What are you waiting for?! E-commerce trends in 2021.

2021- What will be in this year. Who knows?
Covid-19 changed e-commerce sector, consumers' buying habits. A lot of companies went online, at the same time a lot of companies went bankrupt. 2020 was really unpredictable and difficult. Who could even imagine that “lockdown” would be the most popular word in 2020? Everyone is afraid to make any forecast for 2021.

Nevertheless, we've read a lot of articles and can name the most frequently mentioned e-commerce trends for 2021.

1.Voice search
It was predicted that this voice-activated sales will reach $40 billion by 2022 (according to data from OC&C Strategy Consultants ). Nowadays it becomes more and more popular. It is a fact, that  more people are using Smart speakers and voice activated technology in their search queries. That's why it is a good idea to optimize your voice search. And do not forget about SEO changes due to it.

2. Augmented and virtual reality
It is a really new trend. However, 7% will introduce it in 2021, and 8% already use this practice (according to search node). When you do not have opportunity to look at some items offline, it is a good decision. AR/VR helps customers visualize items better and assist you with customer queries.
Remember 2 facts:
1. Sometimes people afraid of buying online: “oh, maybe it won't fit me”, or  “it may be not my color, etc”. Just help them to make a choice.
2. A few companies have such service. It is opportunity to show up. It can be your competitive advantage.
For example, Lamoda has launch such service. Its conversion rose on 8-9%

3. AI customer sourcing
Artificial intelligence is already used in e-commerce to make sales more efficient. In 2021, AI is going to be even more popular. Intelligent algorithms will analyse current trends alongside your products, sales channels, customers and consumer behaviour to identify the best channels, time and price to list your products. This will save a lot of time. You won't need to write reports, make global research and so on.

4. Chat-bots
“Hi! If you have any questions, I’m here to help.? Sound familiar? .
Chat-bots are becoming more popular. It is predicted that their growth will reach at least $1.25 billion by 2025. They are like your personal assistant. Now they provide more accurate and relevant responses. This service becomes widespread, cheaper, smarter. It is important to update them, its dialogs. 

5. New Payment Options Will Emerge
Your customer should be sure that he can use any payment method (Google Pay, Samsung or Apple Pay, PayPal and so on).
If not, he will just  go to another retailer. The scheme is simple. It is mentioned that, Cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, have many benefits for online shop owners, such as low transaction fees and no reverse transactions. In 2021, we might see more e-commerce businesses will start accepting cryptocurrencies for transactions.

To summarize, retailers always improve the conditions for consumers. This makes their expectations higher. Retailer always searches the best ways to satisfy clients -------> it creates new trends.

To summarise, the main trends are:

• Tendency to 100% business processes automation
• Collecting and updating customer databases
• Make people feel as they do shopping offline

We should eliminate all customers' doubts and make online shopping comfortable and safe.