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2015 Ecommerce Predictions – US and UK
According to an eMarketer report, B2C ecommerce spend in the USA will stretch to $538.9billion in 2015 (an 11.4% increase on last year). As America holds on to its title as the largest international ecommerce market, it’s no surprise that European businesses are looking to pack up and expand to the states. To help you along, we’ve listed four tactics that every marketer should be adopting in the year ahead.
2015 US and UK Predictions
As mobile users tap away more than ever, and desktop use begins slowing down, we’re predicting big changes in marketing practises.
Social Ad Focus will grow
72% of all internet users are now active on social media (Bullas), and they’ve never been more targetable. With social ad algorithms now filtering demographic, geographic and social profiling, it’s quickly becoming one of the most affordable and efficient ways to reach your target audience.
We’ll see more Video Content
2014 saw the rise of visual content marketing with infographics spreading across magazines, blogs and social media. But with the industry rapidly progressing, it could see the focus progress to video marketing as it offers a more engaging way to grasp the consumer’s attention.
Mobile First, Desktop Second
Smartphone users worldwide will surpass 1.75 Billion in 2014 (eMarketer), and according to a recent study, 41% have made purchases using their phones (LDM Journal). With mobile traffic also set to overtake desktop in 2015, Google and Yahoo will prioritise mobile in their future strategies. It’s therefore important that you build a fast-loading, responsive site and follow mobile-friendly guidelines to improve your ranking chances and usability.
Convenience Behaviour
According to a new study our attention span is rapidly decreasing, with it currently standing at 8 seconds (1 second less than a gold fish). Along with this, a continued rise in ease-of-purchase processes such as click-and-collect, the Amazon Locker, subscriptions schemes and letterbox friendly packaging, could be hinting at consumer convenience being a progressive factor in the years to come.
To learn more about the US market, Search Laboratory has created a report which delves deeper into the stats, consumer behaviour and social media trends. You can take a look at the visual report as a PDF here.
As international trade continues to grow alongside technological advances, it’s beginning to open up large opportunities for SME’s to expand into areas that were previously unavailable. However as opportunity often harbours competition, it will be interesting to see what companies will take advantage of the American market in the years to come.
By Joseph Hill, Search Laboratory
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