[Video] Top 5 ecommerce trends on marketplaces: insights from Caroline Ohrn

The video was recorded before the COVID-19 outbreak and doesn’t include the potential impact of coronavirus on global ecommerce. However, as of now a lot of current opportunities, challenges and trends remain the same. In fact, flexibility, creativity and innovation in line with ecommerce trends are more essential than ever.

#1 ecommerce trend: niche marketplaces

Niche marketplaces tend to offer experiential and inspirational shopping experiences, similar to concept stores. This helps to build emotional connections with customers and increase brand loyalty. In contrast, shopping on ecommerce platforms, such as Amazon, is often utilitarian, resembling buying in a supermarket.

#2 ecommerce trend: advertising

Ecommerce ad spend is increasing: it rose 115% in Q3 2019 vs. Q3 2018, according to Marin Software. By the same token, Amazon and other platforms have increased the prominence of paid ads.

Finding the right mix of paid search, social media and marketplace advertising is crucial. It’s more about an effective long-term strategy rather than a short boost in sales.

#3 ecommerce trend: social shopping

Social selling attracts 45% more business opportunities. It’s a cost-effective way to capture relevant traffic as it targets social media where customers spend plenty of their time. The top brands engage in social selling: 98% on Twitter, 96% on Facebook, 85% on Instagram.

Social commerce provides opportunities to sell, but also to keep your customers engaged. After all, these days they have more time to do so while self-isolating during the coronavirus pandemic!

#4 ecommerce trend: AI & NLP for ecommerce translation

Artificial Intelligence can help with automating the ecommerce translation process by combining human knowledge and machine capabilities.

NLP is the driving force behind language translation apps, such as Google Translate. Also, Webinterpret’s translation system uses innovative NLP technology that allows machines to learn from human feedback. We summarize all product descriptions, extract all attributes and store product descriptions as structured content.

This ecommerce-optimized machine translation differs from standard translation as it’s built and trained specifically for ecommerce products in the ecommerce context.

#5 ecommerce trend: global ecommerce

The growing number of online marketplaces, buyers and cross-border purchases stimulate the growth of the ecommerce market.

According to eMarketer, 70% of online buyers have recently purchased from foreign sites. Furthermore, 80% of retailers worldwide agree that cross-border trade has been profitable or that sellers have successfully increased sales as much as 1,000% after expanding their marketplace presence.

As a result, a good sales opportunity is to test new/foreign markets, especially when paid marketing campaigns reach a plateau in your domestic/current one. What can help in such situations are less competitive markets that can offer lower CPCs and better return on advertising spend.

Most ecommerce sellers focus their sales & advertising efforts on their domestic markets only. This approach, however, limits the merchant’s sales potential considerably. Selling internationally along with a smart advertising strategy is what helps sellers unlock their true sales potential.

On eBay and Amazon you can sell on markets with less competition and more sales opportunities. With access to data and vast ecommerce knowledge, Webinterpret can help marketplace sellers maximize their sales on different international markets. Grow your online sales now!

Sources

• Niche Marketplaces – What Makes Them Viable?
• Channel Advisor
• Top 10 E-commerce Marketplace Development Trends 2019-2020
• The Future of Ecommerce: Trends and Insights for 2020
• 10 Remarkable Digital And Social Selling Facts