3 Major Predictions for Online Businesses in 2018

The year 2017 turned out to be really amazing for eCommerce sector, both financially and technologically. From better personalization through data analytics to eCommerce through social media to real-time customer support through chatbots, we came across numerous technological turning points that changed the way people perceived e-commerce. The competition has surely been cutthroat, to say the least. The fact that many eCommerce companies have turned their focus on the Asian market also shows the continental drift this industry is experiencing. Come 2018, we have three major predictions that are going to hold true. Read along…

Facebook’s Paid Advertising Will Rule

If we take a look at current trends, Facebook ads have proven to be an extremely useful marketing tool for businesses. Facebook earns more revenue through mobile advertising in comparison to desktop. The reason behind this phenomenon is simple: FB’s internet penetration has increased multifold due to mobile internet. Keeping the current pattern and user behavior in view, Facebook will be the first choice of a majority of business owners for paid advertising in 2018.

This is how Facebook is going to keep its paid advertising game in full throttle and ahead of every business in the coming months…

• Native Advertising: The best thing about native advertising is that it flows seamlessly with users’ natural journey on their Facebook account. From news feed to pages frequently visited personal interests to everything a user is doing on their Facebook account is taken into consideration. Native advertising doesn’t hinder user experience, and when done right, improves it manifold. Facebook seems to have aced its native advertising because you don’t get to make so much revenue without doing something right.
• Video Ads: The fact that Facebook has started showing ads in the middle of videos clearly shows how much response the site gets for the ads it shows. Moreover, videos have better organic reach than other advertisement tactics. This proves that in-video ads will continue to be in for FB mobile ads. Why mobile, you ask? Well, the reason is as simple as it gets, FB’s mobile advertisements deliver more revenue in comparison to desktop website advertisement.

• Dynamic Content, Rich Content and Machine Learning: The videos posted by FB users, the comments added by their friends and friends of friends, it all adds up to FB’s rich and dynamic content. When this content shakes hands with machine learning, FB is able to scan the live feeds, ads, search results and deliver the most suited results to the users. FB claims applied machine learning also helps them in keeping misleading content and spams at bay.

Also Read: Ace Your Facebook Marketing Game

Many startups and budding entrepreneurs have started using Facebook Store already. And given the pace at which its popularity is spreading its roots among masses, 2018 is going to witness the next levels of paid advertising, mastered by the social network mogul.

Delivery/Shipping is going to take the Aerial Route

Drone delivery is going to be the thing of 2018. Surprised? Or did you just shrug it off? Well, Jeff Bezos may have claimed that Amazon is going to make it happen on full-time basis soon, but AHA, the largest online shopping marketplace in Iceland has already made it happen. They tied-up with FLYTREX, an Israeli Drone Based Logistics company and have already begun the first ever drone-based online food and small goods delivery to the customers.

Our prediction may sound preposterous to many, but keep one thing in mind, Jeff Bezos is known for his aggressive approach. Amazon has already tried drone delivery in Cambridge, UK in Dec 2016, and we believe things are going to get really interesting in this particular field. We are not saying drone delivery is going to be adopted by all the business right away, but 2018 is going to be a turning point for many.

Just like marketing and advertising, shipping and delivery services are also going to leverage the benefits of Big Data, Data Analytics and Machine Learning. It will also help in improving last mile delivery, an issue that many eCommerce companies are struggling with.

B2B Ecommerce is going to make a Remarkable Change:

Till now, B2B eCommerce has been primarily focusing on transactional activities, for this is what business is all about, more transactions and more revenue, right? Nope. As a matter of fact, majority of B2B eCommerce companies had an epiphany and this is how things are going to change for good…

• User Experience Will Take the Center Stage: According to a study by Accenture, about 90% of B2B businesses across the world have stated that customer/user experience is the primary driving force among all their customers. And yet, nearly 25% of them are able to deliver a remarkable user experience. 2018 is going to be the time when offering consistent user experience across all channels, also called an omnichannel approach, will be the top priority. Take note of this trend and plan accordingly.
• Data-Data-Data: Data is what you need to extract information. Data is what eventually becomes knowledge and brings success to the business. B2B Ecommerce is going to focus on data-driven marketing and get better leads while offering amazing user experience. Only if John Wanamaker knew data-driven marketing, he would’ve known which half he wasted on advertising, and how to save it.
• Integrated Order Management: Plenty of B2B eCommerce businesses have been trying their best to have an eCommerce platform that has integrated order management. The core idea is to coordinate and synchronize customer information on real time basis. It will help businesses in meeting just in time requirements of their customers, here, other businesses. This is going to be the way B2B eCommerce businesses are going to run in 2018. The core idea will be to keep workflow cost minimum and maximum efficiency.

Also Read: Technology That Will Shape the Future of Ecommerce in 2018 and Years to Come

Conclusion

The three predictions we made above are based on the analysis of how the year 2017 and the previous two went. We recommend all eCommerce businesses to pay attention to these predictions because the coming year is going to witness even more new business and the competition will no longer revolve around how amazing your products are. We say it on the basis of the fact that having an amazing product catalog is the prerequisite, and users have already grown habitual of it. Now, it’s all about user experience, better order management, swift and awesome delivery methods and seamless data-driven marketing. Wishing you a great 2018 in advance, for now, focus on November, the month of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.