What if the “Harry Potter” craze had a 12-month lifespan? Or, what if Beanie Baby madness was a single season long? In the world of e-commerce and internet shopping, fads come and go lightning-fast. When something new arrives on the scene, retailers must act fast if they want to stay in the game.
So, what 2019 online shopping trends do retailers need to prepare for? Here are five that retailers need start working on now.
Socially Conscious Shoppers
Consumers have been worried about the environment for a long time, but as younger generations grow older and gain more purchasing power — and as society experiences firsthand the negative effects of global warming — the environmental impact of consumer goods is becoming more important when consumers decide to buy. Shoppers are starting to question the following:
- Is all this plastic packaging really needed?
- Was it wasteful to ship the package from so far away?
- Was this a product of slave labor?
- Is the production of this item overly burdensome on the environment?
- What are the overall environmental and social impacts of this item on society?
- Is the brand that made this product a socially accountable company?
The smartest brands have already shaped their images to be more socially responsible by offering increased transparency to their customers, which has created more consumer shopping opportunities. For example, Everlane is a fashion company that is offering a breakdown of materials used in their products and the cost of producing them. They have also pledged to use only recycled plastics in their products. Their increased sales profits are proof that the strategy is working.
Goodbye Unlimited Free Returns
It’s convenient to order ten pairs of shoes, keep the ones that fit and send back the rest for free. But the world of online consumer shopping may be saying goodbye to generous return policies in 2019. Although free returns reduce buyer uncertainty on the net, the cost of managing these returns is enormous. Some retail giants are beginning to scale back on free return perks, especially for shoppers who abuse the privilege.
In March and April 2018, Amazon kicked approximately a hundred customers off their platform after they were flagged as “serial returners” who had committed “reviewer fraud.” Home Depot, Best Buy, Victoria’s Secret and others are also rolling out punishment policies to limit abuse of their return policies.
Hello State Sales Tax Collector!
The idea of tracking state sales tax policies and figuring out exactly which sales tax to apply to every purchase was a nightmare. But improved technology and the increased Internet-awareness of state governments have empowered states to take action. On top of all that, the results of the lawsuit South Dakota vs. Wayfair mean that “the U.S. Supreme Court’s physical presence standard [that bypassed the need to collect sales tax for internet shoppers] is dead.” The decision inspired more than half of U.S. states to legislate online sales taxes in 2019. E-commerce companies will need to step up their sales-tax-collecting game or face serious tax consequences.
The Rise of Progressive Web Apps
According to Alex Russell, who invented the term “progressive web app,” these new form of smartphone applications are the fusion of a webpage and an app. They’re “responsive, connectivity-independent, app-like, fresh, safe, discoverable, re-engageable, installable, linkable web experiences,” Russell says. Essentially, they transform a mobile website into an app-like environment for smartphone users, so that no one needs to go through the trouble of downloading the app through an app store like Google Play or the Apple App Store.
PWAs load fast like a native app, can function offline, will appear as an icon in the user’s home screen, they won’t require constant updates and they can send push notifications. E-commerce companies that jump on the PWA bandwagon early will receive the benefits of giving their customers the most convenient online and mobile shopping experience available.
Product Purchases Direct on Social Media
Buying products and services through social media websites is common in China, where e-commerce and social media have gone hand in hand for years. But, until recently, the best that e-commerce companies could achieve in the United States through social media was the ability to sell advertisements that redirected customers off the platform to web stores. Analysts believe that the most popular messaging apps will also add features to make them “transactions” — i.e., consumers will buy direct through a chat app like Snapchat, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
With billions of users at their fingertips, social media websites and smartphone apps will empower e-commerce companies to skyrocket their sales into the stratosphere. Rumor has it that Instagram is building an IG Shopping App, and other platforms are also jumping onto this potential gravy train.
Start Preparing Now
This is the short list of interesting 2019 online shopping trends, but there are many more. If you’re an internet entrepreneur, you should at least consider the following questions as soon as possible:
- Do you have a return policy that doesn’t threaten your bottom line?
- Have you created a plan for collecting state sales tax?
- How will you appeal to the growing numbers of “socially conscious” consumers?
- Have you started designing a cutting-edge, user-friendly PWA?
- What’s your social media direct sales strategy?
Make sure to start planning now, before your competitors beat you to the punch!
References:
- https://www.glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-plastic-free-pledge-comes-at-a-critical-time-for-fashion-and-sustainability
- https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-bans-people-too-many-returns-2018-5
- https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report-state/2019-outlook-states-still-responding-to-wayfair
- https://www.inventiva.co.in/2018/08/07/why-i-predict-progressive-web-apps-will-change-the-game-for-digital-agencies/
- https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/4/17819766/instagram-shopping-app-e-commerce
