2016 looks set to be another great year for eCommerce with mobile looking set to take over desktop in terms of sales and brand social to become more commonplace then owned media. There is speculation that the influence of Google will fall significantly as will the impact of Black Friday on the eCommerce market. Over the past year the industry has embraced the importance of an omnichannel approach to eCommerce, with many sites now utilising mobile, beacons and physical stores in order to promote and sell their items with one consistent brand message across each channel. In the coming year, the importance of satisfying the needs of tech-savvy millennials with their tremendous purchasing power will no doubt drive much of the eCommerce marketing strategies we will see. Let’s look ahead to the trends tipped to be the most significant in the coming 12 months.
Smartphone revenue to overtake desktop
Every year there is speculation that mobile sales will inch that little bit closer to desktop and prove even more important for eCommerce site owners. Site owners are told to optimise their sites for mobile use or risk losing out on revenue. It seems that 2016 will however be the year when
Companies see revenue from smartphones overtaking revenue from desktop.
There are several factors which are influencing the increase in mobile purchases. Many eCommerce sites in the past year have been investing in mobile user experiences, ensuring that their mobile sites are effective in terms of navigation and usability, thus increasing their potential to yield sales. But what has really played a crucial part is the number of consumers now confident about buying on mobile devices. These two factors combined are bolstering mobile sales and look to set to continue to yield success for mobile throughout 2016.
Decline of Google’s influence
Gaining free search traffic via Google is fast becoming an uphill climb, with little guarantee of any tangible rewards. The chances of appearing on the organic listings are few and far between for many eCommerce sites thanks to the SERPs.
The mobile results page in particular is dominated visually by paid ads and nowadays users have to scroll even further down for organic links. It can no longer be claimed that SEO is vital for eCommerce success and brands are becoming less and less reliant on Google for traffic purely out of necessity as few can afford to pay for the constant promotion.
Major eCommerce brands are far more inclined these days to try and build and retain their audiences out-with the glare of Google. If they are successful in 2016 this will only encourage an overall shift away from google.
Brand social over owned media?
Now this could be an interesting shift in the world of eCommerce. Social media is central to most marketing programmes in eCommerce. Many brands have a hugely engaged social audience but few, apart from Nestle, have moved their main site over to a social media platform.
It’s a bold move for any company to make, but those with an engaged social audience can benefit from using primarily a social platform that comes with inbuilt mobile and search optimisation, more than just a standard web built.
These are just some of the key trends tipped to dominate marketing in eCommerce in 2016. The year ahead looks set to be an exciting one with plenty of new tools and marketing approaches available to help you boost your conversion rates.
