7 eCommerce Predictions to Get You Ready for 2016

2015 is half gone and we’re getting ready to revise our marketing strategy for 2016. A new year brings in new challenges, especially if you’re into eCommerce. In this article, we’ve jotted down the eCommerce trends to make you prepared for 2016.  1. Mobile revolution: Mobile is nothing new to eCommerce businesses. And there are thousands of businesses that have already included mobile strategy to their digital marketing program. However, when we say ‘mobile revolution’, we mean creating your own unique strategy.  

 This includes mobile app as well as mobile ads. These ads are targeted to your potential customers, when they’re browsing the internet to make a purchase decision. An eCommerce business can rightly target these ads to show them to the right people at the right time.  

2. Targeted social media marketing: Gone are those days, when you just had to post on social media, sit back and think that it would do its job. Social media now offers multiple channels to send your message across and all you need to do is, select the right ones for you.  

 However, you need to strategize what’s best for your business. According to a latest stat, Facebook grabs more eCommerce traffic than Pinterest. But when it comes to quality traffic, Pinterest seems to be the clear winner. The moral of the story is, make sure your stories reach the right audience on the right social media channel.  3. Good content will never be obsolete:  For eCommerce, focus on blending the blurred line between your products and creating great content out of them. Here is a tip. Put lots and lots of great videos on your to-do list.  

 A Kleiner Perkins study showed that 64% of the entire web traffic came from video in 2014, which is expected to reach 69% by 2017. 4. Reshape marketing for maximum CRO: CRO or conversion rate optimization is a process of increasing the number of visitors to your webpages with an intent to increase your conversion. In other words, CRO is focused on those people, who would actually like to buy from you.  When you talk about CRO, you need to ensure that every element of a campaign, starting from the content to the landing page, is right for dragging your target audience to your site. This is the toughest job in digital marketing. In 2016, you should be more focused on maximizing your CRO, as more and more competitors will be coming in.  

 A study showed that even if organic search leads to maximum site traffic but when it comes to conversion, emails play the most significant role. However, always test before coming to a conclusion for your business.  5. Remember there is a world beyond Google: Google is the industry leader. Agreed, but there is a world beyond Google. If you look closely at the trends, you can detect a slight but increasing competition from Yahoo and Bing.  

 Apart from search engines, there are other channels that can give you ROI.  

6. Personalization will be important more than ever: Personalization is a broader term that includes everything from your ad copy to your email content. It’s a process that ensures that each of your customer gets the content that’s solely customized for him.  An eConsultancy report stated that 62% of eCommerce sites are reportedly practicing personalization in their marketing.  

7. How about free shipping: Are you open to offer free shipping? If you’re, then there is a huge scope of conversion for you. A new data from Walker Sands showed that 8 out of 10 consumers are more likely to shop online, if they were offered free shipping. And that’s not all. An option for easy returns also increases the conversion rate.  

Over to you: Do you own an eCommerce platform or planning to start one? These trends will help you find the right way. However, note that every business is different. To find out what’s best for you, you need to keep testing different marketing elements unless you find the optimum mix for you.