Staying on top of trends is vital to any e-commerce business. Each trend should be carefully analyzed and adapted to fit your specific business model and customers. By ignoring trends, you could find yourself falling behind your competition. With a strong economy, consumers will continue to spend. You just need to ensure they choose to spend their discretionary income on your brand. To help you prepare, let’s explore e-commerce consumer trends for 2020.
Delivery Sales Set to Outpace Restaurant Sales
The quick service and fast-casual segment of dining are having a revolution. According to research, restaurant delivery is expected to grow at three times the rate of on-premise sales by 2023. With the ease of food delivery and third-party companies willing to accept payment and facilitate the delivery, even small restaurants can get in the game.
They also have the opportunity to take online orders themselves, but with this high demand, the necessity for a payment processing partner is apparent. Depending on third-party systems like PayPal or Stripe won’t provide the freedom or flexibility required. Additionally, it will cut away at profits.
Progressive Web Apps Will Become More Prominent for e-Commerce Companies
A progressive web app (PWA) is a mobile website that looks and provides the experience of a native mobile app. Digital giants like Twitter and Google have used PWAs for some time—now e-commerce is emulating them. With such a slick user experience including a seamless checkout process, brands make it easier to purchase from them.
PWA has the potential to drive higher sales, which means you’ll be processing more credit card payments. You’ll need a secure checkout that’s hosted by your site—not a third-party. With more sales also comes the propensity for more chargebacks. As e-commerce is often seen as a high-risk industry, partnering with a payment processor that understands the risks and can help manage chargebacks is critical for future success.
Social e-Commerce Will Grow
Social media was once just a place where brands could drive traffic to their sites for purchases. Now, it’s become a new channel to sell. Social e-commerce delivers the opportunity for consumers to make purchases directly on the platform.
This trend is especially big on Instagram, which has recently released the Checkout feature. Checkout allows shoppers to purchase without leaving Instagram. While this is great news for brands that understand how to sell socially, it also opens the door for more fraud. While you’ll want to leverage this trend, you must also be cautious about how you process payments. Working with a payment processor that specializes in helping e-commerce brands fight fraud is a smart move.
Subscription Services Will Continue to Be a Hot Commodity
There’s basically a subscription service for everything these days—fashion, beauty, meal prep, and even medication. Consumers love the convenience of these services, but most traditional banks still see the industry as high-risk due to a large number of chargebacks. Buyers sign up for a service, then forget it’s on autopay and want to cancel.
While there’s no doubt that this industry has grown and will continue to do so, it’s not always easy for subscription services to obtain merchant accounts. However, there are payment processors that specialize in helping such businesses and do so without chipping away at revenues. To be profitable in this sector, you’ll need the right payment processing partner.
e-Commerce is an ever-evolving business. Internal and external factors impact it. Technology has provided consumers more access to goods and services than ever before. To maintain a competitive edge, consider how these trends will affect your business in 2020 and beyond. That effect may be operational but most certainly will inform how you process payments. Be prepared for these trends in all aspects of your business, including reassessing your payment processing.
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