We have evolved from the time when the significance of a store was determined by the advertisement in the newspaper.
Your business was elite if the store advertisement appeared in the newspapers back in the 90s. It was Gucci and Prada with their enchanting models covering sections after sections on magazines and newspapers.
Fortunately, the internet has simplified how the industry reaches out to its audience. the numerous digital marketing strategies
The concept of paparazzi dropped down as the internet or specifically social media took over the marketing and branding of the industries. Whether it’s the auto vehicle or the fashion industry, the presence on social media is essential.
Businesses should be where the people are and people are constantly on their social media accounts. On average a UAE residence spent at least 3 hours on social media sites aged between 16 to 64. Social media in 2021, is a place to interact with the favorite brands and celebrities as compared to interaction with the social circle.
So, how does the involvement of social media in consumer life influence the E-commerce business?
The Involvement of Social Media in the E-commerce Industry
Driving Traffic to the Website:
Generating traffic for the website is one of the trickiest and important tasks for marketers.
Social media platforms are no longer identifies as just a people place. For marketers, it’s the gold pound for fishing customers. Clients hire social media marketing services to establish their virtual store and bring ROI. Marketers heavily link the stores across social media platforms.
In the UAE, smartphones alone account for more than 60% of the web traffic according to a survey in 2020. There isn’t much to say other than count the times we all were directed towards anE-commerce website after viewing an organic or sponsored post on social media platforms.
Chatbots Conversations:
Private messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Facebook Messenger have become a popular way to interact with the customers and send the product promotion if the business account has interacted with the user before as well.
We all remember the beginning of the chatbots, where the response was absolutely limited and almost the same for everything we asked. Today the AI technology can simulate real consideration including answering queries about products, offer recommendations and resolve customer complaints. The AI ability to evaluate and learn from the customer behaviours such as purchase patterns and preferences allows the brands to deliver a personalized content experience. The AI chatbots have shortened response times, enhanced customer service, and streamlined product purchases.
64% of the agency were able to handle the more important task with the help of chatbots. The feature significantly affects how the customer service of a particular e-commerce business is viewed.
Influencer marketing:
E-commerce is heavily influenced by influencer marketing. In the beginning, the trend was about celebrities being ambassadors for the big names or introducing their independent product/service-based business.
Influencer marketing is now in favor of those who have a dedicated social following and are viewed as experts within their niche and endorse products and brands. This form of marketing influences the e-commerce industry because one or so review would completely divert the traffic to a new business.
Social Media inbuilt Stores:
In 2012 Facebook introduced a feature collection that allowed the users to browse through a range of collections, save or collect the product via the website. With a little innovation, in 2014 facebook introduced another system to directly purchase from the Facebook market.
Keeping a close eye on the competition, twitter followed the trend and in September introduced a similar feature. Unfortunately, Twitter wasn’t the platform people would buy from and they disbanded/ discontinued the button in 2016.
It took a while for the audience to pick up the feature and turn it into a trend. Facebook and Instagram stores are doing relatively great. Snapchat has recently joined the competition with the swipe-up feature. Simultaneously, during the covid19 shutdown, LinkedIn rolled out new features for e-commerce businesses. LinkedIn joined the competition and made it tougher with the new features that would aid the business of all sizes.
With the two giant social platforms now in the competition, it is expected to heavily influence the e-commerce industry.
Marketing with Augmented Reality:
Today, one product has several variations available in the market. Even if you come up with a new idea within six months, there would be a variation. That’s how trends come into existence and the market gets competitive.
Now that we have variations of a product, how does the customer decide where to shop from? This is where AR or augmented reality became a social media trend. The companies would allow you to try products such as accessories and apparel via uploading your selfie/ photo or via using the live camera.
Maybelline, a well-known cosmetic brand, allows users to check the lip shade via a live camera as the colour varies depending on the natural tone of the lips. A similar idea has been implemented across brands.
So now, which brand will the audience go to? the brand with AR experience or a regular brand with a regular display of the products?
You guessed it right! A brand with a more personalized experience will attract customers.
These are just the few present trends influencing the e-commerce market. With annual trends next year, we will receive new estimates.
