One of the most memorable charts from the past year was one displaying the growth of e-commerce in the US. During three months did e-commerce grow at a pace that was equivalent to the total growth during the past ten years. The e-commerce industry is now settling into a new normal. 

Normal will from now on will include several new aspects to consider for companies within the e-commerce industry. Successful e-commerce will need to adapt to changes in buying behaviour, increase in demand and an increased competition in terms of profitable advertising. In addition to adapting to the new normal will e-commerce businesses also understand and manage emerging trends that might affect their business. To act on trends is understanding and insights a great first step. On the operational side is it key to ace the most important platforms, where Facebook must be considered one crucial platform to master.

Some of the most important trends for e-commerce are listed below. You can also find suggested strategies and tools which will help you stay ahead of competitors on the Facebook platforms.

E-commerce continues to grow, Facebook can enable an increased growth

The growth within e-commerce we experience  is unprecedented. Stats….

Facebook’s platforms have over the years enabled many e-commerce businesses to grow immensely. This opportunity is still available given that you use the platform smarter than your competitors.

Dynamic Product Ads (DPA) is a great format enabled by Facebook which allows you to display personalized ads to potential customers. DPA is a very popular format within e-commerce and if you don’t use it already – start today.

To build a strategy that enables you to scale and benefit from the current trends, do we suggest that you dig deeper into Facebook’s new concept for e-commerce, “Discovery Commerce”. 

Content has always been king, but now formats also become important. As users spend more and more time online have we seen a trend where users interact with, and convert at an earlier phase. Our recommendation would be to apply formats such as AR to get an earlier interaction with your customers which also can lead to conversions early in the purchase process. For one of our clients did we acheive amazing results using AR, ROAS was 78% higher than comparable cases and conversion rate was twice as high. 

Make yourself relevant for younger customers

Endless articles have been written on how the older generation has embraced e-commerce, but there are also major changes found among the behaviour for younger consumers. The trend of increased consumption via digital channels are led by younger consumers, or they are at least the once most willing to shift from physical shopping to online consumption. 67 % of younger consumers are opting to spend online which is a lift compared to last year. One of the most important aspects to consider when reaching younger consumers for shopping is social media.

A chance  to gain sales for independent and local brands. 

One effect of our increased time spent on digital channels is that consumers are now more willing to try new products and services compared to pre-covid. Almost six out of ten consumers state that they are open to shop for something from a brand they never tried before. This presents a great chance for not so known brands which many times are independent.

Instead of only focusing on branding ads, which is normal for unknown brands, we recommend to cut some corners. The pandemic has taught us that consumers are willing to act if they can relate to the brand and if the offer is attractive. By including a product image into the branding ad will brands increase their chances of a rapid conversion.   

E-commerce is still about technology

The changes in e-commerce does not only involve new consumer habits. Regulations, guidelines and technical development have an impact on the entire e-commerce landscape. The effect is that 29 % of businesses are planning to invest in new equipment and technology during 2021. Part of these investments can be traced back to development within technology, such as AI and automation, which will be key to taking care of some of the more manual and time-consuming tasks. So that brands can focus on strategy and growth.   

Facebook is doing a big job to simplify the workload for advertisers and the company’s efforts related to automation goes under the name “Power of 5”. We suggest all advertisers to better understand how they can gain time and improve their results by using Power of 5.

There are also happening things outside of Facebook’s ecosystem which has an effect on everyone that places ads inside Facebook’s ecosystem. One of the most prominent changes taking place is the fact that third party cookies will no longer be possible to use since browsers are taking a stand against data sharing. Facebook has therefore built Conversion API, a technical solution enabling you as an advertiser to use relevant information and solutions when marketing your products or services. We recommend that you already now investigate the Conversion API since implementation can take some time.