The Future of Online Shopping: Trends and Truehost Cart
Key Takeaways:
- Online shopping is a booming industry that is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years, reaching over $8 trillion in global sales by 2026.
- Online shopping trends are influenced by various factors, such as technological innovations, changing consumer behavior, social and environmental issues, and market competition.
- Some of the online shopping trends that will shape the future of e-commerce are video shopping, new and emerging payment options, cross-border e-commerce, omnichannel retailing, social commerce, live shopping events, voice commerce, augmented and virtual reality, personalization and customization, sustainability and ethics, and more.
- Truehost Cart is a powerful and easy-to-use e-commerce platform that allows you to create and manage your online store with minimal hassle and cost.
- Truehost Cart offers a range of features and functionalities to help you run your online store smoothly and efficiently, such as product management, inventory control, order processing, payment gateways, shipping methods, tax calculation, coupons and discounts, customer reviews, and more.
- Truehost Cart also offers a range of add-ons that you can install and use to enhance your online store and provide a better shopping experience for your customers. These add-ons include SEO tools, social media integration, email marketing, live chat, analytics, security, backup, and more.
- Truehost Cart also helps you keep up with the latest online shopping trends and adapt to the changing needs and expectations of your customers.
Online shopping is a booming industry that has revolutionized the way people buy and sell goods and services. With the advent of the internet and mobile devices, online shopping has become more accessible, convenient, and affordable for consumers around the world. Online shopping has also opened up new opportunities for businesses to reach new markets, increase sales, and improve customer satisfaction.
According to Statista1, global online sales reached nearly $5 trillion in 2021, an increase of 17.6% from the previous year. The growth of online sales was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many people to stay at home and shop online. The pandemic also changed consumer behavior and preferences, as well as accelerated digital transformation in various industries.
The future of online shopping looks bright and promising. Statista1 forecasts that global online sales will exceed $8 trillion by 2026, accounting for nearly 25% of total retail sales. However, the future of online shopping is also dynamic and uncertain. Online shopping trends are influenced by various factors, such as technological innovations, changing consumer behavior, social and environmental issues, market competition, and more.
As an online retailer or aspiring e-commerce entrepreneur, you need to be aware of the current and upcoming online shopping trends that will shape the future of e-commerce. You also need to have a reliable, affordable, and user-friendly e-commerce platform that can help you create and manage your online store with ease and convenience.
That’s where Truehost Cart comes in. Truehost Cart is a web-based e-commerce platform that is offered by Truehost Cloud2, a leading provider of web hosting, domains, VPS, dedicated servers, and cloud solutions in South Africa and beyond.
Truehost Cart allows you to create and manage your online store with minimal hassle and cost. You can choose from hundreds of beautiful and responsive themes to customize your store’s appearance. You can also add unlimited products and categories to showcase your offerings. You can also manage your inventory, orders, customers, payments, shipping, taxes, coupons, discounts, reviews, and more from a simple and intuitive dashboard.
Truehost Cart also integrates with various third-party services that you may need for your online store, such as payment gateways (PayPal3, PayFast4, Stripe, etc.), shipping methods (Aramex, DHL, FedEx, etc.), tax calculation (AvaTax, TaxJar, etc.), and more.
But that’s not all. Truehost Cart also offers a range of add-ons that you can install and use to enhance your online store and provide a better shopping experience for your customers. These add-ons are optional extensions that add extra features and functionalities to your online store. They are designed to help you optimize your store’s performance, increase your sales and conversions, improve your customer service and retention, boost your marketing and SEO efforts, protect your store from threats and disasters, and more.
In this article, we will introduce you to some of the online shopping trends that will shape the future of e-commerce and how Truehost Cart can help you keep up with them.
The Future of Online Shopping: Trends to Watch Out for
Online shopping is constantly evolving and adapting to the changing needs and expectations of customers and markets. Here are some of the online shopping trends that will shape the future of e-commerce and how Truehost Cart can help you tap into them.
Video Shopping
Video shopping is one of the online shopping trends that is gaining popularity and momentum in the e-commerce industry. Video shopping refers to the use of live or recorded videos to showcase, demonstrate, or explain products or services to potential or existing customers.
Video shopping can help online retailers to increase customer engagement, trust, and loyalty, as well as boost sales and conversions. Video shopping can also help customers to make informed and confident purchase decisions, as well as enjoy a more interactive and immersive shopping experience.
Truehost Cart can help you leverage video shopping on your online store by allowing you to embed videos on your product pages or blog posts. You can also use video hosting platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo to create and share videos about your products or services and link them to your online store.
New and Emerging Payment Options
Payment options are one of the key factors that influence customer satisfaction and retention in online shopping. Customers expect online retailers to offer a variety of payment options that are convenient, secure, and flexible.
Some of the new and emerging payment options that are becoming more popular and prevalent in online shopping are:
- Buy now, pay later (BNPL): This is a payment option that allows customers to purchase products or services online and pay for them in installments over a period of time, usually without interest or fees. BNPL can help customers to manage their cash flow, budget, and spending, as well as enjoy instant gratification. BNPL can also help online retailers to increase sales, conversions, and customer loyalty, as well as reduce cart abandonment and returns.
- Cryptocurrencies: These are digital currencies that are decentralized, encrypted, and peer-to-peer. Cryptocurrencies can offer customers more privacy, security, and transparency in online transactions, as well as lower fees and faster processing. Cryptocurrencies can also help online retailers to reach new markets, customers, and niches, as well as reduce fraud and chargebacks.
- Biometric authentication: This is a payment option that uses biometric data, such as fingerprints, facial recognition, or voice recognition, to verify the identity of customers and authorize online transactions. Biometric authentication can offer customers more convenience, security, and confidence in online payments, as well as eliminate the need for passwords or PINs. Biometric authentication can also help online retailers to reduce fraud and identity theft, as well as enhance customer trust and loyalty.
Truehost Cart can help you offer new and emerging payment options on your online store by integrating with various payment gateways that support them. For example, you can use PayFast4 to offer BNPL options such as Payflex or Mobicred. You can also use CoinGate to accept cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. You can also use Stripe to enable biometric authentication such as Apple Pay or Google Pay.
