Prepare Your Business for 2023: The Top eCommerce Trends to Watch Next Year

Do you want to make 2023 the best year yet for your eCommerce business? Then you need to make sure you’re ahead of your competitors and actively embracing the top eCommerce trends. To find out what those trends are, keep reading…

1. Sustainability

Barely a day goes by now without headlines about climate change, environmental destruction and eco-protests dominating the news.

Because of this, consumers are becoming more concerned about sustainability than ever before.

In fact, despite the emerging cost-of-living crisis, sustainability is still top of the agenda for consumers. According to a recent piece of research carried out by American Express, 65% of shoppers think about the environmental impact of the items they buy.

What’s more, 63% of respondents to that same survey said they will only shop with online retailers that offer sustainable, green, delivery options.

So, if your eCommerce business isn’t already taking sustainability seriously, it NEEDS to in 2023.

There are a number of ways in which you can green your eCommerce business. Actions you can take include switching to sustainable packaging, choosing an eco-friendly fulfilment provider, switching to sustainable suppliers for your goods and services and more…

2. Mobile shopping

It’s not an exaggeration to say that the web is mobile now. For younger consumers in particular (think Gen Z), being ‘online’ no longer refers to being sat in front of a computer. In fact, many consumers now equate being online with their smartphone.

And, this doesn’t just apply to browsing. It applies to making purchases too.

According to market research agency Statista, mobile devices are responsible for 71% of retail traffic and 61% of online purchases.

Mobile is now that important to eCommerce retailers.

It’s vital then that your eCommerce store is optimised for mobile in 2023. This includes using a responsive design – so that your site looks great and is fully functional on any mobile device.

Fail to do this, and you’ll lose customers to those retailers who have truly embraced ‘m-commerce’ in 2023.

3. Social retail

Social retail is a trend which has been gaining popularity over the past year, but we predict that 2023 is the year it truly takes off.

Defined as ‘the use of social media platforms to sell products’, social retail has emerged thanks to platforms such as Instagram and TikTok allowing retailers to set up shopfronts directly on their platforms.

With shopfronts embedded natively on social platforms, eCommerce retailers are able to directly engage with their target audience and reduce the number of clicks consumers have to make in order to complete a purchase.

It’s a tactic which works particularly well for direct-to-consumer brands, and – at the time of writing – is responsible for something like 13% of all online sales (according to marketing software company SEMRush).

That’s an impressive number, and one that should inspire your brand to embrace and run with social retail in 2023.

4. Personalisation

Personalisation is a trend which has been floating around the eCommerce space for a couple of years – but we think the potentially challenging trading conditions of 2023 are what will see this trend truly embraced by online retailers.

Why? Because, according to the State of Personalisation report from Twilio Segment, 60% of consumers say they’ll become repeat consumers of a brand if they have received a personalised shopping experience.

When you consider that it costs less to retain a customer than acquire a new one, this is an important piece of information for eCommerce brands.

So, 2023 should be the year that you invest in personalising your marketing and sales efforts.

Whether it’s something as simple as personalised emails (which have a 6.2% higher open rate than regular emails by the way!), or going further and allowing people to customise their products (see: Nike), personalisation should be on your ‘to do’ list next year.

5. Subscriptions

If you offer consumable goods (e.g. beauty products, razors, hygiene products), and you don’t already offer shoppers a subscription option – you need to do so in 2023.

Consider the following:

• Over a quarter of weekly online shoppers have at least one subscription (as per research from Kearney).
• One in 10 people are a member of a subscription service of some kind (via Shopblocks).
• Demand for subscription gifts has doubled over the last four years (via Shopblocks).

Those are some powerful and eye-opening stats. If you want to drive revenue and customer retention in 2023, then subscriptions should certainly be part of the mix.

Offering subscriptions does have its own unique set of challenges, however, so it’s vital that things like your subscription fulfilment services are geared up appropriately.

6. Augmented reality

With ever more people making purchases online, eCommerce merchandisers have been exploring new ways to display their products.

For retail verticals such as fashion, this is especially important, as it can be difficult for consumers to truly understand what a particular item is like from a static 2D image.

That’s why augmented reality is set to be one of the hot eCommerce trends to watch in 2023.

Expect to see the most forward-thinking retailers using demo videos and augmented reality to allow consumers to see products in 3D and visualise them in their own home, etc.

This isn’t merely technological vanity, either; it actually works! According to research from Google, shoppers engage with 3D and enhanced images of products 50% more than they do with static 2D ones.

If you want to boost your eCommerce website’s conversion rate in 2023, the answer is clear; invest in augmented reality!

Get your eCommerce brand ready for 2023 with 3PL

If you want to embrace the trends outlined above and grow in 2023, then you need a third-party logistics provider that truly understands eCommerce.

Meet 3PL!

We’re the leading logistics and fulfilment provider for leading eCommerce brands, offering everything from eco-friendly fulfilment, to subscription box fulfilment, crowdfunding fulfilment and more…

Speak to 3PL about your eCommerce fulfilment requirements now

For more eCommerce fulfilment, logistics and shipping advice, read the 3PL blog…

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