eCommerce Tendencies 2021
e-Commerce Boom Increases Online Ad Competition, Raises CPCs for All
The global pandemic has caused an eCommerce boom that is driving up online marketing competition across nearly every industry. Even traditional businesses that never sold online are making the transition. Add to that the fact that businesses who already sold online are doubling down even more. So, what does that mean for online advertisers and eCommerce store owners? Intense competition!
According to data from MorningStar, digital ad budgets are expected to grow by 20% in 2021, signaling a significant uptick from last year where businesses scaled way back due to the pandemic. With more companies loosening their purse strings, we are going to see more competition and higher costs per click when it comes to paid search and social campaigns.
In order to compete, it will be essential for marketers to leverage a multi-channel approach. While paid advertising campaigns still need to be an important part of the mix, having a full-fledged digital marketing strategy that includes everything from SEO to content marketing will be critical.
Livestreamed Shopping
With the significant impact of Covid-19 in fast-tracking online shopping growth, the emergence of new and enhanced social media apps, and the proven word-of-mouth power that comes from influencers, everyone’s constantly asking: what’s next in commerce?
The answer: Livestreamed Shopping.
Already generating $135 billion in Chinese eCommerce sales in 2020, social media influencers will bring live-streaming to the U.S., with the ability to host live-streaming shopping already kicked into gear on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Amazon Live, Twitch, YouTube, and Etsy.
In 2020, according to Influence Central’s survey of 475 consumers, only 19% of people in the U.S. have turned into a live stream shopping event. This presents a large pool of untapped audiences for brands and influencers to target. According to consumers, 60% found live demos and product walk-through the biggest draw to live-streamed shopping, with a special deal only available during the live event, a powerful driving factor in their participation.
Out of the consumers who had tried livestream shopping:
86% did so on Facebook
compared to 30% on Instagram
22% on Amazon Live
and 12% on YouTube.
While Facebook leads the current faction of Livestream shopping early adapters, all platforms still have a chance to get ahead of this new e-commerce trend, but they need to act now.
Influencers can offer up live streaming’s unique mix of entertainment, behind-the-scenes product information, answering viewers’ questions, and simple click-to-buy options. It is a chance for creators to interact directly with their followers and offer a compelling opportunity to both engage and shop with exclusivity.
Improvements in web accessibility on eCommerce websites
In 2021, we’d expect to see major – and long overdue – improvements in web accessibility on eCommerce websites. In our thorough research of top 100 British eCommerce websites, we’ve found that ALL of them reported as “unusable for some”.
Businesses need to individually carry out an accessibility audit on their website to identify issues, but the most common ones that could be easily checked are:
- alternative text (for non-decorative images)
- subtitles and/or transcripts of video content contrast of your website’s layout (there are plugins available for most major browsers that help you check it)
- poor wording of hyperlinks (i.e. “click here”)
- contact form issues, such as missing labels and no support for keyboard-only navigation.
