails and ads, and browsing behavior.

Customized push notifications, chatbots, sleek email campaigns, individualized pricing, and product recommendations are just a few examples of AI-powered personalization.

The best part for brands here is that the use of AI in eCommerce leaves no room for guesswork, instead allowing businesses to build better customer relationships based on a meticulous analysis of huge data volume.

Virtual customer assistants

Virtual assistants are quickly becoming a digital substitute for a real customer service rep or, in some cases, the whole customer service department. On the mission to improve customer satisfaction and assist with product navigation, virtual customer assistants or simply VCA are there to provide 24/7 customer support and handle a high volume of customer interactions.

Moreover, virtual assistants are becoming widely used in voice commerce, allowing customers to use voice commands for placing orders, tracking deliveries, and getting personalized recommendations. The growing popularity of voice search is how commerce adjusts to the accelerated lifestyle, making on-the-go shopping more convenient and faster for customers.

AI-powered and trained with millions of real-life requests, virtual customer assistants (VCA) are gaining steam across eCommerce as they can easily deal with FAQs and complex requests in real time, driving sales and boosting customer satisfaction.

Everything is a membership

Subscriptions have been gaining popularity over recent years due to the extreme convenience they provide — customers may use a product or service as long as they need and then easily quit. It’s applicable for physical products, such as monthly boxes of snacks or beauty products, or digital products, such as streaming services or on-demand courses. Additionally, subscriptions also make it easy for shoppers to budget for regular expenses.

For online businesses, the huge advantage of a subscription model is that it opens up the way to create a predictable revenue stream.

Plus, subscription as a payment option allows retailers to collect data for later use to personalize and improve the shopping experience for their visitors. Subscriptions are expected to continue growing in popularity as more companies adopt this proven method to build recurring revenue and foster customer loyalty.