The Working Group’s purpose is to understand how digital advancements have impacted the economy and to measure the digital economy and ecommerce trends. This will help in deriving statistical data related to the availability, comparability, quality, and usability of ecommerce and the digital economy. Ecommerce technology involves the new trends that are changing and shaping the industry according to customer needs. Not only that, but these changes are necessary to match the changes in market demands as well. This is why the Intergovernmental groups of experts on ecommerce and the digital economy are working on such key areas to derive relevant data for policy making.
E-commerce Technology Trends
Some of the most popular eCommerce technology trends are as follows:
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Both artificial intelligence and machine learning use state-of-the-art technology and give automated solutions. It is a computer system that successfully performs tasks that usually would require human assistance. Therefore, Artificial Intelligence involves building such systems and machines to think and perform as a human.
Machine learning is when the machines gather data and learn to perform various machine tasks based on the gathered data. When learning is done in such a way, external programming is not needed. Examples of some AI and ML technologies include:
- – AI-based personalization
- – Supply chain optimization
- – Chatbots and Intelligent Virtual Assistants
- – Fraud Detection and Prevention
- – Dynamic pricing and price optimization
Social Commerce
Social commerce has long been in trend and has largely contributed to the digital economy. These social networks are used as marketable shopping platforms for thousands of businesses. You can market your brand’s products and services on social networking platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. By creating a page and a website that offers good customer service, you can encourage more and more people to purchase your products. This is how technology in eCommerce has played a crucial role in making the digital economy grow.
Everything from discovering the products to placing your orders to payment and delivery of those products is all done through social networks. Make sure to make it smoother for customers to shop by adding in-app purchase transactions and shoppable tags.
Moreover, it is estimated that the revenue generated by businesses through social networks by 2030 will be more than USD 8 Trillion. That is a many times greater number than that of 2023.
Livestream Commerce
Suppose you remember the live TV sessions where they would sell products. This is a similar thing but more digitally advanced and mostly carried out on social networks.
Livestream commerce is a live-selling show mostly aired on commerce platforms. They show the audience many products in real-time and their live selling analytics. This has been very popular in China, where they have Live selling shops, and they take the help of the host to sell products. Now, these hosts could be social media influencers or streamers who influence the audience and can sell products immediately. Another method that they use to encourage customers to purchase the goods is by offering them limited-time products. When the consumers find out that it is a limited and unique product that only a few people can buy, they are intrigued to purchase it.
Recently, such eCommerce trends have been gaining popularity in the US and many other countries as well. People see the great potential in them, and hence, many beauty and fashion brands have been using Livestream commerce as a way to market their products and encourage consumers to place their orders.
Voice Commerce
As the name indicates, Voice commerce is an ecommerce technology trend that uses voice commands to sell products to customers. Platforms have hired voice assistants that assist consumers in their shopping and hence make purchases.
Voice commerce has gained lots of popularity with the rising use of virtual voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, and Microsoft’s Cortona. This has changed the way customers engage with brands and make online purchases.
Voice commerce is more accessible and inclusive in terms of age and disabilities. Everyone can use it without the need for any manual input, like you do when placing orders on other networks.
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)
This is another emerging ecommerce technology that has much potential in 2024. Buy now, pay later is an ecommerce practice in which the buyers are allowed to make a purchase and pay in installments without any interest. BNPL became popular during the pandemic when people were having financial difficulties and could not pay for necessary things all at once.
BNPL is an ecommerce trend that benefits the society and contributes towards social welfare. Such practices give consumers flexibility in terms of necessary purchases, especially when customers prefer not to pay with credit cards during difficult times. There are three types of BNPL.
Direct Providers: One type of BNPL is direct providers that came into light due to services like Klarna and Afterpay.
Facilitators: Another type of BNPL is the facilitator. These are financial institutions that act like intermediaries in this system and provide the consumers with their needed funding source. Examples include Shopify, Mastercard, and Stripe.
Retroactive Service Providers: These are BNPL service providers where that allow consumers to shop flexibly with their credit cards. They offer many payment options after the credit card is used. An example of this is American Express.
Future of Ecommerce Technology
The future of ecommerce technology and that of the digital economy seems bright, and it will only continue to grow. With the current trends and potentially emerging trends, technological advancements keep taking place in the industry. It has brought in new and exciting trends in the industry while constant innovation makes its way to the ecommerce industry.
Trends like Livestream shopping, Voice commerce, BNPL, AI, and many more help develop the industry into a multi-billion-dollar industry which in turn positively affects the national and international economies. With mobile commerce on the rise, people are now able to order groceries with a few clicks. And many more things have been made accessible just from the comfort of your home.
Conclusion
With the above-mentioned ecommerce technology trends and many more to rise in the future, this industry only keeps succeeding. One thing is for certain: ecommerce will go through more and more advancements in the future and will keep benefiting the people and the economy. Likewise, innovations that would have taken years to get popular in the traditional brick-and-mortar commerce industry are now succeeding in a matter of months or even better in days with proper marketing, especially influencer and celebrity marketing. Whether you are a business or a consumer, it is essential to know such trends.
