How to prepare your online store for 2021

Didn’t you notice the sudden boom in ecommerce businesses after COVID 19 ? Well we noticed the developments and that is why, we are going to tell you 8 ecommerce trends to get prepared to make money in 2021. But before that let’s  quickly catch up with recent statistics-

• 40% of consumers revealed that they are increasing spend on essentials like food and electronics. (Forbes)

• 59% use a smartphone to shop from hyperlocal ecommerce businesses 82% of consumers will continue to shop online even after the pandemic gets over. (Forbes)

•  93% of consumers say that online reviews influenced their purchase decisions. (Qualtrics)

• Shipping and product price are the two crucial influencers in making a purchase. (CXL)

• 37% of Online Buyers need detailed and visual product information before placing an order. (CXL)

The idea behind laying down these latest parameters is - to prep you for the coming year 2021. So that you can make the right strategy(coming in the next section) to increase your sales revenue.

What you will get in this blog?

You will get 8 proven ways to get more sales and returning customers in 2021 through your online store (+ How to apply them to your online store?)

Plus, methodic takeaways, in the end, help you in taking the right measure. 

Let’s jump in.

1. Expand Horizon with Omnichannel shopping

Don’t limit yourself to an offline store, sell through different channels i.e. online and offline. A study of 46,000 shoppers revealed that customers spend more when they have an omnichannel experience. This is where headless ecommerce comes into play which enables- 

• Front-end customization of business users 

• Incredible buying experiences across channels 

• Easy to operate User Interface 

• Simplified content production and publication

• Personalization through AR (Augmented Reality). AR gives the offline buying experience directly on your website and erases the doubts

As a result, you will see an upward trend in your sales and revenue growth. 

StoreHippo offers 250+ API touchpoints to give a personalized omnichannel buying experience. Eventually, it uplifts the customer’s loyalty towards your store and they are more likely to come to your store.

2. Embrace M-Commerce to convert mobile buyers

The Global mobile retail e-commerce sales is estimated to be valued at nearly 3.56 billion U.S. dollars by 2020 as predicted by Statista. 

This is the right time to invest in mobile-ready sites and an app. Otherwise, your competitors are going to steal your mobile users. 

With the StoreHippo platform, you can build fully functional Android and iOS apps right from the dashboard at zero additional cost. Our platform uses PWA technology which promises a fast loading website even in poor internet connection. 

3. Give plenty of payment options

In 2019, digital and mobile wallets accounted for 41.8 percent of global e-commerce payment transactions(Statista). Want more orders and less abandonment? Integrate digital wallets in your store. The next in line are credit and debit cards. Followed by bank transfers and cash on delivery. 

StoreHippo ecommerce software gives you 50+ payment gateways that include mobile wallets and other methods. International transactions support in multiple currencies is also available to reach worldwide buyers. 

4. Personalized Pricing

Best example of personalized pricing is Amazon. They show different discounts/coupons to its prime members and non-prime customers. It means that 3 different shoppers will see 3 unique prices of the same item. 

How pricing is determined? By measuring customer behavior, such as-

• Purchase history and membership benefits

• Demographics like Zip code, IP address, birthday 

• Frequency of page visits, wishlist items

• Shopping device (mobile or desktop)

Through the StoreHippo discount engine, you can adjust pricing and discounts based on customer location, device, gender, etc. You can also offer payment based discount, shipping based discount, and vendor-specific discounts to engage buyers.

5. Immersive themes

When there are countless theme options available in the market, selecting one can become a daunting task. So here is a checklist of features that you should look for in a theme- 

• Device responsive i.e. easy to load and fit any screen.

• Complete translation support 

• Drag and Drop Support

• Does not need coding knowledge

• Developer-friendly interface 

• Attractive Design

StoreHippo gives you access to 100+ customizable themes that are mobile compatible and support all of the above functionalities. 

Bonus Feature:

You can even blend the elements of two themes and can make it one. This is extremely helpful when you are intrigued by a specific element of 2 themes. 

6. Hyperlocal ecommerce

The CAGR of the international hyperlocal services market is predicted to rise at the rate of 17.9% from 2021 to 2027. 

In 2020, E-commerce companies are forming partnerships with local stores to fulfill customer’s orders when they buy essentials in heavy quantities. (source) 

StoreHippo has 300+ inbuilt features to support your hyperlocal ecommerce business. You can deliver to local customers quickly (within a day) by partnering with local vendors and creating a sub-store for specific locations. 

You can allot orders to the vendors, near to the customer location through automatic geolocation detection. Using StoreHippo software, you can add Google maps to your store where customers can even pin their location during the checkout step.

7. Business beyond borders

Want to make international customers? Want them to shop regularly from your online store? You will need multi-currency support, international logistic support, and multilingual support. 

StoreHippo ecommerce software supports 100+ global languages that automatically translate your website into any language. 

To ship globally, you can integrate with any global shipping partner of your choice. You also have the option to enable the desired currency on your store that updates automatically based on the daily currency fluctuations. 

8. Visual commerce

Psychology says, “Human beings are attracted towards images and videos V/S text”. And UGC(user-generated content) plays a vital role in attracting buyer’s attention, whether presented in videos, images, or text format. Also, 93% of customers believe UGC is helpful in buying a product. 

You can maximize conversions by laying down unfiltered customer experiences (photos, videos) in front of new buyers. 

StoreHippo lets you build visually rich product pages from your dashboard. All you have to do is create a new page. Customize the page layout by dragging and dropping the elements. Then, upload the images/videos of the product along with the explanatory text to make it conversion friendly. 

Final Takeaway

How to adopt the above trends in your ecommerce store? Here are some quick takeaways-

• Make your website mobile-friendly 

• Adopt a headless ecommerce model and break your monthly conversion charts

• Integrate popular payment facilities

• Adopt personalized pricing to increase your cash flow

• Choose a reliable, feature-rich theme

• Invest in Hyperlocal ecommerce business support for fast deliveries

• Integrate multi-currencies, payment gateways and languages to reach global audiences

• Leverage visuals, preferably videos to give an ultimate buying experience and reduce cart abandonment

Ready to skyrocket your sales in 2021? Are you missing any of the above trends which you feel can multiply your business profits? Then, go ahead and adapt to future ecommerce trends. 

Planning to launch your online store in 2021?, Signup for a 14 days free trial of StoreHippo to experience the best in class online journey for your business.