Ecommerce Trends You Need to Pay Attention to in 2024

Ecommerce trends can change quickly, and staying ahead of the curve is imperative for success. In 2024, the ecommerce space is set to undergo transformative shifts. These shifts will likely redefine the way businesses operate and consumers shop. Brace yourself for a journey into the future as we unravel the game-changing trends that will shape ecommerce in 2024.

This article explores some of the major changes in store for 2024. These include:

• AI will continue to be one of the top ecommerce trends to follow.
• Social media ecommerce trends will continue gaining momentum.
• Sustainability and ethics will be top of mind for consumers.
• Augmented reality and virtual reality will change the shopping experience.
• Short-form video will increasingly be used to educate customers.
• Customers will favor products with shorter delivery times.
• Inflation will continue to drive price sensitivity.
• Companies will focus on mobile-first shopping experiences.

Related Article: How to Value an Ecommerce Business

AI Will Continue to Be One of the Top Ecommerce Trends to Follow

Artificial intelligence is the most disruptive technological leap of the past several decades. The technology is improving and becoming more widely used. This disruption will only speed up.

With regard to AI and ecommerce, 2023 was a year of novelty and early adoption. In 2024, we will see the technology become more deeply embedded in core ecommerce processes. AI will provide:

• Enhanced customer service tools
• Text, image, and video generation tools
• Valuable customer insights
• Greater personalization throughout the shopping experience
• Fraud detection capabilities
• Inventory management tools

“With regard to AI and ecommerce, 2023 was a year of novelty and early adoption. In 2024, we will see the technology become more deeply embedded in core ecommerce processes.”

Customer service tools

AI-powered customer service chatbots could bring significant cost-savings for ecommerce businesses. Generative AI tools are getting smarter and more capable. Companies of all sizes are using them as customer service agents.

These AI chatbots can handle customer concerns, ask questions, and make suggestions. They can help with both addressing issues and improving the online shopping experience. This can lead to increased ecommerce sales and greater customer satisfaction. At the same time, it can save ecommerce stores a significant amount of money in the form of reduced labor costs.

AI-powered chatbots can also provide you with the opportunity to gain valuable customer data. For example, frequently asked questions from customers could provide valuable insights.

AI chatbot capabilities are impressive, but remember that they have limits. On one hand, they’re good at answering simple questions or concerns. Yet, for some queries, human customer service agents may still be the best bet for your ecommerce store.

Text, image, and video generation tools

If you have played with ChatGPT or other similar generative AI tools, you know just how impressive and useful the technology is. Ecommerce businesses of all sizes use these tools in their business processes to save time and increase efficiency.

With a simple prompt, these tools allow you to generate:

• Product descriptions
• Website copy
• Blog posts or articles
• Outlines

AI-powered image and video generation programs have also become indispensable tools. These programs can produce:

• Product images
• Logos
• Website images
• Product videos
• Educational videos

Expect these tools to become more widely used throughout 2024. As a business owner, it is important to stay up to date with the latest AI capabilities or risk falling behind.

Valuable customer insights

Information is money for ecommerce store owners. This is because the more you can learn about your customers, the better you can meet their needs.

AI provides you with the capabilities to both gather and analyze key customer data. This could include information about how a customer behaves on your site. It could also cover how they interact with your product listings or ads. AI can analyze this information and provide insights about how to improve the shopping experience.

These improvements could include:

• Updates to your online store or checkout experience
• Improvements to your paid advertising campaigns
• Changes to your product lineup

“As a business owner, it is important to stay up to date with the latest AI capabilities or risk falling behind.”

Greater personalization throughout the shopping experience

These customer insights allow you to implement changes that create personalized shopping experiences. This is one of the major ecommerce trends that will play an ever greater role in 2024 and beyond. The more you can tailor a shopper’s experience to their individual behavioral tendencies, the better you can meet their needs.

Ecommerce businesses have started providing personalized product recommendations based on past purchasing behavior. AI can also allow you to create personalized offers for different customer segments.

One of the main ecommerce trends relating to personalization is dynamic pricing. Powered by AI analytics, dynamic pricing allows for real-time price adjustments based on many factors. This could include:

• Competitor pricing analysis
• Current or expected future demand
• Inventory levels
• Customer behavior

You can also expect greater personalization with advertising and marketing campaigns. Armed with key customer insights, AI can provide guidance on how to connect best with your various customer segments. From there, AI technology can assist with the creation of more-individualized marketing campaigns. This allows you to speak more directly to your target audiences.

Fraud detection capabilities

Counterfeits and fraud can be costly and harmful for ecommerce business owners. As your ecommerce business gains popularity, others may impersonate your products for their own gain.

AI technology is getting better at identifying counterfeit products online. Once notified, you can take action to have the products or company removed.

Ecommerce businesses are increasingly using AI to screen purchases for signs of credit card fraud. It does this by checking credit card information to see whether it has been reported lost or stolen. These same technologies also allow you to cross-match shipping and billing addresses. Additionally, they verify that customer IP addresses are consistent.

Inventory management tools

AI is bringing significant improvements to supply chain management and logistics. One of the main supply chain challenges for ecommerce business owners is maintaining an efficient stock of products. After all, you don’t want to overstock and lose money, but you also don’t want to understock and risk running out of product.

Predictive AI technology can provide estimates and guidance on appropriate stocking levels. It does this by analyzing a large quantity of data from many sources to predict future demand. AI can also help estimate supply chain bottlenecks ahead of time to help you avoid running into procurement issues.

“More online shoppers are turning to social commerce to find and purchase products.”

Social Media Ecommerce Trends Will Continue Gaining Momentum

AI is not the only technology impacting online shopping. More online shoppers are turning to social commerce to find and purchase products.

The rise of TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms

TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest all offer social commerce options. This new capability blends the leisurely activity of perusing social media with the act of shopping online. Many ecommerce stores that implemented TikTok Shop saw a modest boost in ecommerce sales. However, it is expected that social media ecommerce will continue to gain momentum throughout 2024.

One potential issue with social commerce is a lack of customer trust. Many people who shop on social media stores report feeling a lack of trust in products or brands. They are often concerned with scams, counterfeits, or low-quality products.

To combat this, it will be important for you to demonstrate authenticity and trust. Real customer reviews go a long way in fostering the kind of trust necessary to be successful on social media platforms.

The importance of influencer marketing for social media ecommerce

Partnering with social media influencers is important in an age of social commerce. Your influencer partners can increase brand and product visibility, instill trust, and boost sales.

TikTok Shop makes it easy for you to partner with influencers. In return for promoting your product, they get an agreed-upon percentage of sales from their promotions.

DM- and text-based customer service will become more prevalent

As social commerce becomes more widespread, shoppers seek to connect with ecommerce businesses in new ways. Because of this, direct message (DM) and text-based customer service inquiries will become more prevalent.

Online retailers will need to adjust to this new reality. If you plan to engage in social commerce, think about how you will field the increased volume of customer-service-related DMs. As a business owner, DM and text communications provide you with an opportunity to connect with your customers on a more personal level. This builds trust and goodwill and could help to increase sales.

“If you plan to engage in social commerce, think about how you will field the increased volume of customer-service-related DMs.”

Sustainability and Ethics Will Be Top of Mind for Consumers

Technological advances won’t be the only ecommerce trends to pay attention to. Changing preferences and customer behavior will also leave their mark on the field.

Customers increasingly want their online shopping experience to reflect their values. Online shoppers prefer to buy from companies that embrace sustainability and ethical considerations.

This could include ensuring your products are:

• Sustainably sourced
• Wrapped in sustainable packaging
• Delivered in a way that mitigates supply-chain-related emissions

Companies that can demonstrate a commitment to these values will be at an advantage compared to those that cannot. While this phenomenon is nothing new, many expect it to continue gaining momentum in 2024.

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Will Change How People Shop

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) tools will continue to change how people shop. These tools allow customers to “try on” products prior to purchasing in order to see how they would look. This could include viewing how a piece of art would look on your bedroom wall. Or, you could try on a shirt to get a sense of its size and fit, and more.

Those who shop online are looking for convenience. AR and VR allow them to get a better sense of the product before making a purchasing decision. Online stores that don’t implement AR or VR capabilities will be at a disadvantage. As a result, AR and VR technology is one of the top ecommerce trends to pay attention to for online business owners.

“Online stores that don’t implement AR or VR capabilities will be at a disadvantage.”

Short-Form Video Will Be Increasingly Used to Educate Customers

Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram have popularized the use of short-form videos. In a world of short attention spans, short-form video has proven to be an excellent way to engage with people across the board.

Moving forward, expect short-form video to be used increasingly outside of social media. This could be through advertisements, product videos, or explanatory videos. Fortunately, generative AI technology can help you create engaging videos in less time.

As a business owner, you must adapt to these changes. Otherwise, you risk getting left behind.

Customers Will Favor Products with Shorter Delivery Times

As logistics and shipping infrastructure have improved, delivery times have become shorter. This is one of many ecommerce trends expected to continue and gain momentum in 2024.

In the future, same-day delivery will make up a larger percentage of ecommerce orders. Ecommerce stores face pressure in same-day delivery from courier services such as DoorDash. These services can pick up popular products at brick-and-mortar stores. Then, they deliver them to the buyer.

Amazon and other big online retailers are also expanding same-day delivery in certain urban markets. This is often made possible by forward deployment centers. These smaller warehouses store goods closer to the end shopper. The closer the product is to the end user, the faster the delivery times.

If you don’t sell on Amazon, be sure to assess whether your delivery times are staying competitive with other ecommerce brands. Consider investing to shorten delivery times if you’re not competitive. It might also be a good idea to shop around for reputable 3PL providers. Choose 3PL partners who can accommodate rapid delivery.

Inflation Will Continue to Drive Price Sensitivity

Recent high inflation has made consumers more price-conscious when shopping. While inflation was significantly reduced in 2023, expect consumers to still be conscious of it heading into 2024.

As a business owner, your price of doing business has likely increased. This directly competes with price-conscious consumers. Unfortunately, there isn’t necessarily any easy way out of this. There are things that you can do to mitigate the damage from price increases, however.

Look for ways to provide low-cost options for your products. For example, consider offering some of your best sellers in reduced quantities for the same price. Or, provide the option to purchase a bundle of goods at a reduced rate compared to buying each individually. Looking for creative solutions to recent price increases can help you win and retain customer loyalty.

“High inflation over the past several years has made consumers more price-conscious when shopping.”

Companies Will Focus on Mobile-First Shopping Experiences

As more people shop on their mobile devices, it will become ever more important to optimize the mobile shopping experience. This is especially true in the context of the rise in social commerce.

Optimizing the mobile shopping experience could include:

• Creating a mobile-first website
• Accepting digital payments
• Allowing social media logins

Conclusion

Due to changes in technology and behavior, the ecommerce industry will see significant changes in 2024. Staying on top of these ecommerce trends can make the difference between growing sales and getting left behind.