Topic of the week – eCommerce Key Trends in 2024
Happy Holidays everyone! As everything winds down and we all celebrate the holidays with loved ones, it is a good opportunity to look back on 2023 and the key trends within the eCommerce industry moving into 2024. From AI advancements, to automation across the entire industry and sustainability at the forefront, there is a lot to be excited for in 2024 eCommerce so let’s dive in.
Artificial Intellegince is something that you have probably heard about non-stop this year. There have been so many new developments and implementations within the eCommerce space that it has been hard to keep up. Many companies like OpenAI, Google and Bing have all released and been improving on their AI software throughout the year and many retailers and etailers have been implementing them in one way or another to better the consumer shopping experience. AI has been used by companies such as Newegg in order to summarise and display product reviews by condensing reviews into one or two words displayed by the product image. Black & Decker have been using AI to improve on page efficiency and optimization as well as writing product descriptions. Huron have used AI to automate accounting processes and ultimately save time and money while improving accuracy and efficiency. Others have been using AI to improve their customer support chat bots while others are using the technology to improve payments and authentication ultimately streamlining the whole checkout process, as well as managing the risk of fraud.
AI has seeped into every aspect of eCommerce and has now aided in the automation of online delivery and sustainable shipping options. Many companies are now trialling or implementing autonomous delivery drones into their fleets as a means of improving their sustainable practices and improving overall efficiency of the delivery process. There are a number of example but some companies working on autonomous delivery include Wing and Wingcopter, whilst other companies like Volta are working on fully electric delivery van fleets with companies like DB Schenker.
Another trend that is becoming more and more prevalent is the boom of parcel lockers and pick up points. You may have noticed the plethora of InPost or Amazon lockers popping up around you, providing a convenient place for you to pick up or even facilitate the return of your parcels. Other companies like YEEP! and DHL to name just a few, are also expanding their parcel locker fleets. Many are now reaching milestones opening up over 100,000 locker points across Europe like DHL for example and InPost who now have over 5,000 lockers across the UK.
Finally, one more trend to look out for is the increasing popularity of social commerce. Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok have made waves with their shopping platforms and marketplaces which allow both enterprise and SME retailers to open up a storefront and list their products to buy directly through the social platform. This is a great way of streamlining the process of seeing a product and being able to buy all through one platform. Integrations with different payment options as well as being able to boost ads directly through the platform are just a couple of reasons why this has become such as popular way to shop.
There are many more trends to look out for moving into 2024 but the above are just some of the ones that we think are most important to monitor and look into within your own businesses. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled in the new year as this is an exciting time within the eCommerce industry and we can’t wait to see what the future has in store.
In other news
Collect+ have released new data reports that have outlined a 45% increase in parcel traffic within the UK across Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when comparing to last years figures. From the 24th November – 3rd December, 3,178,906 parcels were processed just showing that despite economic downturn, consumers were still looking to spend more and take advantage of discounted goods across the holiday period.
eCommerce Market Stats
See some statistics relating to this week’s topics in the eCommerce market below.
Key Trends Stats
- 47% of social media users would purchase a product on social media platforms
- The top three expected AI applications are for customer service (43%), fraud detection (43%) and marketing (40%)
- 7% of drone usage was generated through delivery in 2021
*Statistics sourced from GlobalPayments, HubSpot, Statista
That’s all for this week…
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