Top e-commerce trends in 2024

E-commerce is an extremely dynamic environment, motivated by constant innovation, mainly due to the intense competition between the big players. Basically, if one store or marketplace introduces a revolutionary new feature, usually with the aim of a better shopping experience and user retention, the others must have it as soon as possible. So just one year in ecommerce can take as long as three in terms of IT development elsewhere. In other words, money from purchases is everything and everything lends itself to it. So what was and is 2024 like in the world of ecommerce, what trends are currently driving it? I'm picking out the most interesting from a consumer perspective.

AI. And personalization. Again?

Haven't you had enough AI? Don't you see that acronym on almost every corner? Could be. But the reality is that AI, especially when coupled with personalization, has been one of the very key drivers of ecommerce over the last two years.

We've become accustomed to being able to completely personalize products on individual ecommerce pages according to each user's individual preferences, thanks to advanced algorithms like machine learning, such as those used by our Zoe.ai tool. Well, that's, let's say, the market benchmark today.

But did you know that, for example, smart search or its whisperer can work in a similar way? Or even a product listing, i.e. a search results page? It doesn't have to be products ranked only according to the relevance of a given search query, but just again according to your individual preferences.

Another use for AI - and absolutely key here, it really couldn't be done without it - in the innovative but ever-expanding function of "guided selling", i.e. a very smart shopping advisor. It's not just a chatbot - it can have a sophisticated conversation with you about the weather, but in the course of the conversation it can gently or "hard" - as you set it - suggest products that you can use in the rain or when the sun is shining. By the way, Zoe.ai can do that too - type "I'm hungry" into the shopping guide, and even though you're only selling clothes, it can humorously offer you, for example, a T-shirt with a picture of a watermelon or a hot dog.

AI can also help in other disciplines, such as visual recommendation using image similarity. Looking for a polka dot swimsuit and want to see more different types? Great, from the product catalog, based on image similarity, a smart search engine will pull all swimsuits with that pattern, and rank them in a "honeycomb" where you have a selected product in the middle, and the further towards the middle you go, the more similar the products are.

The final and perhaps most recent use is in generating images and videos that can promote suitable products, or even create content generated on the spot to a specific user - i.e. personalised advertising for products we know are in their search engine.

Omnichannel rules the world, but mobile rules more

To be a successful ecommerce merchant, you need to master seamlessly transacting through different shopping channels. Whether it's a brick-and-mortar store, a mobile app, or an ecommerce store completely customized for both mobile and desktop shopping. Flyers don't fly anymore, so you're more likely to drive customers from a social network than from a mailbox outside your house.

Speaking of mobile shopping, its share is growing more and more every year. It's logical - firstly, we own more and more technologically advanced mobile phones, which are replacing the regular computer or camera, and secondly (and perhaps because of this) it's an easier and increasingly massively more widespread way of shopping. Or maybe we're just lazy. More than 50% of people of retirement age now shop by mobile phone.

Fast delivery and logistics

You order before midnight, in the morning...? I don't want to paraphrase a well-known commercial, but rather to highlight another benchmark. A few years back, delivery within a week was seen as a decent rate. Today, you're more of a slower average in three business days, and the next day is basically the new normal, at least for the bigger players. Hand in hand with this is the development of delivery boxes and conversely the decline of brick and mortar outlets, albeit perhaps external providers (such as newsagents). The box is open 24/7, and there is nothing better than going to pick up nappies at 10pm while walking the dog.

Although smart warehouses based on AI and robotics are not yet the gold standard in Czech ecommerce, the big players are already starting to get on board. This technology will become not only necessary in the next few years, but above all more accessible and thus more widespread even for smaller ecommerce stores. But we don't know what the warehousemen will do then.

Social, voice and augmented reality

On Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, it's no longer just about scrolling and skipping ads; today's trend is to use influencers to promote suitable products and, of course, ideally to buy them immediately. Interestingly, smaller e-shops are scoring points here alongside the big established players.

Not only the classic typing searches, but also the voice searches find their use in personalization. Many users already use voice search engines (e.g. Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant) to find suitable products and purchase them. Voice technologies are therefore logically on the rise and are constantly becoming more sophisticated, including possible personalisation features. So we can certainly expect to see an upsurge in this hitherto slightly overlooked technology in the coming years.

Speaking of voice, why not go one step further? Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) allow customers to "try on" products before buying, a phenomenon already familiar from fashion or furniture sales.

Resale 

Over the last few years, consumer opinion on secondhand goods has changed a lot. Second-hand shopping, once stigmatized, is now in. In fact, more than half of all consumers (52%) have bought an item second-hand in the last year and the second-hand market is expected to continue to grow.

With the growing popularity of the circular economy, brands around the world are opening their own resale shops and encouraging consumers to drop off used items, from old jeans to designer handbags to kitchen appliances. To get your piece of the pie, be strategic when entering the market. This means putting robust inventory and order management systems in place with real-time visibility and reverse logistics capabilities.