This year, for the second time, the Latvian e-commerce annual award “E-commerce star 2022” is taking place, within the framework of which an international jury will evaluate and determine the best Latvian e-shops in various categories. At the same time, in order to promote the development of any e-commerce company, industry professionals participate in educational discussions and negotiations, analyzing the current situation, as well as researching current industry trends in Latvia and the world.
Beāte Krauze-Čebotare, Head of Omniva in Latvia, Mārtiņš Bērziņš, Head of Digital Experience Development at Citadele, Ilze Saulīte, Director of Personal Services at LMT, Juris Šleiers, Head of PR at Rimi, Jurijs Ivanovs, Co-Founder of Joom, took part in the discussion. Httpool “Meta customer partner Ričards Roziņš,” Gemius “PR and marketing specialist in Latvia and Estonia Katrīna Zvirbule,” Mozello “manager Kārlis Blūmentāls,” TestDevLab “availability testing department manager Elīna Šiškeviča,” Element Digital “manager Arnis Jēkabsons. The discussion was moderated by Jānis Palkavnieks.
According to the organizers of the event “The Postedia”, experts highlight seven key trends in e-commerce this year.
- Normalization of e-commerce
Online shopping is becoming a steady habit, becoming a regular part of everyday life. Data from the Gemius survey also show that the number of e-shop customers has remained high for the second year in a row, with 84% of people shopping online in the last six months, and more than half (53%) expecting their internet spending to increase.
At the same time, businesses have become aware of the need for Internet commerce and, according to a study by Citadele Bank and research agency Norstat on business investment in digital and e-commerce tools, 41% of businesses have already developed a digital solution.
- Digital skills are developing
Experts point out that users are improving their digital skills and becoming more knowledgeable, as evidenced, for example, by the increasing use of various authorization and signing tools by customers, such as Smart IDs and e-signatures, which make it faster and easier to purchase or perform services. transactions that would otherwise only be possible in person.
- Quality, not quantity
Although e-commerce is still evolving, the growth of new e-shops is no longer as rapid as in the early stages of the pandemic. Experts emphasize that currently the fastest development is in terms of quality. The main task of entrepreneurs today is to expand the functionality of their e-shops, make it more accessible by developing automation and integration with various systems.
- Subscription service
The subscripton model is becoming more and more popular. If the service itself is not an innovation, then it is now being used in a wide variety of segments, allowing consumers to automate everyday purchases, such as subscribing to hygiene products, coffee filters, educational materials for children, etc. In the future, it is expected that such services will be increasingly adapted to the pace of consumer consumption, including the introduction of supplies, for example in food chains, ensuring a regular supply of coffee.
- Focus on accessibility
Accessibility in e-commerce is one of European Union regulation requirements, experts shall indicate. Namely, the goal is to make e-shops easy for everyone to use. At the same time, it is in the interests of the merchants themselves – to ensure that the potential buyer can easily enter the store, including the Internet environment, and find the product they need. Experts point out that elements such as screen readers, adequate contrast, focus, etc. must be provided.
- Sustainable solutions
Ecological thinking is becoming more and more popular not only in everyday life, for example, when sorting waste, but also in business. There are various ways to improve an existing solution, and there is no need to invent anything new. Experts cite examples such as the packaging material of the goods (choose as environmentally friendly as possible), its type (easy to dispose of in waste sorting), its presence (the customer can choose whether to receive the product with or without packaging), combined deliveries. The carsharing service also helps to reduce the impact of exhaust fumes on the environment.
- The growth of social media
The use of social media as an e-commerce platform is already a recording practice for some businesses. But over the past year, the social network TikTok has seen tremendous growth around the world. TikTok’s conversion rate on the Joom platform increased from 1% to 33%, while ad placement grew from 300% to 600% per quarter. So this is one of the fastest growing channels and provides additional opportunities for businesses to reach their target audience.
The entire discussion can be listened to on the Twitter Space platform here.
The discussion on the latest trends in e-commerce took place in the framework of the “E-Commerce Star 2022” competition. Any Latvian e-shop can apply for the competition until April 8, according to their scale and field of activity. The prize fund of the competition is 20,000 euros, moreover, all finalists of the competition will receive invitations to the “Riga Comm” e-commerce conference.
Source: delfi
