10 Ecommerce trends you need to know about for 2023

Are you ready for ecommerce in 2023? We’ve got you covered with the must-know ecommerce trends to be ready for next year.

As the year winds down, ecommerce ramps up. With the final sprint of cyber5 and holiday shopping, it’s go! go! go! So naturally, during this busiest time of the year, it’s also time to think about what comes next. Time to plan out your 2023 budgets and strategies. Who knows what 2023 will bring? The last three years have been a rollercoaster and we don’t expect the next round to be any less wild. However, in ecommerce at least, there are some things we know for certain. Trends that are growing and will continue to grow in importance for merchants and shoppers alike. This article offers a sneak peek at next year and the ecommerce trends that will shape online shopping in 2023. To find out more, you can also listen to our podcast on 2023 ecommerce trends with Calashock founder and CEO Luigi Moccia.

10 ecommerce trends that will shape online shopping in 2023

And 10 tips to act on them.

1. Sustainability

After one of the hottest summers on record in the northern hemisphere, we’re all too familiar with the conversation around climate change and sustainability. From ethically sourced products to packaging material, and even box sizes, merchants can make a difference at every stage of their product life cycle and delivery.

Actionable tip:

Box size is a good example of a simple change which is often overlooked because it is easier and cheaper to simply stock one or two sizes and use void filler to stop smaller items rattling around. But using a variety of boxes and smaller sizes for smaller items means more packages can fit into a delivery van. This means one van can make more deliveries, meaning fewer vehicles are needed overall. It’s a change that will save you on your shipping costs with couriers as well as pay dividends in terms of how your business is perceived from a sustainability perspective.

2. Inflation and downturn

Another big and not-so-positive factor set to impact ecommerce over the next year is inflation and the economic downturn. We’re seeing the effects in UK, across a lot of Europe, and in North America. So what does this mean for ecommerce? As inflation rises, so do prices. While disposable income gets tighter. In 2023, are going to be a lot more price-conscious and will put a lot more effort into researching their purchases before making a decision. This will include not only product prices but any deals or offers available as well as shipping costs. Every penny will count and so will the user experience of your website and how easily shoppers can find the information they need.

Actionable tip:

Help your customers to make informed buying decisions. This includes making sure product information, pricing (of course), your delivery details and any promotions you are running are clearly visible without any searching. Check out our article for tips on building high-converting product display pages to share all the information your customers need. Making sure your product information is detailed, accurate and packed with relevant keywords will also help with SEO. Improving your search engine rankings will boost your visibility to customers doing their product research.

3. Social commerce

Social commerce has been around for a while, but social media companies are really starting to harness the commercial opportunities of their platforms. The demographics are also shifting. TikTok is no longer just a platform for teenagers to share the latest viral dance. Now, one of the fastest-growing groups on Tik Tok is adults who are 35-40 years plus.

Actionable tip:

Where is your target audience? Are you on the right social platform? If not, start building your presence and integrate your social media profiles with your ecommerce store. Make it easy not just to market your products, but also for your customers to be able to buy them right there, where they are spending their time.

4. UGC

From reviews and ratings on social media and independent review sites to product reviews embedded on websites, UGC (user generated content) gives visitors confidence that the product and merchant have social proof. Staying around the topic of social commerce is user generated content or UGC. This can be reviews, ratings or photos posted anywhere from social media to independent platforms such as Trustpilot, through to the reviews on your own website. UGC gives shoppers confidence in both the product and the merchant by providing social proof – other people have used them, and they’re going to tell you their story.

Actionable tip:

Embed UGC into your website. Solutions such as Taggbox allow you to curate shoppable Instagram galleries on your site without directing customers away from your store to social media.

5. Customer service

Negative reviews are often not just about the product, but about how the merchant handled an incident. Many, if not most customers are sympathetic to the fact that a merchant cannot control every last detail of product quality or delivery experience. What really makes or breaks the relationship is how those issues are managed. So make sure that if you do receive emails, or DMs or phone calls, that you address them as soon as possible and provide solutions wherever possible. Systems like Gorgiascan make it very easy for you to centralise all those different channels. So you’re not having to remember to go into three or four different social media platforms, as well as check your emails and your live chat. Instead, it is possible to view and respond to all notifications in one place so nothing gets missed.

Actionable tip:

Make the most of your reviews. If it is positive, great! Share it as much as you can. But if you get negative feedback, make sure to respond both privately and publicly, to be seen to care about your customers and their opinions. Prompt and helpful responses to negative reviews can boost trust in your brand even more than 100% good reviews.

6. Personalisation

Personalisation, not just on-site but consistent across channels, is growing in importance as customers expect effortless buyer experiences. From search to product recommendations to email marketing and paid advertising, personalisation isn’t just a benefit to customers, but also to merchants, by making their marketing budget go further. Systems like Klevu, have really good products, that make the experience personal to the user, but also make sure that you’re able to merchandise products in a more efficient and effective way. Combining the AI-powered search with automated seasonal campaigns for Halloween or Christmas means you can seamlessly recommend products that are relevant to your customer’s search intent as well as a priority to your business. But personalisation goes beyond the website experience. With things like email marketing and paid advertising, you can keep the tailored experience consistent across channels. Marketing platforms like Klaviyo capture and collate unique customer data to help you create targeted and personalised email campaigns.

Actionable tip:

Customer Segmentation. Use the tools at your disposal to turn customer data into clear and specific personas. Don’t waste your marketing budget on generic emails when you can leverage your customer data to create highly-targeted campaigns with a much higher ROI.

7. Security

When speaking with merchants, we often find that data security is still not always in the top five requirements when they’re evaluating platforms and vendors. It should be. Inadvertent data breaches can be costly, not just because you will lose the customers whose data has been compromised, but you could also get fined. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. SSL is important because it helps to ensure that sensitive data, such as credit card information, is transferred securely. In order to properly protect customer data, ecommerce merchants should always use SSL when transmitting sensitive information. In addition, they should also take measures to protect their databases, such as by using strong passwords and encrypting data. Finally, merchants should be aware of the dangers of DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks and take steps to protect their websites from these types of attacks. By taking these precautionary measures, ecommerce merchants can help to ensure the security of their online businesses.

Actionable tip:

Make customers feel safe and secure sharing their data with you by demonstrating your security precautions. A simple step is ensuring you have up-to-date SSL certification and your URL starts with HTTPS. The S stands for SSL and assures customers of a secure connection. Knowing their data is safe and secure will help you to gain higher conversion rates and an increase in sales.

8. Mobile commerce

Mobile commerce has been around for a very long time, but there is still latent adoption of the latest technologies and trends. One of the biggest opportunities for mobile growth, which many merchants still don’t fully understand is PWA – Progressive Web Apps. A PWA is essentially a hybrid between a website and a native app: It’s very fast loading. It’s super SEO friendly. It’s downloaded onto the user’s smartphone, which means it can also be browsed offline. You can do push notifications as well. Systems like Styla or Shogun help you implement a strategy to ensure your website isn’t just mobile responsive or mobile optimised, but actually native on the user’s mobile.

Actionable tip:

Use your analytics to review the devices used to visit your website. What are the conversion rates like on each device? Many merchants find that most of their visits are on mobile devices but their conversions are on desktops. This is often because the ecommerce experience isn’t truly optimised for mobile so shoppers feel more secure and comfortable with the desktop experience to actually complete sales. If that sounds familiar, it could be a sign that 2023 is the year to really invest in a mobile-optimised strategy.

9. Recommerce

Number nine links back to sustainability. A growing trend that can help ecommerce merchants stand out from the competition is recommerce. This is the practice of reselling pre-owned goods. This type of commerce offers a number of benefits for both businesses and consumers. For businesses, recommerce can be a way to boost sales and profits. It can also help to build customer loyalty and brand equity. And from a sustainability standpoint, recommerce helps to reduce waste and keep usable goods in circulation. For consumers, recommerce offers an affordable alternative to buying new products. It also makes it easy to find items that are difficult to find in brick-and-mortar stores. As consumers become incredibly environmentally conscious, recommerce is a great way to resonate with a wider audience.

Actionable tip:

There are a few different ways that merchants can participate in recommerce. One option is to resell pre-owned items. This can be done either by partnering with a recommerce platform or by setting up a dedicated section on your own website. Another option is to offer refurbished items for sale. This involves taking used items and restoring them to like-new condition before putting them back on the market.

10. Customer centricity

Last but not least, and in essence a summary of the nine points above is Customer Centricity. At the end of the day, your customers pay your bills. Their wants and needs have to be at the centre of every part of your strategy. This means shaping every moment of their interaction with your store to meet and exceed the customers’ expectations. It is important to really understand your target audience. What do your customers want from an ecommerce experience? What kinds of payment methods are most popular? Are your customers environmentally conscious? How do you reflect this in your delivery and returns policy? Once you understand your customers, you can curate your store to give them the right selection of options at every stage. Offering freedom of choice within the buyer journey lets your customer feel in control and therefore more comfortable and likely to complete the transaction. Give your customers the freedom to choose their payment method, delivery method, whether or not to create an account, and whether or not to receive emails from you. Giving them control over how they start the relationship with your business will increase trust and lifetime value.

Actionable tip:

Use NPS (Net Promoter Score) campaigns to help you understand why your customers like you and what you could be improving. Net Promoter Score questionnaires ask customers to rate your service from 1-10.

• Customers that rate 9-10 are “promoters” that are so happy with your store and your products, they will recommend you without prompting.
• Customers that rate 7-8 are “passive”. They might recommend your business if asked but are not too fussed.
• Customers that rate 0-6 are “detractors” and will likely tell others not to buy from you.

Not enough merchants make use of these campaigns. We recommend running an NPS campaign at least every 6 months to see what your customers are thinking and address their concerns.

Are you ready for ecommerce in 2023?

Even with a list of actionable tips, it can be daunting to decide where to start. Working on your sustainability efforts? Improving your social media and social selling strategy? What about truly nailing mobile optimisation, beginning a recommerce initiative or setting up a NPS campaign? That’s where an agency like Calashock comes in.With over 13 years of ecommerce expertise, we can help you work out the best strategy for your business and implement the changes that will bring you what greatest ROI based on your customers, your unique business needs and your budget. Every new project begins with an in-person discovery session. Wherever in the world you may be, we come to you. It’s the best way to be able to work together and really take a deep dive together into your current strengths, weaknesses, goals and obstacles. If you are ready to transform your ecommerce in 2023, get in touch today.