New year, new developments: E-commerce trends 2017

It was the buzzword of 2016 - and it will continue to keep the e-commerce industry on its toes in 2017: Personalization. Personalization plays a crucial role in the marketing mix.The focus: personalizationPersonalization becomes particularly important at the point where the absolutely targeted customers encounter a completely non-personalized website through personalized advertising. In Germany in particular, this is still far too often the case and unfortunately an everyday occurrence. The task of personalization is to transform "one-size-fits-all websites" with the collected data into individual shopping and reading experiences that are individually adapted to target groups. A few examples: Why does a diabetic need to see all the products on an online pharmacy site when their behavior already tells them what they are looking for? Why is a politically interested person annoyed on a "one-size-fits-all news site" with stories about B and C-list celebrities? Why should a PlayStation 4 fan subscribe to an Xbox newsletter on a special interest site? Examples such as these will come more into focus and force website operators to address the respective target groups for their various product areas more specifically if they do not want to fall behind. The greatest need to catch up is in the B2B sector and in the financial sector - there are still huge gaps in the individualized customer journey here.Artificial intelligence and chatbots  Something else is coming more into focus: artificial intelligence systems are working better and better and will play a greater role in the future. Companies are trying to find automatic answers to their problems with the help of algorithmic products - especially in the area of personalization. Technologies that focus more on how the intentions of the customers with which they came to the site can be captured are also experiencing an upswing. The intention behind this: How can customers find products they are looking for more quickly? In addition, the inhibition threshold for communicating with artificial intelligence and electronic assistants is decreasing, especially among younger customers - Apple's Siri, for example, has long since become a natural part of everyday life. In the future, chatbots will help to make the shopping experience more pleasant and easier.Mobile devices and same-day delivery offers  Shopping on the internet with a smartphone is just as much a matter of course, as we have known for some time. So it's not a new trend, but it's still relevant and essential. In 2016, mobile traffic overtook desktop traffic for the first time. This shows how important it is to optimize mobile content. What's more, websites should not only be adapted to mobile devices, but also designed for them. Customers are also placing ever greater value on shorter delivery times. Amazon Prime and the online grocery market in particular have established same-day delivery offers, which will also become more prevalent in other product areas in the future. Delivery times and return options are increasingly becoming decisive success factors.

About the authorFrank Piotraschke is an experienced industry expert in the digital media world and has been Head of Sales DACH at Optimizely in Germany, Austria and Switzerland since November 2015, having spent the last five years at web analytics specialist AT Internet, where he was responsible for the DACH, Eastern Europe and Russia regions. Prior to that, the business graduate was Head of Business Development at AT Internet and built up the company's new location in Hamburg. He began his career as Head of Solutions and Head of the Hamburg branch at the multimedia agency Powerflasher GmbH.