Entrepreneur and business specialist JD Duarte provides insight into some of the current trends in the eCommerce ecosystem that could see more growth in 2023.
San José, Costa Rica – WEBWIRE – Saturday, October 22, 2022
It is expected that by 2025, online stores will already generate almost 25% of total sales in the retail sector. In addition, from that year on, one in four purchases will be made through the Internet. Similarly, in 2024 the sales volume will reach almost $6.5 billion worldwide. Taking this context into account, it is clear that eCommerce is an important platform for sales that should not be neglected. Therefore, it is necessary to be aware of trends in the sector. JD Duarte, a business and eCommerce expert, discusses some of the trends that will continue to grow next year.
SMEs are the segment that has suffered the most from confinement and the effects of the pandemic, but change is opportunity. As a result, eCommerce has been able to adapt to the new times.
The acceleration of digitization in recent years has occurred in practically all sectors, including education, health and leisure. But especially in business. Industry data indicates that 51% of SMEs operate online. 21% have done so since the time of COVID-19 and, in 80% of cases, online platforms have been essential for increasing sales.
Experts estimate increases of up to 71% of eCommerce sales, thanks to the implementation of augmented reality (AR) in an online store. This technology results in a greater connection with the consumer and in a unique and satisfactory customer experience.
Explains Duarte, AR opens up a whole new range of possibilities when it comes to showing products to our consumers before they buy them. In this way, it is closer to the experience that a customer can have in a physical store.
The pandemic has strengthened a trend such as artificial intelligence (AI) applied to eCommerce. It is a very powerful solution to improve the services of any online store. One of the most frequent uses of AI in the field of eCommerce is personalization. Thanks to it, data is collected that allows recommendations to be made to the user according to their behavior in the online store. Similarly, AI improves ROI. Thus, it allows you to optimize search engines and adapt advertisements.
Social networks have, every day more, a prominent role in the field of online sales. The two reference networks in this context are Facebook and Instagram, which began to implement them as of 2020. There is data that confirms that up to 64% of the users of these social networks had already purchased at least one product through them. For this reason, it is key to implement strategies in this regard in order not to be left behind.
According to published data, 71.72% of the traffic received by eCommerce websites comes from mobile devices. It is an established trend. It is essential to pay special attention to the shopping experience that occurs on a mobile device. That it be agile and optimized are some of the most important variables to take into account.
One of the main conclusions of a recent eMarketer study on eCommerce and where it will go in the next biennium is that growth will continue, but will slow down considerably. This year, worldwide, it will grow by 12.2%.
It is still a remarkable amount, but it will be less than what has happened in the immediate past. Dont forget that the pandemic was a somewhat artificial situation (consumers either did not want or could not go to physical stores) that worked as an immediate boom for online shopping (and that obviously sets the bar very high in terms of future growth).
About Jose Daniel Duarte
JD Duarte is originally from Heredia, Costa Rica. He has been an entrepreneur and business owner for more than 20 years, and divides his time between his existing operations and researching new possibilities in which to invest. When hes not dedicating time to his businesses, he spends time with his supporting wife and two children.