eCommerce Business and Technology Predictions for 2021

Kayla Kirby, Creative + Marketing Copywriter, Absolute Web

2020 made an impact on just about everything, eCommerce included. With consumers spending more time at home, online spending remained impressive. In Q3 alone, $1 in every $5 spent was on an online purchase, an increase from the year prior. With brands pivoting to an omnichannel approach, consumers now expect just that: the option to discover and purchase products online and in-store.

As we emerge from a year where eCommerce was a driving force, it’s important to look ahead and consider what’s on the horizon. In 2021, we’ll see more:

Progressive Web Applications

Designed to be capable, reliable, and installable, Progressive Web App (PWAs) are supported by Google and built with a single Javascript codebase. They can be installed by anyone, anywhere, and on any device, and are often referred to as a hybrid website and mobile application, with the same features of a native app.

While 2020 was a progressive year for PWAs, they’ve only recently begun to gain traction. Moving into 2021, we can expect to see an uptick in businesses that host conventional responsive websites utilizing a PWAs popular front-end technology.

Social-Driven Purchases

With social commerce on the rise, shopping directly through platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Snapchat has become a vital part of the social media experience; and as customers continue to use social media for product discovery, the ability to purchase in-app is a marketing trend that’s here to stay.

According to Instagram, 60% of people say they discover new products on the app, with 200 million+ users visiting at least one business profile each day. As social shopping continues to rise, incorporating a social shopping strategy can improve your customer journey and lead to increased ecommerce sales.

Experience eCommerce 

Consuming flat information (while scrolling through Google, for example) is a pretty basic way to interact with content, but as technology continues to advance, and as 3D continues to make its way into online experiences, this is changing. Now more than ever, brands are experimenting with Augmented Reality (AR) to bring 3D, shoppable experiences to life – presenting consumers with a different perspective when considering a purchase.

As AR development advances, we can expect to see an increase in leadership and organization-wide comfort with AR, increased conversion of physical assets into digital assets, and continued improvements in enterprise AR hardware.

Power eCommerce platforms 

Choosing the right eCommerce platform to use for your business can be imperative to your bottom line. While many host easy-to-use marketing features that can help your business grow, only a select few stand out. Our top picks for eCommerce platforms to use in 2021 (ones that are ahead of the trend) include: Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, and Magento. 

With Shopify Plus, you can incorporate AR, video, and 3D on your product pages, get up to 4% higher authorization rates, and personalize your checkout experience. BigCommerce, on the other hand, is a flexible, open SaaS platform leading a new era of ecommerce. Lastly, with Magento you can create content through an easy-to-use interface, personalize for specific customer segments, and update pages quickly with the drag and drop feature.