The future of e-commerce: How to invest?

2020 was a tough year for commerce. We went from an economy based on the ultra-active lives of the average 21st century citizen: highly connected, going out daily to offices and establishments for food, fashion, technology and more, passing by storefronts on the way to work or buying a book in the afternoon break, to the closure and closing of stores in almost every country in the world; especially those countries with the leading economies, such as those in Europe, the US and Asia.

In Latin America, a continent that still has an important debt with the infrastructure for communications and access to technology, the closure of face-to-face stores was an even stronger blow. Circumstances forced governments and companies to come to people’s homes instead of users going to them and people were forced to completely modify their consumption habits, because yes, we already knew about e-commerce but we had not embraced it as much as between 2020 and 2021.

How to invest in the future of e-commerce?

E-commerce leads the commerce of the present and the future. If one thing has become clear, it is that we will never be the same society as before the pandemic, and we need to adapt to that reality. 4 out of 5 consumers bought goods online and the value of this market is expected to keep growing steadily until 2025… but, with so much competition, how can we invest in e-commerce in a smart way?

The future of e-commerce: new methods of user interaction.

By now, almost all companies have basic e-commerce strategies in place: presence on social networks, websites, digital catalogs, etc. But there are still many challenges for users to achieve the same satisfaction with an online purchase as with a face-to-face purchase, especially in sectors such as makeup, personal care or clothing, which require customers to try the products to see if they meet their needs.

That’s why companies like L’oreal are working to find solutions to the obstacles at testing their products, such as web applications that allow you to “try on makeup” digitally with your camera to see how a certain color of lipstick or foundation looks on you.

These methods will make a difference in the quality of tools offered to the user to have the best shopping experience.

Also companies like Aliexpress or Amazon now offer fully automated door-to-door delivery services with robots, without a vehicle polluting the environment all day long making deliveries and without the need for direct human-to-human interaction -which is valued in times of a pandemic.

Investing in researching new ways of marketing and interacting with users to improve their shopping experience is an investment in the future of e-commerce.