Change and innovation are two retail trends that every business can count on in 2023. Online and in-person retail is moving faster than ever. Technological innovation is leading that charge. And so are shifting consumer expectations.
Ecommerce stores need to stay on top of trends that will impact their success to get ahead of the curve. Embracing that change will help retailers thrive this year and beyond. But we know it can be hard to stay aware of trends on top of everything you have going on as a business owner.
We’ve rounded up the trends to look out for in 2023. Keep reading to get trendy!
1. A CLV business model
When it comes to gauging the success of your online store, on which metrics do you typically focus? It’s revenue and sales, isn’t it?
We thought so. Whilst these are a pretty good place to start, they don’t give you the whole picture – especially regarding your store’s future. Looking at your current sales numbers might not give you a good idea of where your business stands in the grand scheme of things.
Enter Customer Lifetime Value.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is a great tool to determine your business's present and future success. Even though it’s one of the most important metrics, it’s an often-overlooked one.
By measuring the net profit you’ll take in throughout your entire relationship with a customer, you’ll be able to narrow down exactly how valuable they are to your business.
CLV gives you crucial insight into how much money you should be spending on acquiring your customers by telling you how much value they’ll bring to your business in the long run.
Rather than just racing to keep your head above water, you’ll be able to understand which customers you should focus on and, more importantly, why you should focus on them.
CLV has three main benefits:
- It drives repeat sales and revenue: CLV uncovers the customers that spend more in your store. It helps you understand what products they enjoy and what products improve their lives. You can use CLV to track the number of sales per customer and strategise ways to increase repeat purchases
-
It boosts loyalty: The tactics you use to increase CLV can improve customer support, products, referrals, and loyalty programs, which leads to more repeat customers and a higher retention rate
-
It reduces your lifetime value to customer acquisition costs ratio: Research shows that average customer acquisition costs between $127 and $462, depending on your industry. A good LTV/CAC ratio is 3:1, which signals your sales and marketing efficiency. You can benchmark how marketing impacts customer profitability by improving your customer lifetime value
While it’s clearly an important metric, CLV calculation is complex. If you’ve tried to uncover your CLV in the past, you’ve probably found yourself knee-deep in complicated algorithms and formulas.
Thankfully, there are much simpler ways to calculate your CLV, like calling upon the powers of the team at Blend.
2. Voice-enabled Shopping Experiences
In the ten years since Google launched voice search, it has become a staple feature of almost every smart device. According to a recent survey, 35.1% of consumers use virtual and voice assistants daily. Smart speakers are also becoming more popular, with 35% of the US population owning one in 2022. These speakers are now the central control hub of smart home setups. People use voice assistants like Siri and Alexa to check the weather, play music, and shop online.
Online retailers are leveraging this trend by creating voice-enabled shopping experiences. This increases access for customers with limited mobility and allows shoppers to quickly and easily find the products and services they want without sifting through multiple pages. It’s an intuitive and hands-free way to shop that makes buying your products more effortless than ever.
3. Mobile Shopping Takeover
Just as the eCommerce industry has exploded in recent years, the rise in mobile eCommerce has also been phenomenal. Between 2016 and 2021, mobile eCommerce shopping increased from 52.4% to 72.9%.
With people increasingly spending more time on their mobile phones, there’s bound to be even more of an increased focus on mobile shopping. To prepare your business for what is ahead, align your eCommerce business with this trend by ensuring that your online store and touch points are mobile-friendly for a convenient customer experience and easy checkouts.
4. Addressing data privacy concerns
Personalisation can be a powerful way to tailor your customer experience to individuals, helping convince them to buy and boost their satisfaction and loyalty. But personalised experiences require gathering customer data; this brings us to data privacy, which has become a significant issue for many consumers.
In a recent survey, 86% of Americans said they were becoming concerned about data privacy, while 68% said they were apprehensive about the data that businesses collect.
This is an opportunity to potentially win customers over by being transparent about your company’s data practices. Let your audience know the types of data you collect and allow them to opt out if they want. This gives them agency over their data and demonstrates your company’s respect for privacy concerns.
5. AI-driven online shopping
In the eCommerce industry, artificial intelligence is proving useful in data mining, natural language processing, and machine learning.
Want to know how you can apply AI to your eCommerce business in 2023?:
- Targeted marketing and advertising: By collecting customer data, AI can help generate content and recommendations tailor-made for specific customers. It can also predict shopping behaviour based on a user’s online browsing and search history, helping optimise marketing campaigns and personalise customer experiences
- Chatbots and virtual assistants: Customers can approach staff with questions or concerns in a physical store. Online stores usually do not have this benefit, so customers do their own research or leave. AI chatbots and virtual assistants can help fill this service gap. They provide 24/7 assistance to customers; the more you use them, the better they answer questions
- Inventory management and automation: Storage space is limited, supply chains are volatile, and consumer behaviour can fluctuate. AI can help manage inventory by predicting patterns, spotting possible supply chain issues, automating packing or ordering procedures, and more. All this can help streamline inventory management and help avoid lost sales due to inventory problems
Stay ahead of your competitors
Change is a constant factor in business, especially in the eCommerce world. Coping with changes is one thing and managing the multichannel eCommerce business is another one. To remain at the top of the industry, it is essential to offer impeccable services, with which we can help. Your flawless business management is just a call away. Get in touch with us today!
