Digital shopping has become a necessity due to its unparalleled convenience and accessibility.
Online platforms offer consumers the ability to shop 24/7, access a diverse range of products, and benefit from transparent pricing and user reviews. The efficiency of transactions, secure payment options and adaptation to technological advancements, like mobile shopping and emerging technologies like augmented reality, have contributed to the growing importance of digital commerce.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated the shift towards online shopping, with consumers recognising its convenience and ease, leading to a sustained and widespread adoption of digital shopping habits. Navigating the complexities and keeping au fait with the latest developments of digital shopping is becoming increasingly challenging to handle in-house, especially for what were once brick-and-mortar businesses.
We’ve gathered the thoughts and insights from our teams as they assess the evolving landscape and its impact on their respective disciplines.
To thrive in an ever-evolving online landscape, it’s not enough to simply have an online presence; businesses must curate a cohesive experience across a variety of channels.
The first step is to develop an interactive and personalised onsite experience which mirrors or surpasses that of in-person shopping. Say, for example, you’re looking to buy a pair of trainers. In a pre-digital world, you'd go to the local high street, peruse a few stores, and head home with your preferred pair. Now, though, with the endless expanse of online retailers, the paradox of choice has produced a dramatic decline in the likelihood of an immediate sale.
Therefore, by developing a solid strategy that provides a consistent customer experience by retargeting relevant content across tailored touchpoints, businesses can elevate brand awareness and increase conversion rates by a significant margin.
Gemma Sanderson - Account Executive
Social media platforms now integrate e-commerce, letting users discover and buy products without leaving the app. Instagram Shopping and TikTok's shop are examples; brands can sell directly on these platforms, and creators earn commissions through content that guides users to products. This boosts paid partnerships and higher commissions through effective affiliate program promotion.
Additionally, social media's user-generated content cycle—reviews, unboxing videos, and product photos—helps build trust, showcase products, and foster a community, driving more sales.
Katie Smith - Senior Social Media & Content Manager
Google Shopping, long a cornerstone of e-commerce, has embarked on a mission to streamline the online shopping experience, with cutting-edge features like virtual try-on, powered by generative AI, offering unprecedented confidence in apparel purchases. This innovative technology extends beyond apparel, providing insightful product considerations through dynamically updated descriptions and comprehensive reviews aggregated from diverse sources.
These capabilities are fuelled by the expansive Google Shopping Graph, a repository of over 35 billion product listings. As Google Shopping continues to evolve, it promises to revolutionise the online shopping landscape, transforming it from a mere browsing platform into a hub for informed and efficient purchasing decisions.
Ciaran Turner - Search Marketing Manager
The dominance of online shopping has also had an impact on web development and design. Responsive design and intuitive UI and UX are key to helping customers browse products and encourage them to make purchases. Features such as ‘shop the full look’ help customers easily navigate to the items they want - or items they didn’t know they wanted - increasing purchase value and revenue.
Refining UX and UI helps to reduce the likelihood of shopping cart abandonment, too; users won’t get frustrated by a poorly designed website as they glide through the process to make their purchase. However, even the most effective and intuitive UX and UI can be hampered by slow loading times; a study by Amazon found that every extra 100ms of loading time cost 1% in revenue.
Security is more important than ever and so shopping websites use secure checkout systems such as payment gateways and two-layer authentication with banking apps. Plus, with multiple payment options like PayPal, Klarna, ApplePay, and Google Pay, shoppers can checkout seamlessly using the method that suits them best.
Jake Dickinson - Front-End Developer
Digital shopping has immeasurably increased the amount of choice available to every consumer, no matter what they’re interested in. From high-end fashion to artisan foods, we can now find anything and everything with a few clicks, or we can buy it without even leaving the social media app we’re scrolling through.
This expanded choice and availability places extra demand on strategy and web development, requiring faster loading times, more secure checkouts and intuitive user journeys that guide customers from item to checkout easily.
The digital shopping experience is only going to change further, with AI already making inroads into how we shop online. As trends, needs and habits change, platforms and e-commerce brands need to be ready to adapt to ensure they retain their customer base.
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