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The world of eCommerce is continuously evolving thanks to technological advancements. Over the past 10 years, there’s been some major changes in the way we shop online. As technology continues to develop, here we’ll look at 5 ways it is changing eCommerce.
1. Providing a more realistic shopping experience
The one thing e-Commerce initially lacked was customer experience. Browsing through images of goods is all well and good, but it doesn’t give the customer that same exciting experience of seeing, touching and physically buying the products. However, online retailers are currently working to improve online customer experience via the use of virtual reality.
Both Shopify and EBay have invested in virtual reality, with EBay offering a full virtual reality store, and Shopify giving customers a VR option. It’s only a matter of time before more stores start to adopt this exciting, personalised technology.
2. Helping brands develop a more personal relationship with customers
Consumers these days expect a highly personalised and personal relationship with the businesses they buy from. This is largely thanks to Social Media and mobile apps. Through sites such as Twitter and Facebook, customers can easily contact businesses and communicate via comments or personal messages.
Mobile apps have helped to ensure brands are never far away from their customers minds. This has really helped businesses to build up a stronger, more loyal relationship with their customers.
3. Super-speedy, more affordable secure deliveries
As the demand for online goods has grown, delivery services have also had to improve. There’s been a lot of technological developments within the shipping sector such as parcel tracking, online booking and price comparison websites.
Being able to track parcels has reduced missed deliveries, as well as the number of fraudulent claims made against businesses. A customer can no longer claim they didn’t receive the parcel thanks to clever tracking technology. Businesses can also save a lot of money on their delivery service thanks to comparison websites such as Parcel2Go.com.
4. Advanced online payments
Payment technologies have started to become much more advanced as customers look for convenient, fast ways to pay online. There are payment methods to suit everyone, even international customers. So, it’s never been easier for eCommerce stores to receive payments for their goods.
5. Giving smaller business an equal footing
Finally, one of the best changes technology has brought to eCommerce, is equality for smaller businesses. Thanks to numerous online tools, small businesses now have the opportunity to compete against larger, more established businesses. This has led to a boom in eCommerce start-ups.
Social Media has also made it easy for consumers to find lesser known brands, while cloud technology is making it easier for entrepreneurs to get their businesses off the ground.
Overall, technology is having a major impact on eCommerce. The above are just 5 ways it is impacting the sector. It isn’t over yet either – technology is continuously being improved, so it is likely the e-Commerce industry will see even bigger and better changes in the years to come.
