US and Canadian ecommerce experienced record growth in 2020. Based On the published statistic Q2 volume increased by 44.5% compared with the same period of last year.
In the US, coronavirus catapulted five years of growth into six months – Aaron Orendorff has summarized the current trend (1).
This momentum will continue into 2021. While a lot more spending is moving online merchants can greatly increase their online sales by implementing new marketing techniques.
5 Marketing trends to help you capture new shoppers
1. Social Commerce
Platforms like Instagram and Facebook have been equipped with “buy buttons,” which allow retailers to sell through them. Online stores have also been establishing links with social media platforms, enabling customers to make purchases through the latter.
Step 1. Make sure you’re eligible for Instagram Shopping.
- Can you answer YES to each of these questions?
- Is your business located in a supported market? (2)
- Does your business sell physical goods?
- Does it comply with our commerce policies? (3)
- Is your Instagram account a business account? (4)
- Is your account connected to a Facebook Page? (5)
Step 2. Connect to a catalog.
Next, connect your Instagram business profile to a Facebook catalog. You have two options for doing so.
- If you’re new to selling on Instagram: Follow the steps to set up a shop in Commerce Manager.
- If you already had an Instagram profile shop: You can upgrade to the new shop experience if you haven’t already.
Step 3. Sign up in the App.
Once your account and catalog are connected, go to the Instagram app to sign up for Shopping. Go to your profile’s settings, tap Business, and tap Instagram Shopping. Follow the steps to make sure everything is all good to go and to submit your account for review. Usually, the process takes a few days, but sometimes it can take longer. You can visit Shopping in Settings at any time to check your review status.
Once you’ve been approved, you will receive notifications from Instagram and complete set-up in Shopping in Settings to start tagging products in your posts and stories.
Step 4. Create your first shopping post or story.
You can feature up to five products per image or video post, and up to 20 products on multi-image posts. You can also go back and add shopping tags to old posts on your business profile.
Stories can feature one product sticker per story. And you can adjust the color and text of product stickers.
Step 5. Check out your shopping Insights.
Visit the Insights tab in your profile to see how your shopping posts and stories are performing. (6) These insights can tell you more about what your customers might want, so you can offer more relevant products.
2 . Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that uses endorsements and product mentions from influencers – individuals who have a dedicated social following and are viewed as experts within their niche. Influencer marketing works because of the high amount of trust that social influencers have built up with their following, and recommendations from them serve as a form of social proof to your brand’s potential customers.
3. Visual Commerce
When consumers cannot go to a physical store, online retailers have to give them the closest possible experience. Visual commerce is how a brand or retailer uses pictures, videos, and even virtual and augmented reality to help consumers learn about and connect with their products and brand.
- Change your default products from JPG to JPEG2000 or WebP formats to improve quality and loading speed.
- Create 360-degree images or videos of your top-selling products.
- Invest in a visual search tool to allow customers to search for products using images.
- Repurpose user-generated content on your product pages to generate interests.
4 . Consumer Connected Communication
Consumer connected communication includes any efforts that nurture collaborative conversations with consumers. When most people discuss consumer connected communication, they’re referring to a brand’s social media strategy. But you can achieve this quality engagement through forums, SMS two-way messaging, and experiential marketing campaigns.
Engaged consumers feel more connected to the brands they love. This marketing approach invites user feedback and delivers an interactive experience that consumers will enjoy. It will also nurture brand trust and seamlessly move audiences through the buyer’s journey. This communication can also be more information based using tutorial content or participating in industry forums. Brand representatives can assist members of their target audience aside from selling products to them.
5. Cross Border eCommerce Shopping
Now that online shopping is becoming the new normal, you can increase your market share by globalizing. Have you considered selling your merchandise to other countries? Have you researched the shipping and duties cost to other countries?
It might be a good idea to research the countries in closest proximity.
The average percentage of consumers who made overseas purchases by continent:
- 63.4% – Europe
- 57.9% – Asia-Pacific
- 55.5% – Africa
- 54.6%- Latin America
- 45.5% – North America.
The Cross Border Ecommerce Checklist article (7) offers an overview of tactics and steps for merchants who consider benefiting from Cross Border eCommerce Shopping
References
- 10 Ecommerce Trends for 2021: Data & 17 Experts on the Future of Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Retail in a ‘Post Acquisition’ World, https://commonthreadco.com/blogs/coachs-corner/ecommerce-trends-future
- Instagram Shopping Availability, https://help.instagram.com/321000045119159?ref=fbb_ig_shopping_setup
- Facebook Commerce Policies, https://www.facebook.com/policies/commerce
- Instagram business profile, https://www.facebook.com/business/profiles?ref=fbb_ig_shopping_setup
- Add a Facebook Page to your Instagram Business Account, https://help.instagram.com/399237934150902?ref=fbb_ig_shopping_setup
- View Account Insights on Instagram, https://help.instagram.com/1533933820244654?ref=fbb_ig_shopping_setup
- The Cross Border Ecommerce Checklist, https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/cross-border-ecommerce-checklist/
