What are the main ecommerce trends 2018?

Annually, there is always a spike in the number of online purchases. By the year 2021, global retail e-commerce sales will reach an amazing figure of $ 4.5 trillion. (Statista, 2017).

Have you ever wondered why online sales are so successful? This is because business owners can reach more people. They have the ability to correctly analyze situations in the trade market and offer viable solutions and opportunities to the customers.

We are taking note of the major trends which took place in ecommerce trends 2018 and would like you to have this information. According to our perspective, there are four important trends that we would like to share. They are:

  1. Expanded Reality
  2. Intelligence
  3. GDPR
  4. Cryptocurrency

Artificial Intelligence

The concept of artificial intelligence has been around since 1956 at the conference at Dartmouth College by John McCarthy. Artificial intelligence (AI) is simply a scientific program which has the ability to learn, analyze and solve tasks. Chatbots are virtual programs which can engage in dialogues with people. Their main feature is to offer prompt customer services. A lot of companies are making use of this solution to offer round the clock customer services and reduce the workload of the customer service department.

Chatbots can be used to foster a feeling of closeness between the company and the customer using virtual intelligence systems. This tool will easily assess the tastes and preferences of different customers to create personalized marketing services. For instance, make a purchase or send special personal discounts. IBM makes use of AI in the evaluation of employee performance. According to Bloomberg, the system is 96% accurate.

Expanded Reality

Augmented Reality (AR) will even become more popular in online stores in 2019. Brands tend to like features that allow customers to use their mobile devices to access the real-life visualization products in their homes and offices

GDPR

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a regulation that protects the data of residents and EU citizens. According to the regulation, personal information can only be gained access to after user consent. The person should know what the data will be used for. There is a 4% fine of annual turnover for violation of these rules.

Cryptocurrency

The modern-day e-commerce market is gradually getting acquainted with the uninterrupted operation of the service used in receiving and making payments in just one click. Today, it is considered essential to have this kind of platform for the internet buyer. A major ecommerce trends 2018 is cryptocurrency. It is a virtual form of currency (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Rippel, Litekoin, Dash, Nem). The goal behind this type of currency is to allow secure online payments. The network operates in a way that payment is secure and can easily be confirmed. The system encrypts transactions for its security. Payments support huge amounts with a lot of commission.

If you don’t know the past, you can’t understand the present and plan properly for the future.Chaim Potok, Davita's Harp

If these methods are not yet a part of your business, incorporate them. They are the first step to having a more profitable company.

Wrapping it up

This year was exciting in the technological area. We saw how new technologies bring us more effective ways how to use your ecommerce websites to earn more. Competitors are always looking for solutions to convert more. Knowing the main ecommerce trends 2018 gives up an opportunity to plan new digital transformations for the next year. Choose wisely only the actual technologies. In our next article, we show you the best choices in ecommerce trends 2019 for your business.