Everyone around the world is hoping for a much better 2021. Last year, everything changed, almost overnight, including for many millions of businesses.
In the retail and eCommerce sectors, 2020 squeezed a decade worth of growth and change into a single year. Some companies were able to capitalise on this in a massive way, such as Amazon in Europe and the U.S.
Many smaller and mid-sized businesses were unprepared for the sudden shift to online retail. With lockdowns and other similar orders from governments, forcing shops to close, retailers needed to jump to online sales. A lot of retailers have been forced to go online, or make much more use of websites they'd already launched.
Many others, however, are still struggling with it and aren't quite where they need to be. In some exceptional circumstances, such as Primark, a clothing retailer in the UK losing around $1 billion every few months, the majority of those that didn't have eCommerce websites have now got them online.
In 2021, especially with the global pandemic continuing to affect everyone and the world economy, a BCG Consumer Sentiment survey expects eCommerce sales to exceed $5 trillion this year. Growth last year was exceptional, but now we can expect that to continue in 2021. This means that online and brick-and-mortar retailers need to be more aware of eCommerce trends, and what that means when planning marketing activities. Here are some of the most important we have identified for 2021, and what this means for eCommerce stores and brands.
Key eCommerce Trends in 2021
