10 Essential eCommerce Technology Trends Revolutionizing Online Retail in 2023

Are you new to the technologies shaking the e-commerce industry and want to learn about these technologies? Then come in now and discover the top e-commerce technology and their trends.

You would probably agree with me in asserting that almost no industry has remained untouched by technology. For instance, the retail industry is not an exception when it comes to leveraging technology.

Whether you've had your online business for a short while or for a long time, eCommerce technology continues to have an impact on the digital retail sector. Besides, as internet use and access spread rapidly over the world, more and more individuals are beginning to make purchases online. As of 2022, retail e-commerce sales were predicted to reach $5.7 trillion globally. But in 2023, it's projected to reach $6.3 trillion.

The e-commerce industry in 2023 is being shaped by key technology trends including the use of Chatbots and Intelligent Virtual Assistants for customer engagement, Augmented and Virtual Reality for immersive shopping experiences, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for personalized marketing, Voice Search for hands-free shopping, Social Commerce for seamless shopping experiences on social media platforms, Headless Commerce for flexible online store management, Subscription Services for personalized and convenient shopping, and a focus on Sustainable and Ethical Shopping practices in response to increasing consumer awareness. These trends are enhancing customer experiences, driving sales, and fostering competitiveness in the rapidly evolving e-commerce landscape.

In light of these emerging technologies, the ongoing switch from desktop to mobile devices and the shift in customer needs will all continue to impact the online retail industry.

So, in this article, we'll talk about certain e-commerce technological innovations and how they affect the performance of digital businesses. However, let's take a look at what eCommerce and eCommerce technology are.

Table Of Contents

What is eCommerce?

Electronic commerce, or eCommerce, is the act of using a computing device to buy or sell goods and services online or over the Internet. Electronic commerce encompasses a variety of technologies, including supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic fund transfers, and electronic data interchange (EDI). To make the finance and payment parts of business transactions easier, eCommerce also includes the interchange of data.

Online retail has expanded tremendously as a result of consumers using e-commerce sites like Alibaba, Amazon, Taoboa, and eBay on a large scale over the past couple of decades. Currently, eCommerce can be carried out on smartphones, tablets, PCs, and other smart devices. This runs in a variety of market segments. Moreover, eCommerce transactions offer almost any good or service you can think of.

When it comes down to it, electronic commerce is still one of the best and most efficient ways to conduct business. In simple terms, it is an approach to entering a market where the business may or may not have an in-person presence.

What is eCommerce Technology?

Having understood what eCommerce is, one would be tempted to ask: What then is eCommerce technology? In a sense, eCommerce technology refers to the tools, platforms, and/or software programs that allow online businesses to function and carry out transactions via the Internet.

The development of eCommerce technology has made it easier for companies to operate online. Besides, these technologies make the eCommerce process easier at every stage. It offers a seamless and fulfilling experience for both businesses and customers, from product discovery through final checkout. It is only going to grow in the years to come as more firms choose to use e-commerce platforms to improve their operations.

That is why, given the technology industry's rapid growth, eCommerce's future is more promising. The more advanced and superior the technology, the better the eCommerce processes. With that in mind, let's quickly look at some of the most recent eCommerce technology trends that are shaping online business and that you need to be aware of.

Top eCommerce Technology Trends You Should Know.

Having run down briefly on what eCommerce and eCommerce Technology are, getting yourself acquainted with the common and recent trends used will give you an edge on the blend of both. Now, without further ado, let’s take a bounce on what these trends are:

1. Chatbots

Basically, chatbots are conversational bots or artificial intelligence (AI) software that can have a natural-language discussion over text or audio. One of the most efficient methods to provide clients with service around the clock is with AI-powered live chat e-commerce systems. As such, businesses today embrace chatbot technology to save time, money, and labor.

Chatbots have evolved significantly from being used mostly in contact centers to being widely used on e-commerce websites, thanks to their high customer satisfaction rates and widespread usability. In addition to providing customer care, chatbots can be used for a variety of tasks, including product suggestions, sales automation, and much more.

25% of respondents in a Statista study from 2022 said they would be satisfied or extremely glad to speak with an AI chatbot when calling a business. As such, with the aid of eCommerce chatbots, you can easily accomplish tasks like booking a hotel room, scheduling flights, and receiving recommendations for practically anything. So, it would be wise and encouraging to use chatbots to handle a lot as an owner of an e-business with some online presence.

2. Voice Search

This is another powerful eCommerce technology that is significantly shaping the industry at large. It's interesting to note that not everyone now searches for goods and information using a computer's mouse and keyboard. Come to think of it, why type when you can search verbally?

Voice search, which is also known as voice commerce, basically involves using voice recognition technology to help users use voice commands to find and buy things online. Besides, the way that customers connect with many brands has undergone a significant change as a result of the emergence of virtual assistants like Google Assistant, Cortana, Alexa, and Siri. Over 27% of people worldwide currently use voice search on their cell phones, according to Google.

It's a smart idea to integrate a voice system with your e-commerce platform. Although voice search isn't a very new innovation, it makes sense to prepare your website for it as the number of people using technology increases. Voice commerce can be integrated into your store using tools like Velo by Wix. With a little bit of custom coding, you can even go one step further and add a voice-activated search bar to your Wix storefront.

3. Image Search Engines and AI Image Generators

Aside from the adoption of chatbots and voice search technologies, AI image generators and image search engines are also transforming e-commerce. Without the assistance of a digital artist, it is now possible to quickly generate graphics and illustrations. As such, more people are beginning to lean towards the use of AI.

However, OpenAI is where this technology has its roots, and DALL-E technology from OpenAI has thus served as a pioneer in this field. All you need to do to generate an automated image is type in some text that describes what you want to see. These pictures are suitable for marketing and advertising.

Also, Google Images happens to be one of the most widely used internet search engines. Google picture searches account for more than 22% of all queries, according to SemRush analysis. That suggests that one of the main ways for companies to succeed in e-commerce is through the use of images. As such, giving your product images descriptive titles and alternative captions helps ensure that the image's content is understood by Google search crawlers. Using this as a basis, companies can benefit by uploading a file for each item they sell on their online store.

4. AI Price Monitoring Tools

Price monitoring tools are at the forefront of this e-commerce tech revolution. Besides, competition largely affects market prices because consumers tend to spend more money. This implies that companies will make more money when a product is in high demand.

By streamlining their pricing tactics, online storefronts can better compete in the fast-paced digital market of today. As such, using AI-powered pricing monitoring tools will make it easier for you to evaluate your rates by comparing them to those of your competitors.

With the use of these tools, you can instantly detect when a competitor has changed the price of a product. Through this, you can better manage your inventory and forecast future sales. Some of these tools include Price2Spy, Minderest, Wiser Solutions, PriceManager, etc. Implementing these technologies would surely increase your conversion rates, grant you access to real-time price monitoring and optimization, and enable proper product and price matching.

5. Augment and Virtual Reality

Another technological trend that has increasingly inclined the eCommerce space is the Augment and virtual reality. Augment Reality (AR) gives customers the privilege to visualize, try on, and interact. Through augmented reality, customers can use their smartphones, PCs, or Tablet apps to visualize how a product would look in reality in a certain location. Try-on a specific product of choice virtually, like shoes, jewelry, clothes, and more. In addition to interacting with product models.

Virtual Reality (VR) just as the name implies ‘virtual’, creates an avenue in which customers can sightsee an eCommerce store as if they are present physically. Having a blend with the augment is the fact that they both work to complement each other even though they can stand alone. Virtual reality has it go on virtual showrooms, shopping environments, and virtual tours. Customers can take a stroll and explore showrooms and take a walk on retailers’ decorations virtually.

Shopify in 2022 revealed that 48% of respondents said they are interested in augmented and Virtual Reality. 38% said they used AR in 2022. The good that comes with this is not just for the convenience of the customers. It allows retailers without physical stores also to trade and make a name for themselves.

6. Product Recommendation Systems

Product recommendation systems just like virtual reality, answer its calls just like the name implies. It simply explains a strategy used in suggesting products to customers. Take, for instance, a customer who comes into your store; having quickly acquainted yourself with how they shop and their interest, you can easily recommend products for them based on their preference. However, some strategies go in line with these systems.

Some of these are collaborative filtering which has to do with the retailer recommending based on the interaction had with the customers, and content-based filtering, which simply goes by recommending based on the previous purchase choice and habit of the users. Another is the hybrid system, which is a combination of both collaborative and content-based filtering. Others include personalization which is by customer demographic, popular product, cross-selling and upselling, as well as user feedback loop. According to Barilliance, product recommendation systems, when correctly used, can boost 68% of online shopping carts and 31% of eCommerce revenues.

7. Mobile Applications

Mobile application is an obvious tool for customers, and in eCommerce trends, it is becoming the most used. As recorded by Insider Intelligence, as of 2024, over 69.9% of retail eCommerce purchases will be through mobile phones, which will further amount to $4.5 trillion.

As of today, most of the online shopping and product purchases are made using smartphones to search, place the order, and track the order. This is done by simply installing the retailer’s mobile application on your device; as such, orders can be placed from customers' preferred locations.

The flexibility of mobile applications has made online trading a good choice, and there is no going back, as it is expected to scale up. Hence, as a retailer, developing your application to enable shopping through mobile phones is anticipated going with the common trends in eCommerce.

8. Web Scraping

Web scraping is a popular trend in eCommerce. It is the technique most retailers imbed in collecting, extracting, and keeping a tab on their competitors. This can get down to monitoring the price of your competitors, extracting similar product information, designs, and more. even though this trend is not new in the online store, there are ways to engage in it ethically without purging your brand.

The right tools must be chosen to do this. That is why, if a retailer is not vast in using a web scraper, outsourcing to a reputable provider is recommended. This is because some content might be dynamic to handle, and bypassing the robotic approach can be a challenge, the data to be extracted specifically, storage data types, and how to go about them.

Additionally, the scrapped may require cleaning to do away with irrelevant data and updated versions of the information. All this, among others, calls for expertise in web scraping and even the server to be used. Data extraction is a real trend, and knowing about it keeps a retailer in line and gives you an edge. As a result, being a retailer calls for you to be aware of this trend and technology.

9. eWallet Technology

eWallet Technology, as estimated by Businesswire in 2022, is to reach $361 billion by 2030. This might be huge, but looking at how eCommerce and eCommerce technology are growing, this amount might even surpass its estimation.

Taking a road walk years before now, payment method using eWallet has become easy. According to statistics, many users prefer to shop using their Google or Apple wallets. This is because of no hiccup in transactions and the flexibility of simply sitting at their comfort to make something happen. Interestingly, some retailers even have this eWallet technology built into their app for customers to deposit in it and pay directly and hitch-freely from their platform.

Many eCommerce stores today have this means of technology, as they claim it scale up sales and boost payment and conversion rate. Interestingly, coming to think of this technology not in place years before now truly says how difficult trading online might have been. As such, this technology is yet another trend every retailer in the eCommerce space should be aware of.

10. Enterprise Resource Planning Solutions (ERP)

ERP is a well-known technology and system in eCommerce. It is used by most organizations to automate and manage their entire business processes from one place. For example, a company uses an enterprise resource planning system that can integrate the purchases, investors, orders, transactions, and even the human resources activities of a company in a single system.

With an ERP, every sector of a company can be run and accessed from a hub. What this means is that even if a company can have several sections, units, or departments that foresee its activities, without ERP, that company’s activities cannot be accessed from a central system. Hence, ERP is software that serves as a central system to access and bring together all systems in an eCommerce store and help access what runs in all other systems.

What you would come to like with this technology or system is that files can be shared among the systems. Different sections in a company can be linked together through one central hub, communicate, and share resources to uplift productivity. This can further dictate and predict the stability of a company or brand.

Benefits of E-commerce Technology

There are several benefits of eCommerce technology; some of these are:

Convenient Shopping: The benefit of eCommerce technology cuts across different types of; however, what they have in common is the fact that they simplify the shopping experience to highly convenience. With eCommerce technology, customers can easily shop, see the latest product in store, make inquiries, decline orders, and even track orders. All this can be done from their comfort zone using their smartphone, PC, or tablet.

Streamline Checkout Process: This technology has helped customers to easily and swiftly place orders and clear products from carts. The pros here are that there will be less or no cart abonnement because of ease in checkout processes and procedures. It is a slogan to some platforms that, with just a click, your order is at your doorstep. That’s how friendly this technology blends ease in online sales.

Data-Driven Insight: Gathering data is paramount in breathing the air in an online shopping space. With eCommerce technology, there is utilization of valuable data which can further give an edge to businesses and improve their strategies.

Efficient Inventory Management: Overstocking and understocking are often common mistakes in an e-commerce store. However, the advancement of this technology has given room for proper and accurate inventory tracking. As such, avoid the risk of order placement and shipping.

Centralize Data: With eCommerce technology, several data can be accessed through a central platform. Even the likes of cloud tools can be used to store data by so doing, there will be a reduction in storage space. The advantage of this is that simple videos and audio on how certain eCommerce platforms run their activities can be uploaded. Resulting in customers having the right directive on how orders can be placed, checked out, and tracked easily.

FAQs

Q. How Can I Track My Online Order Using eCommerce Technology?

Tracking your order using eCommerce Technology is straightforward. Simply log in to the application used by your retailer of preference. Go to order and click on track order. Although different platforms with how their app are designed, most times, this is a simple procedure to keep track of your order keeping to eCommerce trends.

Q. What are the Emerging Trends in e-commerce Technology?

There are several emerging trends in e-commerce Technology. Though there are more as this technology has evolved, outlined and discussed here are the most common ones. if you are a retailer, make sure to get yourself acquainted with these trends and technology to stay in line with other competitors. And also have an edge over those who have no idea about this trend.

Q. How Does eCommerce Technology Enable the Security of Online Shopping?

Knowing the world of technology is getting populated with malicious invaders, this question is an important one. There are various security measures to be employed to enable safety. The use of encryption tools can help secure fraud detection from unauthorized customers. Security measures in eCommerce store is important because of the various sensitive information of customers. This can include card or eWallet details. Any invasion of this can jeopardize the safety of the customers.

Conclusion

With the growth of online space, eCommerce store has been the go-to area for many people. This is because of the convenience it creates and easy accessibility from any location within regions and countries.

However, to boost the effectiveness of this is a blend in the technology resulting in eCommerce technology and the different trends that come with it. In this article, we have put in writing what an eCommerce store is, eCommerce technology as well as the emerging trends retailers should know about his technology.