Customer behavior, advertising, free competition. Bazaarvoice gives us its six e-commerce trends for 2020.

As consumers have more and more choices, brands must stay ahead of their competitors and hold the attention of their customers.

Bazaarvoice identifies six trends to follow in 2020 to achieve this.

Amazon in the brand spotlight

The tide is turning, and some brands are no longer selling their products via Amazon.

Why is that? Because sellers want to have a more direct and personalized relationship, creating more trust. However, Amazon does not always protect against counterfeiting, and its reputation is tarnished (treatment of Amazon employees, ultra-domination, over-consumption, etc.).

Afterward, small brands can indeed benefit from Amazon’s strike force to increase their notoriety and get off to a good start.

But if Amazon does not make an effort in 2020, more and more brands may turn away from it, for more ethical consumer practices.

Consumers waiting for dialogue

Consumers enjoy being listened to and interacting with the brand.

According to Salesforce 2019’s State of the Connected Customer report, 62% of customers expect companies to adapt to consumer behavior, and 73% of shoppers hope a brand to understand their needs and expectations.

To get a clear view of customer expectations, customer reviews of products (or more broadly user-generated content) and social networks are a powerful lever.

With this in mind, Spotify and Nike have created dedicated channels on Twitter to interact with their customers and take the pulse of what they like and dislike. This helps improve the product offering.

It’s better to bet on authenticity than on advertising.

Advertising abuses have been numerous (exaggeration, deceptions, false criticisms.), and confidence in brands is decreasing.

Currently, only 33% of buyers trust advertising and information that comes directly from a brand, and only 29% of buyers would let an influencer influence their purchase.

On the other hand, 86% of buyers trust the opinions of other consumers, often turning to them as a source of truth, and more than a third of buyers prefer to see photos of amateurs taken by real customers rather than pictures of professionals.

According to Bazaarvoice’s 2019 Shopping Experience Index, the presence of a single review on a product page can lead to a 354% increase in conversion rates, and brands that interact with UGC (User Generated Content) on top sites in their category see a 137% increase in conversion rates.

Merchants have a vested interest in posting prominent reviews on their sites, sharing consumer photos on social media, and creating in-store facilities that showcase customer testimonials.

Advertising spending is changing

With consumers skeptical of brand advertising and many shoppers spending most of their time on their phones, brands need to be more creative in the way they spend their advertising budgets.

In 2020, advertising investment will continue to shift towards search and social networks, ensuring that advertising is optimized for mobile.

The appeal of “small” brands

Many major brands and well-established retailers buy smaller ones to diversify their portfolios.

These ‘small’ brands can be more agile and innovative than more established brands that can build on older business models.

Instead of focusing on being the first to market, small companies focus on innovation or quality and use new channels to bring their products to market where they are needed.

Big brands and retailers have seen how emerging brands innovate to capture market share and how quickly their sales increase as a result.

Whether through a formal acquisition or a temporary partnership, established and emerging brands form mutually beneficial relationships.

Smaller names benefit from the recognition and resources of a larger brand, and more established companies gain influence and flexibility in their markets.

All of this is a great way to reach out to new audiences and be creative.

The importance of motive

With nearly 75% of the population owning a mobile phone and about half of the world’s population owning a smartphone, no one can deny that this is the case.

In the previous calendar year, about 63% of e-commerce purchases were made on mobile phones – this figure is expected to rise to 70% by 2020.

A mobile-optimized site with reliable information can help not only to improve online sales but also to increase in-store conversion rates.

Mobile is also an excellent opportunity for the brand to communicate with consumers.

Although about half of email users open their emails on their mobile, there is a more effective way to communicate with consumers: SMS.

9 out of 10 shoppers say they would like to hear from brands via SMS. The opening rate for branded SMS messages is 98% (compared to 22% for emails), with most words being opened and read within three minutes of receipt.

And this is only the tip of the iceberg: mobile-optimized sites, branded applications, social media shopping, etc. continue to make mobile an essential channel for consumers in 2020 and beyond.