By the end of 2024, the US will be the only country other than China to see online sales hit the trillions––projected to hit $1.14 trillion. While online sales account for only 15.6% of total retail sales in the US, shopping habits are increasingly online.
So, how do you make sure your ecommerce brand stands out in an increasingly competitive online shopping environment?
Brands need a solid understanding of their target consumer shopping preferences and habits. Then, they can tap into current trends and find what works for their customer base.
Here, we examine the online shopping trends, statistics, and predictions shaping the first few months of 2024 and beyond.
What’s the state of online shopping in 2024?
Before 2024 kicks off, it's worth evaluating the state of online shopping in 2023. That way, your ecommerce brand will be ready for whatever the year brings.
Online sales continue to play an increasingly important role in retail. In 2024, forecasts show that ecommerce sales will account for nearly 20% of all global retail sales. Forecasts show that 2027 online sales will make up a quarter of worldwide retail sales.
As for leading US retailers, Amazon is still by far the most popular ecommerce site. As of April 2023, the retail giant holds close to 38% of the market share. Far behind, Walmart holds 6.4%, and Apple is in third, with 3.6%.
However, online retailers should aim to reach more than just the US global ecommerce markets. As consumer behavior shifts, new emerging markets provide fresh grounds for opportunity.
Digital uptake has soared in Latin America throughout recent years. This generated unprecedented ecommerce growth in the region––Mexico and Argentina currently lead the world's fastest-growing online retail markets.
Recent calculations indicate Mexico will rank first in retail ecommerce development, with a compound annual growth rate of around 11.7% between 2024 and 2028. For comparison, the global retail ecommerce compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during the same period will sit around 9.83%.
The top 12 online shopping trends shaping 2024
- Mindful shopping practices
- More people will go in-store to get their products
- Shoppers want more product details
- Green initiatives will still be popular
- More people will shop through social commerce
- More shoppers will use voice search
- Shoppers will rely more on chatbots
- Consumers will become more comfortable with mobile shopping
- Brands will tap into zero-party data to aid personalization
- Augmented reality to become mainstream
- More brands will use 3D images to showcase products
- More consumers tune into live shopping
1. Mindful shopping practices
People get positive feelings from buying new things, regardless of whether they are food items, clothes, or jewelry.
According to Salsify’s 2024 Consumer Research report, shoppers are becoming more aware of their emotions when shopping online. Some 39% of shoppers prioritize budget-friendly options, 26% buy more cautiously, and 22% postpone purchases on purpose.
Gone are the days of impulse buying, unless it's Black Friday Cyber Monday, of course. So, what does that mean for retailers?
Instead of promoting fast consumerism, emphasize quality and longevity. You can offer warranties and repair services or show how investing in a higher-quality item is more sustainable.
As a sustainable fashion retailer, Neem London encourages customers to repair over replace. The brand partnered with Clothes Doctor to make the repair process simple.
Customers just have to send some pictures to the Clothes Doctor, wait for a quote, and then send their clothes in. Ten days later, they receive the products back at their door.
2. More people will go in-store to get their products
Salsify’s report also found another interesting statistic: almost half (49%) desire the perfect mix between online and in-store shopping.
More consumers are exploring the middle ground by embracing omnichannel shopping, so much so that nearly 25% of respondents admit to completing an online purchase while in a retail store aisle. That’s why creating an omnichannel commerce experience is important for shoppers.
Global fashion startup Allbirds endured challenges managing retail spaces and increasing omnichannel capabilities. To improve inventory decisions and in-store conversions, it needed an integrated point-of-sale (POS) system.
Shopify POS was integrated across its 20 stores, allowing it to increase conversions through buy-in-store, ship-to-customer technology, which simplified checkout processes and improved customer satisfaction.
👉Read how Allbirds increased conversions by improving omnichannel operations.
3. Shoppers want more product details
This isn’t the first or last time you’ll hear it: your product pages sell, even more so as we move into 2024. A recent survey found that 70% of online shoppers say product content can make or break a sale.
But, what does an action-packed product page mean? Whatever gives shoppers a holistic view of your products, which includes:
- High-quality visuals
- Video product demos
- 360-degree views
- A clear understanding of pricing and discounts
- Customer ratings and reviews
- Detailed product descriptions
Make it so shoppers feel like the product is in their hands. Otherwise, you’ll have an unusually high return rate, as 36% of shoppers return items because they don’t match what was seen online.
Love Hair’s product pages are an excellent example of giving shoppers all the information they need. On its Volumizing Dry Shampoo PDP, shoppers can find visuals, explainer videos, short video clips from actual buyers, payment options, and more.
4. Green initiatives will still be popular
Customers still care about sustainability and green practices, and they are proving it with their wallets. A joint study from McKinsey and NielsenIQ examined sales growth for environmentally and socially responsible products and found some intriguing insights.
Products that make ESG-related claims averaged 28% cumulative growth over the past five years versus only 20% for products that did not. Terms like "vegan," "eco-friendly," and "biodegradable" can help lift sales numbers when used honestly.
You can show your environmental initiatives by using Planet, a Shopify app that donates profits to organizations committed to future-proofing the planet. The badge will indicate your commitment to sustainability and carbon-neutral shipping options on your product page.
5. More people will shop through social commerce
Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have become increasingly popular places for consumers to discover, research, and purchase products. Social commerce makes shopping a more convenient and interactive experience, which helps explain why it’s projected to reach almost $1.7 trillion in sales in 2024.
Core functionality features like in-app checkout, Buy buttons, and instant messaging tools make social media intuitive to buy through.
Right now, these four social media apps have built-in native social commerce features:
- TikTok
Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, this trend is unlikely to slow down––in the US, social commerce earnings are estimated to reach nearly $80 billion by 2025. Plus, by 2025, the number of social commerce buyers in the United States is forecast to reach over 114 million.
When you consider that 5.17 billion people currently use social media, social commerce is a no-brainer for getting your brand in front of a larger global audience.
China currently leads the global social commerce stage. In 2022, around 84% of Chinese consumers had shopped on social media platforms, compared to about one-third in the US.
Besides the potential boost to online sales, social commerce can help brands offer a more frictionless shopping experience, gather more data on their audience, and tap into social proof. As social commerce becomes more popular, ecommerce platforms like Shopify are making it easier for retailers to integrate both.
For example, Shopify’s integration with Facebook and Instagram automatically syncs your Shopify product catalog to both social media platforms so you can create ads and shoppable posts. It’s also easy to bring the look and feel of your Shopify store to Facebook and Instagram Shops by grouping items together to help customers discover products.
6. More shoppers will use voice search
Voice assistants like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa were once associated with asking location directions, weather-related questions, or calling someone. But, the way people use voice search is changing. Voice assistants are now becoming a core component of online shopping.
Estimates show that the worldwide transaction value of purchases made through voice assistants is expected to grow from $22 billion in 2020 to $164 billion in 2024, a 630% growth in five years.
To make your site more voice search friendly in 2024, consider optimizing product detail pages for consumers’ voice search commands. For instance, during the research phase, shoppers may ask their voice assistant questions like, “Where can I buy the latest pair of Nike sneakers?”
7. Shoppers will rely more on chatbots
The chatbot market is expected to grow to $8.43 billion in 2024, up from $6.7 billion the previous year. Chatbots are gaining ground as the go-to option for providing customer support in a fast-paced world.
A study from Tidio found that 88% of customers had at least one conversation with a chatbot within the past year. On the business side, about 3 in 4 companies that introduced chatbots reported being satisfied with the results.
While there’s room for improvement in meeting consumer expectations, it’s clear customers appreciate the fast response times and out-of-office-hours support.
8. Consumers will become more comfortable with mobile shopping
Mobile commerce is fast becoming consumers’ preferred shopping channel. As mobile browsing overtakes desktop––the last quarter of 2023 revealed mobile devices generated 58.7% of global website traffic––increasing numbers of shoppers are tapping Buy on their devices.
In 2023, retail m-commerce sales hit $2.2 trillion and now make up 60% of all ecommerce sales around the world. By 2027, analysts expect that number to reach $3.4 trillion.
In 2022, mobile commerce sales accounted for over half of total ecommerce in all APAC countries, except for Japan, where it was 39%. In South Korea, it’s predicted that m-commerce sales will reach 77% of total commerce by 2026.
If these figures are anything to go by, ecommerce brands that prioritize the development of user-friendly mobile sites and apps will be best positioned to convert more mobile shoppers.
One way brands can attract more mobile shoppers is to build ultra-responsive, intuitive mobile sites. To stand out in a crowded marketplace, brands need to prioritize mobile-friendly designs that help customers find what they’re looking for.
Jewelry brand and Shopify merchant Missoma is a great example. After migrating to Shopify, its online store—which generates the bulk (97%) of its orders—meets mobile website design best practices, including:
- Vertical full-screen images to show products at their best
- Large buttons that make it easy for users to tap through
- Swipe through images to easily view all angles of products
9. Brands will tap into zero-party data to aid personalization
Online privacy and security continue to be a growing concern for shoppers. So governments are making it easier for shoppers to browse in private without worrying about cookies being held on their devices. Companies that fail to get this right may face hefty fines and penalties.
Tech giants are also embracing the reality of a cookieless world. Google Chrome for instance is blocking third-party cookies in 2024.
Ecommerce brands can work around this by gathering zero-party data––information offered voluntarily by customers. Brands should aim to use multiple customer data collection methods. Doing so will provide a more thorough dataset of customer behavior and preferences.
For example, Shopify merchant and beauty brand Florence by Mills created a short quiz for customers to share their preferences with the brand. By gathering customer preferences and measuring their interest through the quiz, the brand was able to recommend the right products to the right customers.
The brand segments all quiz answers to send shoppers personalized offers to convert them to the recommended products. As a result, they saw a two-times increase in site conversion rate.
10. Augmented reality to become mainstream
AR and VR are becoming mainstream. Once a futuristic-sounding concept used only by gamers and young Snapchat users, AR is now key for helping consumers visualize products they may not be able to see physically. Using the tech, shoppers can more easily see the item they’re shopping for, which helps them make a decision.
Due to its ease of use, augmented reality looks set to grow in popularity––according to Statista, in 2024, there will be an estimated 1.7 billion mobile AR devices worldwide.
AR is especially effective in specific industries like fashion and home décor––customers can get a better feel for products without needing to see the products in person.
For instance, accessories brand The Cambridge Satchel Company uses Shopify’s augmented reality (AR) experience to let online shoppers virtually place a 3D image of a Cambridge Satchel bag onto a screenshot of the environment they’re currently in—essentially mimicking the “trying on” process via smartphone.
“The fact that we can offer this kind of AR experience with our budget puts us on a level playing field with people who have much greater resources than we do,” says founder Julie Deane. “I’ve no doubt that if big luxury brands create this kind of AR experience [in-house], they would be paying 10 times what we are.”
Social media is also a key driver of AR usage. People often first experience AR when they try a filter or lens on Snapchat, Instagram, or TikTok. These filters allow people to try on makeup or clothing before they buy online.
Virtual try-on tech in particular is playing an increasingly important role in fashion. These features bring the physical fitting room into the digital space, letting customers use augmented reality to try on clothes virtually at home.
11. More brands will use 3D images to showcase products
As retailers look for new ways to bring products alive away from physical stores, ecommerce businesses are tapping into 3D tech.
Instead of relying on static product photos or videos, 3D imagery shows items in a new light, helping customers make buying decisions.
In a bid to make the shopping experience more personalized, Google Shopping is bringing 3D elements into the purchasing journey.
Lilian Rincon, the senior director of product for Shopping at Google, confirmed to eMarketer that 3D listings saw more engagement than their traditional static listings.
“Earlier this year, we rolled out 3D in home goods and saw that people engaged 50% more with 3D images than they did the static ones,” she said. “We are now launching in our next category, shoes, enabling consumers to see 3D models of sneakers.”
For instance, Shopify merchant and fashion brand Rebecca Minkoff uses 3D imagery to create a more interactive shopping experience for customers.
Sarah Sheldon, Rebecca Minkoff’s senior director of global ecommerce and digital, explains how 3D tech helps bring products to life in a way that builds customer confidence.
“When people have the intent to shop without physically being able to touch and see a product, the more options you can give them to create that confidence is helpful,” she says.
Rebecca Minkoff’s Darren shoulder bag was one example that came to life with 3D modeling. A simple click-and-drag provides a full picture of every piece of the bag—texture, structure, and shape—in ways website listings don’t typically offer.
Customers clearly appreciated the ability to view the product and the brand saw a solid uptick in conversions and engagement.
Shoppers who interacted with a 3D model were 44% more likely to add it to their cart than those who hadn’t. Of those visitors who interacted with a 3D model, they were 27% more likely to place an order than those who hadn’t. When customers viewed a product in AR, Rebecca Minkoff says, they became 65% more likely to make a purchase.
12. More consumers tune into live shopping
Live commerce uses social media platforms to merge livestreaming with commerce. Viewers tune into a Facebook Live (or equivalent) video, have real-time communication with a brand, and purchase items off the back of its answers.
Brands are using livestream to promote products, answer questions, and close sales with customers who are joining remotely to watch.
Although the US is still in its infant stages, livestream has been a hit in China. China’s livestream selling market grew from $3 billion to $171 billion in three years.
“If China’s experience is any guide, our analysis indicates that live-commerce-initiated sales could account for as much as 10 to 20 percent of all e-commerce by 2026,” says McKinsey & Company.
Current estimates suggest that the livestream market will be worth $35 billion in the US by 2024.
Shopify merchant POPFLEX, run by Cassey Ho of Blogilates, had its second-highest sales hour of the year thanks to a YouTube livestream in November 2022.
Stand out in a crowded ecommerce landscape
These online shopping trends show that the popularity of online purchases is only set to grow in 2024 and beyond. As the number of online shoppers rises, ecommerce brands will continue to tap into new tech and trends in a bid to attract and retain customers.
To stand out in an increasingly competitive online shopping landscape, brands need to tap into these ecommerce trends. Figure out how your audience prefers to shop online, and then build a strategy to meet them there.
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