E-Commerce Is On The Rise

The world of e-commerce has been rapidly expanding in the past few years. In fact, the pandemic seemed to give it an even bigger boost with more people now making purchases online instead of visiting physical stores. Here’s everything you should know about e-commerce and why it is on the rise now.

Why Is E-Commerce on The Rise?

E-commerce has a much longer history than some may assume. It has been growing gradually over the years with more and more industries resorting to online selling. Brands both big and small are opening their own online stores while certain countries have a surprising percentage of the population making purchases primarily online.

The most recent rise of e-commerce was in part triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unsurprisingly, as many businesses had to stop operating their physical stores, these very businesses instead started focusing on digital sales. This led to a surge in e-commerce coupled with an accelerated transformation in the digital world. Both brands and customers embraced these changes in their own ways.

That being said, not everything is as black-and-white as it may seem. Of course, certain industries prospered in e-commerce (e.g. food delivery). But at the same time, there were many industries that simply didn’t have an option to go digital. Moreover, even those businesses that could have transitioned to e-commerce, were ultimately unable to do so and either suffered massive financial losses or didn’t get through the pandemic.

Barney Marsden, an expert from the custom writing reviews site Writing Judge, says, “Many businesses had to be shut down or went bankrupt during the pandemic. Their competitors were able to adapt and transition to online selling, but not every company was lucky. Small businesses suffered the most because many of them didn’t have the resources necessary to survive something this big.”

What Are the Latest E-Commerce Trends?

Because of its rapid growth, e-commerce is constantly seeing trends come and go. Some of these tend to stay longer than others and become a crucial part of e-commerce. Here are some of the latest e-commerce trends on the rise:

• Widespread Use of AR and VR: Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technologies are used to enhance the online shopping experience. By using AR and VR, e-commerce companies are able to give customers a better idea of what the products look like in real life. This enables customers to make better buying decisions and have an overall more enjoyable shopping experience.
• Voice Search Optimization: With the widespread use of smart gadgets and virtual assistants, more and more online users are now using voice search. This is why e-commerce brands have started optimizing their content for voice search by using longer query-like keywords rather than only using regular keywords that are a few words long.
• A Bigger Focus on Sustainability: A large portion of consumers consists of younger generations of Millennials and Gen Zers. These younger generations tend to be outspoken about their political and social views and want to see brands take a stance on different current issues as well. Moreover, as climate change has been brought into the mainstream consciousness, more and more brands started focusing on sustainability. It’s both a way to preserve the environment and to cater to the younger demographics.
• Variety in Payment Methods: Cryptocurrencies have been around for several years now, but they truly started gaining traction only recently. Because more and more people are now using cryptocurrencies, some brands have decided to offer more payment methods and now allow crypto payments.
• Chatbots for Customer Support: Personalization and good customer service are some of the top priorities for many e-commerce businesses which is why chatbots are so popular for providing customer support. The technology isn’t perfect, but AI and machine learning are constantly being developed and improved which means chatbots will also be innovated in the nearest future.

What Are the Biggest Industries and Countries for E-Commerce?

Undoubtedly, not every product or service is commonly bought online. Lucille Hart, an expert from the writing services reviews site Best Writers Online, explains, “There are certain industries that are prospering in e-commerce right now while others are seeing rapid growth. In the wider context of online commerce, there’s everything from e-learning and retail to food delivery and rental.”

Some of the biggest industries for e-commerce in 2020 were:

• Fashion and Apparel: This sector mostly includes online stores with different fashion items as well as brand stores. The countries where this sector is big include South Korea, Germany, China, India, and the UK.
• Beauty and Personal Care: These are online stores that offer products ranging from make-up and cosmetics to personal hygiene products. Likewise, this sector is also big in South Korea, China, India, and Germany but also in Poland.
• Entertainment: This sector specializes in everything related to entertainment, including books, music, movies, TV shows, and games. The biggest countries for entertainment e-commerce are Japan, Germany, South Korea, and the UK.
• Household Goods: The items included here are homewares such as furniture and décor, white goods, cleaning products, and so on. The sector is popular in countries such as South Korea, China, the UK, and Japan.
• Electronics: Lastly, this sector includes all kinds of electronics sellers and suppliers (PCs, gaming devices, smart gadgets, home monitoring and alarm systems, household appliances, etc.) The biggest countries for this sector are Brazil, Germany, Russia, and the UK.

When it comes to countries with the fastest-growing e-commerce markets, the top ten are:

1. Argentina – 79%
2. Singapore – 71%
3. Spain – 36%
4. Brazil – 35%
5. United Kingdom – 35%
6. Finland – 34%
7. Philippines – 33%
8. United States – 32%
9. Norway – 32%
10. India – 28%

Final Thoughts

To sum up, e-commerce will definitely keep growing as more and more people get accustomed to making purchases online. New trends are emerging every year and more businesses big and small are starting to sell online. Likewise, certain industries and countries are particularly big in e-commerce nowadays. By understanding how the world of e-commerce functions, businesses can improve and develop in the right direction.