Jul 22, 20225 min read

What's Next? Peculiarities of eCommerce Business in 2023

Updated: Jun 6

The pandemic restrictions made online shopping the first and only way to satisfy consumer demand. Now, the mess is in the past, and dozens of countries open their borders again, allow people to walk without masks, and cancel COVID-19 safety measures. But something has not changed. eCommerce is and will be the primary way to get desired. Following the Shopify report, in 2022, eCommerce sales worldwide are USD 5.4 billion. In the following year, they will grow up to USD 5.9 billion.

So, what retailers should expect from 2023 to continue their commercial race? Read on to discover core trends and forecasts for the following year.

What eCommerce Players Should Expect: Top 7 Trends & Forecasts

Mobile commerce will be on edge

Mobile commerce will blossom because of its convenient approach and lightning-fast shopping experience. In 2022, eCommerce retailers are trying to set up new stores and boost existing ones with pre-integrated tools for rapid application development. They pay more attention to business development following the Composable Commerce rules decoupling frontend functionality from the backend. The market is full of software solutions that can support the Composable Commerce way: Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, and others from the backend side and Shogun, Spartacus, etc., from the frontend one.

In 2023, Progressive Web App (PWA) technology will continue to conquer the eCommerce market because of its multiplatform and native nature. Retailers strive to cut costs by receiving more benefits from software usage, and PWA seems to be one of the ways to kill two birds with one stone.

The technology race will continue

In highly-competitive conditions, retailers do all their best to provide vast services smoothly and ensure added value. Customers try new ways of shopping, including the voice one, live streaming eCommerce, AR/VR, etc. In turn, companies have to ensure uninterrupted connection, high speed & latency, and real-time data transfer. They will continue to apply 5G for this purpose, making the technology widespread and available for regular customers. On the other hand, retailers will use 5G to transform business models, build well-designed processes, and run enterprises worldwide.

The same applies to IoT technology connecting 14.4 billion devices in 2022. The technology helps businesses set up processes (inventory management, logistics, etc.) inside and create seamless communication with customers.

Last but not least, the technology that will be used in 2023 is AR/VR. We'll see much more collaborations of famous eCommerce brands with social media platforms offering to fit or try something with AR/VR. Get ready to use more apps based on this technology. The case is it allows people to eliminate the leading blocker of eCommerce - to see something with their own eyes and try it as they usually do in brick and mortar stores.

Implementation of innovations will lead to the entire digital transformation of the IT ecosystem or partial modernization of its components to create a favorable environment for proper technology performance.

Omnichannel will still be popular

A buzz around the omnichannel approach will not leave us in 2023. Following McKinsey, it will be with us at least by 2030. The case is, for now, far not all companies tailored their stores to each customer's needs. They are on the way. So, 2023 in this field will be the year of total recovery from external challenges and full focus on buyers. Companies will try to collect more personal data and process it to get more value. We should be ready to provide more customer-centric services, offers, and marketing campaigns to retain online buyers. The previous experience prepared retailers to force-majeure in this field, and there's no room for mistake.

You may also like: What Is RTCM And Why It Is Important?

Wait for the advanced approach to communications

eCommerce businesses discovered that the human touch is vital when interacting with customers. Therefore, they will tailor their contact centers to this conclusion. Retailers will apply Interactive Voice Response and bots to reduce the burden. But the main asset will still be agents.

Moreover, we should prepare for the global shift to social media and messengers. These channels are the most demanded among online buyers, so companies should provide proper customer support there.

You may also like: The Proven Way to Create a Robust Contact Center

Voice Shopping?

This new approach to daily shopping became mainstream. Following Statista, the total value of voice-activated shopping is expected to grow from around USD 5 billion in 2021 to a shocking USD 19.4 billion in 2023. People prefer this approach because of the fast performance of routine tasks.

Amazon has already launched its Alexa Voice Shopping to make purchasing easier. It allows buyers to add and remove items from their shopping list using voice commands. The software processes orders and sends them to the nearest store. It's enough to pick it up or use the delivery service.

The same services were released by Alibaba, Walmart, and other large retailers.

In 2023 this trend will become even stronger. Therefore, eCommerce businesses should create robust and highly-scalable cloud services to ensure the accessibility of this option and satisfy customers.

Supply chain issues are still here

Regarding the supply chain, the eCommerce world is still on the way to full recovery after the pandemic. But the avalanche of new challenges caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war doesn't provide retailers room for the rest. They should be ready to create robust and flexible partnerships with reliable suppliers, transform their supply chain processes and implement new ideas without risks.

Companies will apply the digital twin technology and different platforms for fast contractor selection. The JEVERA team is currently working on one of such solutions receiving a grant from the United Nations. We're building a versatile platform helping to gather businesses, volunteers, investors, and state authorities under one roof to create a well-designed ecosystem for their smooth interaction. This approach will also suit eCommerce companies depending on the supply chain. It will allow retailers to find contractors times faster and ensure uninterrupted delivery under any conditions.

More attention to data protection

Data protection requirements will become tougher every year in all countries worldwide. 2023 will be no exception. According to Shopify's The Future of Commerce Trend Report 2022, China's Personal Information Protection Law37 came into effect. Brazil began issuing penalties to violators of the country's General Data Protection Law38. So, now it's not only about CCPA and GDPR.

The widespread usage of IoT capabilities and the collection of terabytes of data make its protection complicated. Therefore, in 2023 retailers will try to solve this issue by combining technologies with compliance with data protection acts. They will create detailed data protection policies, distribute duties properly and use received sensitive information more carefully. Nobody knows what country will be the next one to implement its data protection act.

The Bottom Line

The eCommerce market remains a dynamic environment for business players. Therefore nobody knows for sure how 2023 will affect it. Meanwhile, based on accurate data and current conditions, we can conclude that among the core trends for 2023 will be the following:

mobile commerce
implementation of innovations
omnichannel approach
advanced communication
voice shopping
withstanding supply chain issues
emphasis on data protection

If you want to tailor your eCommerce software to new conditions, let us know. Our team will share its expertise and knowledge to empower your business.

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