Happy 2016! It’s time for new predictions about Canadian e-commerce trends this year. While every year has some similarities, there are also some new goodies to pop up on the online sales scene. Below are some of the expected trends that Canadian merchants should look into in the new year.
One of the biggest challenges for e-commerce merchants everywhere is the rise in fraud. While a high risk Canadian merchant account can help you combat some fraudulent issues, there are sure to be new methods later in the year to help combat these issues even further. “Click and Collect”, which is offered currently by Walmart, is growing steadily with smaller retailers. With this method, customers can shop and pay online, and pick up their goods the same day in-store. This may not be the best choice for all merchants, but if it is feasible, it is worth marketing. Client profiling – which may seem like a small invasion of privacy – can actually help you and your customers better their online shopping experience. Amazon already does this, by recommending “like” products on their homepage after a customer signs into their account. It helps you improve sales, and it helps customers find products that may peak their interests.
The simplification of the ordering process is also something that customers crave – and merchants need to invest in. It doesn’t take much change to improve a long checkout, and even the smallest change can make a huge difference. If the checkout process is too hard or long, customers may give up and abandon their online shopping cart. Also, it is projected that brands will create more original content for their websites. Whether it is created by a marketing firm for from an art-savvy employee, new graphics and content can help an online business stand out. Many think that there are only so many things that one can do with their website, which is true to a certain aspect, but content can raise your sells. For example, if you sell clothing enlist a feature for customers to send in their photos of them wearing the clothing, and add them to the website. This helps sell the goods, because stock photos usually do not show the “real” look of clothing items.
2016 is the year of change in online businesses. Whether you sell clothing or bath products or dog shampoo, there are endless ways for you to improve your online sales this year. Above are just a few of the projected trends for the year, but you can do whatever you think will help garner sales and attention for your site and goods.