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19 Ecommerce trends to follow in 2023
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Today, although the social distancing measures that enabled the e-commerce boom have been eased, online sales continue to grow significantly in France and throughout Europe. In France in particular, the ecommerce sector is estimated to be worth €36 billion in 2022, an increase of 16.8% on the previous year. If they are to continue to record high sales figures, e-tailers need to adapt their strategy in line with market trends and buyer behaviour, especially as buyer priorities, consumer habits and trends change on a daily basis. To help you fine-tune your e-commerce strategy for 2023, we have selected 19 e-commerce trends that you absolutely must follow. Let's discover them together in this article.
As the e-commerce trends for 2022 have shown, the French are increasingly interested in re-commerce. Driven by Generation Z, re-commerce remains the solution of choice for people with a limited budget who want to buy branded products. This type of commerce has been around for a long time, and companies such as Backmarket and Vinted have made significant contributions to popularizing it.Consumers More Sensitive to Ecological and Sustainable Criteria
Eco-responsible commerce is a trend that every retailer should follow in 2023. Protecting the environment is a key concern for governments, but it will also be on the minds of consumers over the next few years. French consumers are attaching increasing importance to ecological and sustainable criteria, such as manufacturing methods, type of packaging (recycled or recyclable), place of origin of the product. Therefore, developing a strategy that encourages consumers to contribute to protecting the environment can be a lever for standing out in the market.
One of the trends in e-commerce in France is the promotion of local know-how. Consumers are looking for products that are made in France and paying close attention to manufacturing methods, the origin of raw materials, and where the product is made. For French consumers, buying a local product is a way of supporting the country's economy in a post-COVID environment and preserving local know-how.
Delivery is a crucial point in the buyer's journey. Many consumers are now looking at the delivery options offered by online retailers, which greatly influences their choice. So, in 2023, you might want to reconsider delivery, because it's a crucial selling point that you can't afford to overlook. For example, diversify your delivery options and optimize delivery times, because the faster they are, the more customers appreciate them.
During the COVID period, some local businesses joined forces on marketplaces to continue marketing their products. Although the pandemic seems to be under control, the boom in marketplaces is still going strong. The French are aware of the importance of digital sales channels, and local businesses can offer alternative solutions to e-commerce sites while promoting local know-how.
Thanks to technological advances, it is now possible to search for a product on an ecommerce site using an image. Following this trend in 2023 is a good idea if you want to improve the experience of visitors to your website. This way of searching for a product online is mostly used by web users under the age of 35 and allows visitors to save time and find the products they are looking for quickly.
Online research involves searching for a desired product on online marketplaces. Although this trend is still very much alive, it is gradually being overtaken by offline purchasing. This latest trend involves buying the product you want in a physical outlet once you have identified it on the web. This method of purchasing is very popular with consumers and avoids some of the unpleasant surprises that can occur after an online purchase. In 2023, offline shopping is a trend to watch closely!
Whatever your sector of activity, you need to develop strategies for not only attracting new prospects, but also retaining them once they have been converted into customers. That's why customer retention remains a trend to watch out for this year and beyond. To increase your customer retention rate, you can use one of the following strategies: use customer accounts, improve your customer service, or start a customer loyalty program.
Complementarity between the different channels (physical, digital, mobile) is one of the strategies that will enable you to optimize your online business. Consumers now prefer offers with several purchase, delivery, or even collection options. This phenomenon is known as gender blending. For example, two out of three shoppers prefer to order from a physical shop. Similarly, many consumers believe that online shops should focus on click and collect to improve the shopping experience.
The ability to pay in installments emerged as a response to the pandemic. Today, this new standard has become an effective tool for ecommerce companies looking to attract customers. In fact, an increasing number of e-tailers are now offering split payments on their online sales sites. Meanwhile, e-buyers are actively seeking out this type of service from their preferred e-merchants.
According to a study by Klarna, 68% of French people will have made at least one purchase from their smartphone by 2021. This means that mobile commerce (purchases made from a smartphone or tablet) is becoming the preferred mode of e-commerce for shoppers. Focusing on the user experience on smartphones could be a good strategy for boosting traffic to your online shop in 2023. Adapting the performance of your online sales site to different devices (especially smartphones and tablets) makes it easier for visitors to navigate your platform. This improves their user experience and increases your chances of retaining them.
In recent years, the phenomenon of hyperconnectivity has been on the rise in France, the United States, and around the world. Consumers are now buying products from the other side of town or even the world, using their computers, smartphones, and smart TVs. Originally, e-commerce was limited to "pleasure" purchases, but now consumers buy products of all kinds, even necessities. This is because consumers are always connected to the internet and can easily adapt to any technological communication tool like mobile applications, social networks, and websites.
Don't miss out on social selling, one of the trends that has proved its worth in the search for new customers. This technique involves canvassing customers on social networks. If your company doesn't have a presence on a platform like Facebook, consider creating a profile there. Social selling is a very powerful prospecting weapon. Social networks generally include features that enable you to understand your target audience better, so you can offer them a product tailored to their needs.
If you're a small e-commerce business, consider incorporating storytelling into your digital communications strategy to capture the attention of your prospects. Storytelling is a marketing method that involves using stories and facts to extol the virtues of your brand's service or product. For storytelling to be successful, you need to carefully explain the core message or information you want to convey to your audience.
Micro-interactions are short, captivating moments integrated into the interfaces of applications or websites. Although they may seem insignificant, they can play an important role in your digital strategy. In fact, these brief moments generally stimulate a feeling of well-being in visitors when they discover them. Micro-interactions can make a significant contribution to improving the user experience, optimizing customer satisfaction, and consequently increasing their retention rate.
Every year, the performance of artificial intelligence is improved in order to limit human intervention in the execution of certain tasks. 2023 promises to be a pivotal year for the e-commerce sector. While AI is still in its early stages in terms of web copywriting, it could be an alternative of choice to replace after-sales service or customer service when the latter is overwhelmed or unavailable.
COVID and the development of communication technologies have influenced many aspects of e-commerce, such as customer service. Whereas customer service used to be based more on audio calls, it is now available on video, meaning that it is now possible to contact a company's customer service department by video conference, for example. The adoption of video by customer services to respond to consumer concerns is an effective strategy for getting closer to customers.
Chatbots are the technological feats that have been all the rage in recent years. They are programmed voice assistance systems. Thanks to the power of artificial intelligence, you can do without a call center. Opting for chatbots on an e-commerce site offers a number of advantages:
In recent years, senior citizens have become the hottest target in the world of e-commerce. According to a Statista survey, 79% of older people made online purchases in 2020. Given that France has an aging population, these figures are likely to increase in 2023.
To excel in e-commerce, it's important to monitor industry-specific trends and adjust digital marketing strategies accordingly. By doing so, companies can tailor content to their target audience and stand out from competitors. In this new year, we've presented the top e-commerce trends to watch. To best utilize these trends, it's advisable to enlist the help of a digital communications professional. That's where Adscale comes in. Our growth marketing and tracking experts offer know -how to help your online shop succeed. Contact Adscale now for a personalized digital service designed to increase your productivity.
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