In the time when electric cars are being sent into open space and human-like robots are becoming official residents of countries, marketplace trends are changing in the blink of an eye.
New e-commerce development technologies are evolving so quickly that it is hard even to imagine how the industry will look in a decade. However, we can make confident predictions for the coming year.
We’ve researched the industry and analyzed the latest trends in web development to make this article as useful as possible. So, here we go! Let’s take a closer look at marketplace trends 2023!
Trends in marketplace development. What you have to know?
The hype around sharing economies and marketplaces started several years ago. Now, 54% of all purchases are made online, with the other half made in marketplaces.
Customers don’t just buy stuff online. Services are also a popular good to sell and buy. Think of Airbnb, Uber, and Blablacar, which have revolutionized the marketplaces industry, enabling anyone to share and earn money.
What comes first to your mind when you want to buy a new computer keyboard? Amazon!
And what about a used guitar? Ebay!
A beautiful hand-made rug? Etsy!
As you can see, most of these categories already have clear leaders that are hard to beat. Does this mean your marketplace idea doesn’t have any chance? Certainly not! You just have to work a bit harder, offer something exclusive, and charm the customer! The online marketplace trends we discuss further will give you a nice place to start!
Voice commerce and smart speaker integration
50 million Americans have already upgraded their households with voice-controlled smart speakers. New devices like these are commonly used for entertainment, education, and online shopping, of course. The market of personal voice assistants will grow rapidly in the near future, and, as a result, voice commerce will become a 2023 marketplaces trends.
Enable voice search and navigation on your online marketplace ASAP.
Competition among voice apps is currently relatively low. Consider this to be a chance to win a significant market segment with less effort!
Also, consider developing your own smart speaker skill. This will take you one step closer to a new but more engaged audience!
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AI-powered chatbots
Chatbots aren’t a novelty to marketplace projects. However, usually, they aren’t much help due to having poor architecture. Most customer queries are misunderstood, and as a result, a lot of purchases just don’t take place.
AI chatbots are another story.
Due to powerful artificial intelligence algorithms, a chatbot can process queries just like the human brain does, analyzing them and learning with each question and answer.
As a result, they constantly improve and become more helpful.
Predictions are that 85% of online transactions will happen without human assistance in 2020. AI chatbots will take over this job. The sooner you start to work with a chatbot in your online marketplace, the smarter it will become over time. As a result, it will take over customer assistance across your e-commerce project.
Augmented and virtual reality
The main reason many people still don’t trust online shopping is the fact that they can’t touch, smell and or try out the service or good before purchasing. Augmented and virtual reality are eliminating this problem.
IKEA was the pioneer in this niche, allowing customers to virtually fit different furniture in their spaces.
Other companies have realized the potential of this technology and are enabling their customers to virtually try on clothes, jewels or cosmetics and make the best decision.
Online real estate marketplaces can offer virtual property tours so that potential buyers can experience spaces without the need to travel for long distances.
Imagine that you have to choose between two marketplaces: one provides virtual tours, the other one is a classical marketplace with photos only. What would be your choice? The answer is obvious.
You should consider employing augmented reality before your competitors!
Online marketplace web apps instead of mobile apps
Focus on web apps, and not mobile apps!
If you aren’t Amazon, Ebay, or IKEA, users are not likely to download your app just for a one-time purchase.
Instead, they are likely to browse your website from their mobile devices. So it is crucial to offer them an outstanding experience!
Focus on making your e-commerce web app responsive and adaptable to most possible screen sizes. Also, consider installable mobile apps analogs, such as progressive web applications. This technology enables you to provide native-like user experiences in mobile browser tabs. You can achieve higher performance with fewer resources.
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Mobile-friendly design
You already know that developing an e-commerce mobile application, is in most cases, a waste of time. However, you should not ignore the millions of mobile device users. You can reach them with a well-thought-out responsive design for your marketplace web app.
We are a multi-screen society, which means we often use multiple devices at the same time, including smart-TV screens, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and smartwatches - the forms and sizes may be completely different. Your marketplace website should be adapted to work on each of them equally well. You never know which device your customer will use to become acquainted with your service.
Unfortunately, if your web app fails to satisfy the needs of the potential customer, you will have no second chance.
In addition, responsive web apps are better ranked by search engines, which makes reaching new clients easier.
Efficient layout with short load times
Users are increasingly impatient and don’t want to wait more than three seconds for a website to load. Just imagine, a person had an interest in your product or service, decided to click the link, and left in a few seconds because it didn’t load fast enough. That’s a lost opportunity for you. So you should prioritize your website load speed.
There are several ways to improve your web app load time:
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Upgrade your hosting plan
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Use a content delivery network (CDN)
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Implement caching
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Reduce the number of HTTP requests
But along with technical issues, load speed problems are often caused by a too complicated design. Each element needs time to load, so the more elements you have in your sophisticated design, the longer your visitor must wait. If you use unoptimized images, the waiting time increases even more. In addition, search engines don’t like slow websites and rank them lower.
Various payment methods
The times when a credit card was the only preferred payment method are already gone. Fintech industry is developing with significant speed, and you have to make sure that you have all novelty methods covered in your online marketplace.
Apple Pay and Google Pay enable quick and secure transactions and should definitely be among your payment options.
Cryptocurrency is also a method you shouldn’t ignore. Initially, bitcoin and other of the kind were seen as a tool to quickly earn money and speculate on exchange rates. Now, digital currency is becoming a normal payment method.
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Extended personalization
Personalization is the main digital trend. Supported by AI, an online marketplace analyzes users and gathers information about their behaviors, needs, and preferences. What a user sees on their screen depends on this information.
If you were recently looking for tickets to Barcelona, the system is already aware that you are planning a trip. That’s why you will likely see suitcases or sunscreen creams at the top of your feed.
Most of the services we use every day gather information about us, enabling them to offer customized experiences. When users spot more personal offers, their loyalty increases, as well as the chance of purchase.
Implement a review system
Statistics show that reviews influence 88% of purchases. Marketplace users tend to check what other people are saying about products or services they are going to buy. What they read affects their decision.
People don’t buy directly from you, but from other individuals who are offering their products on your marketplace platform. However, if they are not satisfied with their purchase, they blame you first. So, providing them with honest reviews prevents negative experiences within your service.
Material design
One way to make your interface lightweight and trendy is by following Material Design. This is the set of rules, components and best practices Google uses for each of its products.
This approach has been commonly adopted by other product and service providers as well. Along with an efficient layout, you receive one more advantage: reduced time and expenses for your marketplace software design.
As we’ve already mentioned, many companies have chosen to implement Material Design in their products. So how can you stand out from the crowd? Try motion design!
Conclusion
Digital trends are always hard to chase. They continuously change, making your fresh marketplace design look outdated in just a few months.
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However, some marketplace development trends are definitely here to stay. Voice shift is the first that comes to our mind. This is not just a temporary movement but will be common for decades. Voice interaction is intuitive and simple, giving more people access to online shopping.
Other trends described in this article are also worth your attention. Consider them to be ideas on how to outplay your marketplace competitors by offering a unique experience!
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