The Growing Ecommerce Landscape in 2024 and How to Prep Your Online Store

The competitive ecommerce landscape is evolving at breakneck speed, and staying ahead of the curve requires a dynamic approach. We are seeing dramatic shifts occur in e-commerce businesses throughout the industry, from changes in consumer expectations to disruptive AI innovations; businesses must stay agile to succeed in this market.

In 2024, ecommerce is projected to become a $6.3 trillion industry, presenting a ton of opportunities for retailers to establish themselves and grow their ecommerce websites. In this post, we will explore how the ecommerce business landscape is changing in 2024 and what you need to do to be successful. We’ll also look at the benefits of integrating some key, third-party solutions into your ecommerce site and how to actually measure the effectiveness of these integrations.

Ecommerce website design is changing in 2024, and here's what you need to do to be successful

The ecommerce industry has always been a space of constant evolution, and the pace is only set to accelerate. With the anticipated growth we mentioned earlier (set to reach $6.3 trillion in 2024), ecommerce is not just growing; it's exploding. This massive growth is driven by technological advancements, changing consumer behavior, and increased competition, all of which are contributing to a rapidly evolving ecommerce sales landscape.

Staying current with these trends and technologies in a necessity for current ecommerce merchants. The ecommerce market is characterized by rapid changes and companies that fail to keep up risk falling behind and losing customers to their more innovative competitors. From AI-powered customer service to augmented reality shopping experiences, the trends shaping the world of ecommerce are diverse and transformative. Now, this is not to say that you need to rush out and redevelop your ecommerce website to support the Meta Verse. Instead, we recommend some key, foundational features that correspond with how the majority of customers are shopping online.

One key way to stay competitive amid this changing landscape is to set up your online store on a dynamic e-commerce platform such as BigCommerce. This enables you to stay agile and able to adapt to new technologies and consumer demands as they emerge without needing large-scale redesigns or redevelopments.

Additionally, businesses can stay agile by integrating third-party solutions into their own ecommerce stores and sites. These integrations can help streamline operations, enhance customer experience, and drive more sales. For example, integrating a chatbot into ecommerce design can improve customer service, while a third-party payment gateway can make transactions smoother and more secure.

However, simply integrating these solutions isn't enough. Businesses also need to monitor progress and measure the effectiveness of their integrations. This can be done through regular performance reviews, analyzing key metrics, and gathering customer feedback. By doing this, businesses can ensure their integrations are delivering value and adjust their strategies as needed.

The ecommerce landscape is set to undergo significant changes in 2024. To capitalize on the opportunities this presents, businesses need to stay current with trends and technologies, integrate third-party solutions into online stores, and measure the effectiveness of their ecommerce website and strategies. By doing this, they can stay competitive and succeed in the exciting world of ecommerce.

Here are some of the key areas to consider:

• Shopping Experience - Many customers have strict expectations when it comes to shopping online. As such, businesses need to ensure their ecommerce stores are providing a seamless and enjoyable experience for customers. This means having an easy-to-navigate website design, fast loading speeds, clear product descriptions and images, accurate customer service information, and secure payment processing options.

• Ecommerce Site Analytics - Utilizing advanced analytics can help you gain a deeper understanding of customer behavior and preferences. By analyzing customer data, you’ll be able to identify trends and patterns that will inform your business decisions. Additionally, predictive analytics allows you to anticipate the types of products customers may want in the future, as well as anticipate any potential issues or themes they may have with your products or services.

• Customer Loyalty - Customer loyalty is essential for any business to succeed. You can build customer loyalty by offering rewards and discounts, providing exceptional customer service, and following up with customers after they make a purchase. Creating an online community for your customers will also help them feel more connected to your brand and encourage them to stick around. Utilizing customer feedback surveys can provide valuable insight into the overall experience.

Our Top Add-on Solutions for Ecommerce Websites in 2024

Third-party integrations can transform great ecommerce websites and the way you do business. By partnering with reputable providers, you can access cutting-edge solutions that enhance your online store’s functionality, security, and marketing to potential customers.

Here is our list of go-to, third-party solution providers to consider adopting for your ecommerce website in 2024:

Klaviyo Email Marketing Platform

Klaviyo is a popular email marketing platform that uses automation and data analytics to drive customer engagement and revenue growth. It’s an excellent tool for creating highly personalized campaigns that target specific target audiences and segments, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Integrating your ecommerce website with Klaviyo provides segmentable email marketing that can open the door to a number of unique benefits that help you grow sales. For one, Klaviyo allows you to create personalized customer segments based on data collected from your store. This makes it easy to target emails to the right people at the right time with personalized content they’ll be more likely to engage with.

Some of our favorite revenue-driving Klaviyo uses are:

• Dynamic recently viewed products from recent site visits without checkout being started

• Next best purchase suggestions based on other consumer purchases

• Segment out churn-risk contacts to ensure better engagement

• Abandoned cart flow automation based on a cart value

Klaviyo also offers powerful A/B testing capabilities so you can test and refine your email campaigns to ensure maximum impact. You can track metrics such as open rate, click rate, and purchases made through each campaign, giving you feedback in real-time on what works or doesn’t work in your marketing strategy.

Finally, Klaviyo has a wide range of automation capabilities that allow you to automate routine tasks such as doing web pages, product pages, sending welcome emails, or cart abandonment reminders - freeing up valuable time and resources that would otherwise be spent manually managing each task. Automation also helps ensure no lead or potential sale is lost in the shuffle.

Gorgias Customer Support Platform

Gorgias is an AI-powered helpdesk solution that integrates with your ecommerce store and all your social channels (i.e., Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Phone, and SMS) to manage all customer interactions from a central dashboard. It allows you to respond to queries and resolve issues faster, leading to higher satisfaction rates and increased loyalty.

Integrating your BigCommerce website with Gorgias for customer support can provide a number of unique benefits that can help you monetize your customer support channel. One of the main benefits of this integration is an increase in customer loyalty. By providing streamlined customer support, customers are more likely to remain loyal to your brand and be willing to purchase products or services from you in the future. Additionally, customers will be more likely to leave positive reviews about their online shopping experience with your company since they have had a pleasant customer service experience.

The integration between BigCommerce and Gorgias can also help you save time and money when it comes to providing customer service. With automation tools, you can automate manual tasks such as responding to common questions quickly so that you don’t need to spend time manually answering each one. Additionally, Gorgias’s data-driven insights can help you identify which types of inquiries are common and how best to handle them so that you are able to respond efficiently while still providing great customer service.

Some of our favorite time-saving Gorgias uses are:

• Automatic VIP customer identification within support messages and online chats

• Intelligent product recommendation based on support interactions

• Discount code distribution for loyal customers who meet a set criteria (i.e., site visits, number of orders, etc.)

Finally, integrating BigCommerce with Gorgias also provides the potential to monetize your customer support channel. By leveraging Gorgias’s chatbot technology, you are able to offer helpful tips and personalized advice that encourages customers to make purchases or take specific actions that benefit your brand identity or company financially. This allows you to generate additional revenue directly from your customer service channel without needing any additional staff or resources dedicated solely towards it.

WeSupply Labs Logistics Management Solution

WeSupply is a robust returns and order tracking solution that uses automation to optimize your customer's shopping experience. It tracks shipments, generates shipping labels, and provides real-time tracking updates, reducing errors and delays. By delivering faster, you can exceed customer expectations and gain a competitive edge.

Integrating your ecommerce website with WeSupply will bring numerous unique benefits to enhance the return process and order-tracking experience for customers. Customers will be able to easily find the status of their orders in real-time, helping them better manage their expectations and reducing anxiety about where their items are in transit. The integration also creates a streamlined returns experience by automatically generating return labels and shipping instructions, making it simple for customers to quickly initiate a return without any added effort.

WeSupply’s excellent customer service tools also help improve the returns process, as customers can get assistance from knowledgeable representatives via live chat or email. Additionally, WeSupply’s intelligent analytics allow retailers to track shipments more accurately and reliably than ever before. This technological advancement helps reduce errors that can lead to customer dissatisfaction or delays in delivery time.

Overall, integrating your ecommerce site with WeSupply brings numerous benefits for an improved return process purchase online and order tracking experience. Not only does it create a seamless customer experience through automated processes and comprehensive customer service features, but it also enhances accuracy and speed of delivery through RFID capabilities. By utilizing this cutting-edge technology, retailers can ensure their customers receive high-quality images of products on time while providing an efficient and stress-free order-tracking experience.

Yotpo Customer & Product Reviews

Yotpo is an awesome review marketing platform that helps you generate user-generated content, product photos, and reviews. Integrating with your ecommerce platform enables more helpful customer feedback, user-generated product images, and ratings, driving social proof and trust.

Integrating your ecommerce website with Yotpo is a great way to scale customer reviews and increase sales. With Yotpo, you can quickly and easily collect reviews from customers and display them on your site. Improve and customize your product review experience with custom review questions and ratings that show in Google search results (improving your search engine optimization efforts). This helps build brand trust, loyalty, and credibility with customers as they can see what others have said about your business.

Additionally, Yotpo allows you to create review-based content that engages visitors and encourages them to purchase. Incentivize customers to leave reviews for products or services they’ve purchased from you with automated flows and patented direct email reviews.

Create a positive feedback loop that helps drive more sales and leads for your business in the long run. Ultimately, Yotpo is an incredible tool for scaling customer reviews and increasing sales when integrated with your ecommerce site.

How to Monitor Progress & Measure the Effectiveness of These Integrations on Your Site’s Performance

Integrating third-party solutions into your ecommerce website is just the first step. To ensure these solutions deliver the desired result you're looking for, you need to monitor their performance and measure their effectiveness regularly.

Here are some methods to help you track progress:

Analytics – Tools like Google Analytics can provide valuable insights into your site’s traffic, conversion rates, and revenue growth. Use these metrics to monitor changes in performance and measure the ROI of your web design and integrations.

Customer Feedback – Solicit customer feedback regarding their experience with your product categories' new integrations. Use their feedback to fine-tune your approach and improve your services further.

A/B Testing – Conduct A/B testing to compare the effectiveness of various integrations objectively. Use this data to optimize your approach and make data-driven decisions.

Conversion Rate – Measure and compare changes in your ecommerce website's conversion rate before and after adopting a new integration. Use this metric to determine if an integration is providing a profitable impact for your ecommerce business.

Final Thoughts on Supercharging Ecommerce Site Growth in 2024 And Beyond

Ecommerce is evolving rapidly, and businesses must stay nimble to succeed in this crowded marketplace. By investing in the right third-party solutions and implementing monitoring practices, you can drive growth, enhance customer satisfaction, and gain a competitive edge. As always, keep experimenting, testing, and optimizing your approach to unlock your ecommerce site’s full potential.

It is also important to make changes to your ecommerce website design in stages. Not everything needs or even should be done all at once. Start with the add-on that addresses your biggest deficiency. For example, if you need to drive more sales, then invest in your email marketing platform. Find that you are spending hours and hours replying to customer support messages, then invest in a customer support platform equipped with automation.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, ecommerce presents a wealth of opportunities for retailers to expand their customer base, drive revenue growth, and build lasting relationships. By embracing the latest technologies and trends in shopping online and making strategic investments in third-party solutions, you can supercharge your ecommerce operations and stay ahead of the competition. With the right approach, you’ll be well-positioned to thrive in online business in the coming years.