Top 5 E-Commerce Trends Of 2016 BY Amy Watson. Available from <http://www.businesscomputingworld.co.uk/the-top-5-e-commerce-trends-of-2016/> [20/09/2016]
Ready to take on the world of e-commerce? If your answer is “not just yet”, here are some reasons why this year is the best time to pursue your online business dreams. 2016 is a great time to start working on the e-commerce dream you’ve had with the help of social media, different lending preferences, crowd funding, and the advancement of technology.
There are a lot of new trends in store for any passionate e-commerce startup with a great vision for an e-commerce business idea. This article will get you inspired by discussing the current situation and trends of e-commerce today perfect for any e-commerce startup like you for the year 2016.
But First, What Is E-Commerce?
E-commerce utilises an electronic network or the internet as a platform for buying and selling of goods and services. Usually, transactions under the e-commerce platform are B2B or business-to-business, B2C or business-to-consumer, C2C or consumer-to-consumer, and C2B or consumer-to-business. An e-commerce business usually makes use of various applications like email, online catalogues or shopping carts, social media, and the like.
Customers find e-commerce advantageous given its convenience, round-the-clock availability, speedy process, and the wide range of choices on goods and services available at the tip of their fingers. But the major downsides toeE-commerce in the perspective of a customer are that there is only a limited customer service, a long wait time, and the absence of concrete inspection of the product you wish to purchase.
Why Should You Start An E-Commerce Business?
Mobile and internet use have expanded globally making e-commerce advance radically over the years. With this fact comes the immense opportunity for storefronts to develop their significance and expand their market by finding their place online. The idea of starting an e-commerce business can cross any person’s mind considering the ease of access.
The only problem now is how to come up with a unique e-commerce business idea that can spark the interest of customers. It is common knowledge that an entrepreneur needs to carry out an in-depth research before going into any business. Before you wrack your brain for a distinct business niche to sell, it would be best if you check out the success stories of e-commerce pioneers.
Here are the top five e-commerce innovative ideas and trend from this year from the top dogs to inspire you in jumpstarting your e-commerce business venture.
1. Web To Print Business
Web to Print or web2print SaaS (software as a service) is where people can take advantage of the internet to customise/improve their desired products before being finalised by the seller company to print the designs along with producing the products. Products can range from brochures, catalogues, business cards, postcards, flyers, and other branding propaganda and even those that involve wide-format printing like banners. A good web-to-print software is used to realise all this. Here, the software may enable the customer to customise the “look” of a certain product, submit it to company for finalisation, then more possible needed coordination before the products are produced, that are all done seamlessly using the software, such as those from (http://buzz.newsjs.com/news/what-web-to-print-can-do-for-printers-just-get-the-answer-here) where customers can connect with their different requirements that they might just need for their projects.
2. Subscription E-Commerce
Here’s a good idea to spice up everybody’s month in the year: do subscription e-commerce! Imagine this: you send your customers a monthly (or it depends how often) box of treats by subscribing to your service! If you’re into organic food products, customers can get a monthly basket of organic goodies depending on the ingredients on season. If you’re into fashion, you can send them a box of trendy pieces depending on what’s hot at the moment like how Stitch Fix and Trunk Club do it. There’s no limit to your creativity and the systems you can employ to make it perfect! From your daily dose of coffee, your kid’s and pet’s playthings and even your personal hygiene products can come in a box every month. You can add it as a feature of your business, or you can base your service entirely to just that! (http://ecommerce-platforms.com/ecommerce-resources/the-hottest-ecommerce-subscription-businesses-right-now)
3. Online Grocery Store Via Apps
Nobody likes to find themselves waiting for hours at an overcrowded grocery store just to get their supplies. Sometimes you even have to haggle for your shopper’s discounts. With the advent of online food ordering apps, you can now skip preparing a shopping list, asking a shopkeeper which aisle it’s found and worrying about whether you’ve brought enough cash with you. This e-commerce idea delves into this common inconvenience. An online grocery app allows customers to choose grocery or food items, the method of delivery and even the mode of payment. (http://www.fooddive.com/news/7-grocery-retail-technologies-to-innovate-the-shopping-experience/399553/)
4. Hotel Room Booking Via Apps
One of the inconveniences a person has to experience when it comes to going on vacations is the hassle of booking a hotel. You still have to worry whether it’s at a close proximity to your venue, fully booked, clean, and other things. With hotel mobile apps taking an innovative approach into hospitality marketing, hotels can provide a seamless reservation process, using push notifications or in-app messaging to provide personalised service and to relay valuable information to their guests about their stay. There are also curated guides in the apps containing leisure activities, restaurants, transportation tips and location maps that guests can use. Like how The Bulgari Hotel in London utilises their curated mobile booking app as a guide with information ranging from nightlife, shopping, and galleries for the Bulgari traveller. (http://blog.apps-builder.com/hotels-with-mobile-apps/)
5. Product Curation E-Commerce
Modern shoppers are drawn to the convenience of e-commerce simply because they value their time more than anything. At the same time, customers are faced with choice overload while needing some expert purchasing advice. This e-commerce practice had brands exploring on personalising the shopping experience – which led to the trend of curated shopping. Curated e-commerce aims to assist shoppers on finding out products based on their own unique tastes and preferences. Websites and online apps like ShoeDazzle, JustFab, and MYHABIT let their customers take a quick online quiz to specify their style preferences, physical profile and available budget. The agony of choice is quite real, and anything that will help alleviate the overload will be much appreciated. (http://www.guided-selling.org/curated-shopping-how-it-works-and-how-successful-it-is/)
This year, many e-commerce trailblazers established even more unique ideas for the already abundant industry. This is also an exciting time to be in the e-commerce industry seeing as how everyone strives to innovate. But innovation isn’t all about the investment; creativity is what makes all the good difference. What’s great with the online platform is that it doesn’t necessarily require big capital but rather outside-the-box thinking. You will have an edge if you can see possibilities where others can’t. Prepare yourself to create new ideas as 2016 reveals many attractive and rare assortments in the e-commerce realm.
Top 5 E-Commerce Trends Of 2016 BY Amy Watson. Available from <http://www.businesscomputingworld.co.uk/the-top-5-e-commerce-trends-of-2016/> [20/09/2016]