We all know how E-commerce payments have taken the world by storm. With the onset of the pandemic, we have witnessed the emergence of several trends in the e-commerce industry. Do you know that every year, several e-commerce experts all over the world come up with their own expectations that they are going to witness in the E-commerce payments ecosystem? Of course, the expectations don’t always match reality. A reason enough to share with you the expectations vs. reality with reference to the trends in the e-commerce industry.
If you are a business professional related to the e-commerce payments industry or simply anyone interested in this field, keep reading to find out what things are expected from this niche. See, to what extent, the “reality” is different from the “expectations” of the E-commerce payments ecosystem. Gear up to come across a wide array of circumstances related to “expectations vs. reality” that may surprise you beyond belief, and pack your mind with required information.
#1: Enhanced Application Of AI or Artificial Intelligence
Expectation
To ensure consumers receive a personalized experience, it was thought that the usage of Artificial Intelligence or AI by various companies will increase exponentially. Because well, almost every company will work towards providing its customers relatable choices, recommendations and guides. It is expected that the usage of AI in various business enterprises and companies will be heightened to a great extent.
Reality:
The advent of the pandemic has triggered business enterprises and companies to make use of AI robots on a large scale. What is interesting is to know that various global brands witnessed a great percentage of sales as compared to the previous year. Let’s take an example! If we consider Amazon’s sales, you may find it hard to believe but it witnessed 40% more sales in 2020 than in the same time last year. Since people started preferring online shopping, e-commerce sites began to flourish heavily and companies all over the world were somewhat compelled to upgrade their AI aspect.
#2: Vigorous Usage Of AR or Augmented Reality
Expectation:
Customers may not ‘feel’ the product they are considering to purchase, but they are sure to perceive a real feeling as they experience visualising the item. Using AR technology can boost the sale of e-commerce companies because customers will be drawn towards getting an actual feeling of the items that are displayed on the e-commerce websites. Expectations are that 100 million more customers can be attracted to indulge in making e-commerce payments once AR technology is used by the companies. In that way, the volume of making e-commerce payments is also going to be witnessed on a large scale.
Reality:
Well, the reality, in this context, is not quite far from the expectation. Thanks to the pandemic, people all over the world have turned to online shopping and made e-commerce payments fervently. What has been observed is that the companies that were prudent enough to incorporate AR technology right before the age of pandemic witnessed more intense growth in the sales percentage.
#3: Less Volume Of E-Commerce Transactions On Occasions Like Cyber Monday & Black Friday
Expectation:
It was expected that the volume of E-commerce transactions on the special days of Cyber Monday and Black Friday will lessen to a great extent.
Reality:
The real scenario was quite different. Guess what? The sales these days were way too great. In 2020-2021, the sale got multiplied by 21.6% from the past. Customers spent as much as $9 to $10 billion on these special days. So yes, the reality, in this case, belied the expectation. And we think this is actually a great thing! Because this ultimately implies that the e-commerce payments ecosystem is going to witness insane growth.
#4: Increase In BOPIS and Curbside Sales
Expectation:
It was expected that a large number of shoppers all over the world will be going for BOPIS and curbside sales. In that way, they can enjoy the comforts of e-commerce by making online payments and then going for an offline shopping experience by picking the item from the store.
Reality:
If we consider the pandemic year of 2020, the BOPIS and curbside sales had witnessed a growth of 259%. Moreover, if we take into account the year 2021, the increase in BOPIS and curbside sales in North America has seen tremendous growth of 190%. This trend proved a major fact which is: consumers love carrying out payments to e-commerce sites in the online mode, and then go to the nearest pick-up store to bring home the item that they needed, instead of waiting for the brand to ship the product and await its delivery.
#5: Great Spurt In E-Commerce Sales
Expectation:
It was predicted that, from 2020 onwards, the growth rate of e-commerce sales and consumers making online payments will witness dramatic growth.
Reality:
People started making e-commerce payments at a higher rate due to the advent of this pandemic. To stay safe and keep viral infection at bay, consumers started going for online payments. Moreover, online shopping is hassle-free and offers great convenience to users. No wonder why it witnessed immense growth! Do you know what the most incredible fact is? As per recent statistical data, as revealed by Statista, e-commerce bagged a market value worth $469.2 billion in 2021. As you can already guess, this amount is going to increase further in 2022.
Final Words
The global community of users has realised the great benefits offered by the E-commerce Payments Ecosystem. How simple and hassle-free making payments in the online mode has become! The sector of online payments is going to witness further growth and development in this year and the next. As you can already gauge from the Expectations vs. reality trends in the e-commerce section, this realm will be witnessing great expansion in the coming days, and more so, once AR and AI is successfully incorporated into the niche of online payments by almost all the global brands. It will be exciting to see how things turn out for the e-commerce payments ecosystem, and how it reaches great milestones in the upcoming days. Gear up to come across the major breakthrough that the e-commerce payments ecosystem is going to witness.
