E-commerce Trends in France: The Surprises of 2019!
The e-commerce trends emerging for this new year 2019 in France are mainly focused on enriching the user experience by taking advantage of technologies such as augmented and virtual reality, Progressive Web Apps, artificial intelligence and Social Selling. But what do they actually involve?…
Augmented and virtual reality at the heart of an enhanced customer experience
One of the most important e-commerce trends for 2019 is augmented and virtual reality.
Augmented reality allows shoppers to choose products by digitally integrating them into their environment: a significant advantage for consumers, who can then visualise their potential purchase.
Major brands such as Sephora, IKEA and Zara already have their own applications that help consumers test cosmetics, furniture in their homes and outfits worn by models respectively.
Here is a brief overview of the IKEA Place application in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UudV1VdFtuQ
Another technology that is also trending in 2019, and is even more immersive than the previous one, is virtual reality. It allows users to view a digitised 3D, life-size version of products directly from a retailer’s application.
According to a study conducted by Facebook, 63% of consumers surveyed would prefer to use virtual reality to shop rather than having to visit physical stores. Incredible, isn’t it?
One of the most striking examples is eBay and its “eBay Virtual Reality Department Store” application. The app offers a unique shopping experience by taking users into a virtual store, as explained in this article from the website “L’ADN”:
“Once immersed in this virtual environment, all you have to do is select the items that interest you with a simple glance. The item then moves to the foreground of the screen. To access the product pages, blink your eyes and that’s it. The technology used by eBay is called ‘Sight Search’: a new intuitive way to shop online.”
These two tools can significantly boost sales by creating new shopping experiences for consumers, who are becoming increasingly receptive to this type of approach.
In 2019, mobile remains a leading trend!
As mentioned in our previous article entitled “E-commerce continues its rapid growth in France in 2018”, mobile accounts for 20% of e-commerce purchases according to FEVAD, representing approximately €16.7 billion in revenue.
Beyond simple transactions, it is important to highlight that mobile devices are also used for shopping-related purposes, as explained in this excerpt from the BDM article:
“61% of consumers use mobile devices to track their online purchases, 57% to research a product and 52% to search for or locate stores.”
It will therefore be important to continue optimising and enriching the mobile user experience for these different uses.
Another point that should not be overlooked is search engine queries from mobile devices, which are often the starting point in the purchasing process. According to SearchEngineLand, they account for nearly 60% of all Google searches. Mobile searches have overtaken desktop searches, which is why many brands are seeking to improve the mobile experience by using a new type of mobile application: Progressive Web Apps (PWAs).
These can be described as a solution halfway between a mobile application and a mobile website, with the difference that they do not need to be downloaded from an app store. The benefit? An outstanding user experience thanks to faster loading times with almost instant display, offline use after an initial visit, and easier access with the option to add the app to the smartphone’s home screen. In short, a significantly improved user experience!
This is the case for “Trivago” and “Twitter”, both of which have adopted Progressive Web Apps to improve the user experience while also reaching emerging markets that represent a significant number of future consumers.
Artificial intelligence continues to surprise
Artificial intelligence continues to surprise, particularly with voice search through Google Assistant, which continues to develop through its integration into the new “Shopping Actions” solution, designed to make online shopping easier for customers.
You can find more information on this subject in our article “Shopping Actions: what you need to know!”.
This is a strong emerging trend that will have a significant impact on SEO in 2019.
According to a ComScore study, more than 50% of searches will be voice searches by 2020. This suggests a significant change in how search engines operate, particularly Google, which achieves some of the best results in voice search.
This trend will have a major influence on the SEO landscape, changing the way websites are optimised and designed to meet the new expectations of search engines: voice search. Brands such as Lyft and Walmart have already embraced this development and are already offering effective voice services to their customers.
Chatbots are also benefiting from “machine learning” to provide customers with more and more suggestions and help them solve their problems.
Brands such as eBay and H&M have already developed their own chatbots, providing quick and effective answers to questions that visitors may have on their e-commerce websites.
Social Selling is still going strong
Social Selling with Facebook and Instagram continues to develop innovative solutions to enrich the user experience on social networks.
Facebook allows users to use their camera to “try on” products thanks to its new augmented reality “Facebook Ads” advertising format in the News Feed, introduced during 2018.
One example of a brand that has implemented this advertising format is Michael Kors, allowing users to virtually try on sunglasses. This format appeals to more users by helping them visualise themselves with the product and significantly increases the conversion rate.
Instagram, with the “Instagram Shopping” feature introduced during 2018, allows users to click on a “tagged” product and be redirected to a product description page with a “Call-to-Action”. The objective? To allow users to purchase the product directly from the retailer’s website. This has the advantage of shortening the conversion funnel and, as a result, significantly increasing the conversion rate.
Major French brands have already tried this approach, including La Redoute, Le Slip Français, Clarins and Sephora, and have seen the effectiveness of this new channel. So why not give it a try too!
In short, what you need to remember:
2019 promises to be rich in solutions designed to offer an increasingly exceptional user experience and make it even more memorable for your visitors!
In an increasingly competitive environment with a more diverse range of offers every year, these trends should be closely monitored in order to differentiate yourself and offer consumers the very best that e-commerce has to offer.
