With the current Covid-19 crisis, global ecommerce has been significantly affected. According to findings by Business Wire, ecommerce sales skyrocketed in April of this year. Compared to last year, the online retail business experienced a 209% growth rate, as analyzed by ACI Worldwide. Global online retailers have carried out millions of large ecommerce transactions. The gaming sector broke records with a significant bump of approximately 126% in April.
Because of the restrictions due to the pandemic, 2020 is bound to record the highest increase in global ecommerce yet. Unlike before, it’s not easy to walk in a physical shop to buy your goods or services. The only option is to order online. As a result, global ecommerce gets boosted. If you own a store or shop, it is time you switched to the online store.
If you don’t know what to do, start by taking free online courses. Otherwise, you will be left behind by this wave and end up recording losses. This pandemic has seen businesses close, an aspect that has led millions of internet users to turn to ecommerce to acquire their basic needs. As a business person, you should take advantage of this momentum. If you don’t have the time to establish an online shop, you can buy an ecommerce store. It is a fact, 2020 will be like no other regarding the ecommerce sector. Let’s look deeper into 2020’s global ecommerce sales surge.
Is ecommerce being resurrected in 2020?
Native brands are now embracing technology, with most of them experimenting with augmented reality and voice commerce. The world is transforming into a storefront as various businesses enable trade through live streams, smart mirrors, and video games.
Global ecommerce sales’ future is bright in 2020. But specific trends will be responsible for growth, and includes the following.
Trends That Will Affect Global Ecommerce in 2020 and Beyond
- Direct Sales to Consumers
Statistics indicate that 16.1% of online sales in 2020 are expected to be direct sales to consumers. Traditional brands and manufacturers are cutting out the middlemen by selling directly to their clients. As a result, the customers benefit more by enjoying cheaper products delivered to them on time. Problem-solving also becomes fast and accurate as the customer deals with the manufacturer or brand owner directly.
On the other hand, businesses benefit by owning the customer relationship while they sell directly to them. Unlike before, brands no longer require partners or retailers to promote their goods and services. When you create direct relationships with your end consumers, you can offer them after-sale support.
Direct relationships with your clients help you collect the necessary data used to personalize their experience by producing customized products for a specific group of clients.
- Ecommerce Through Mobile Devices
Analysts estimate that by 2021, 53.9% of ecommerce sales will take place on mobile devices. In 2022, the increase in mobile devices’ use in transacting ecommerce sales will rise to 70.4%. Though you may have an excellent theme for your ecommerce platform that provides a responsive site, it’s not a guarantee that your clients will enjoy a superior mobile experience.
Conversion rates on a mobile device are less than half than from a desktop. Most people will abandon a website that loads for more than three seconds, according to research.
- Covid-19 Pandemic Boost
As a result of the global crisis attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of people have been restricted to their homes. But the need for necessities hasn’t changed. The situation has led both businesses and customers to look for alternatives to conduct business and purchase products. The best way is through the use of the internet. In 2020, global ecommerce sales may hit $4.2 trillion. Shoppers expected to buy products online in 2020 are estimated to be over 2.1 billions number, with most of them living outside the United States.
Approximately 1.4 billion people are anticipated to climb up to the middle-class level by December 2020, and especially in the Asia Pacific region. Unfortunately, though China is renowned as the hot consumer economy, its reputation has fallen with the pandemic. COVID-19 started in China and affected the country in several negative ways, explaining why China’s economy will cool down a bit in 2020.
- Automation of Operations
Businesses have already put their operations on autopilot, and the trend has increased in 2020. It may continue in the coming years. If you have a brand, automation will help expand your business internationally, where you can operate many stores at once. Most time-consuming, manual, and repetitive work reduces productivity, but ecommerce automation eliminates them all. Through automation, businesses have become more efficient and are making them scale faster.
Ecommerce automation eliminates the chance of human error, making commerce over borders easy, and offers the best shopping experience.
Conclusion
As discussed above, 2020 is an extraordinary year regarding ecommerce. Though the COVID-19 crisis has contributed to its growth, other aspects like technological advancement have also played a role in the sales surge. Though things might slow down when