In many ways, there has never been a better time to be running an e-commerce business. As of 2024, there are approximately 2.7 billion people who shop online worldwide, which amounts to around 33.4% of the global population. What’s more, this number is expected to grow exponentially, with some projections of 2.8 billion by 2025 and over 3.5 billion by 2030.
As a result, entering that landscape has been made easier. With platforms like Shopify and Woocommerce growing in popularity, even start-up brands with a lack of experience can create beautiful competitive websites, with numerous plugins such as Shopify’s integrated sourcing tools to streamline product sourcing and Woocommerce emails to automate abandoned cart reminders.
E-Commerce During the Pandemic
The boom in the e-commerce business landscape can be attributed largely to the pandemic. Throughout 2020 and 2021, far more people began buying online due to the restrictions in place, which subsequently forced businesses to quickly adapt and shift their operations to digital platforms. This shift not only accelerated the growth of e-commerce but also fundamentally changed consumer behaviour, with many people who had previously shopped in physical stores preferring the convenience and safety that came with online shopping.
But that’s not to say it wasn’t a double-edged sword. With more and more companies moving online during the pandemic, the landscape became far more densely populated. This meant that newer companies, including start-ups, were suddenly faced with an increasingly competitive environment. Differentiation, in this way, became crucial. While the digital shift undoubtedly provided new opportunities, it also made it more challenging for businesses to stand out in the crowd, which is why digital marketing became so important.
The Role of Digital Marketing
Going into 2022, with more people shopping online, digital marketing quickly became an essential tool to cut through the noise, capture attention, and stand out from the competition. One of the key ways it helped with this was through personalisation. It wasn’t just rival companies that noticed the e-commerce landscape getting more dense, of course. It was the customers too. Every day while online, customers were getting multiple adverts that had little or nothing to do with their own personal preferences.
By leveraging customer data, however, companies could tailor their messaging and product recommendations to individuals rather than faceless customers, making their marketing feel far more relevant and engaging. Social media marketing also became a powerful tool here. Platforms like TikTok grew significantly during the pandemic, and this provided businesses with an opportunity to showcase their products in new and creative ways, while also building communities where they could interact directly with their consumers.
Complete with search engine optimisation, email marketing, and influencer collaborations, digital marketing empowered businesses to reach and engage with their ideal customers far more effectively, working to boost brand visibility in a world that was becoming increasingly difficult to be visible within.
2024 and Beyond
This has continued into 2024 and is going to continue for as long as e-commerce remains popular. But the important thing for new companies is to recognise the power of digital marketing and use it to their advantage. Looking at customer data, for instance, businesses receive so much data that they overlook. With information ranging from browsing habits to purchasing history, every business has the ability to identify patterns and preferences that enable them to offer targeted promotions, product recommendations, and tailored content, but are often too focused on easier, more generic approaches that fail to dig deeper.
Another point of differentiation can be the ongoing cybersecurity trend. Apple, for instance, has made it their mission to make cybersecurity a key part of their digital marketing campaign, with a strong emphasis on user privacy and data protection. With more people recognising the problems that we face from cybercriminals, businesses that are utilising data while also advertising the lengths they are going to protect it are excelling in 2024, and this could be a valuable tactic to engage customers and differentiate yourself from competitors.
The point is that, in order to succeed in the e-commerce landscape, you have to recognise how much competition there is, as well as what digital marketing tools and tactics are available for you to shine through. The popularity of e-commerce is here to stay, and if you recognise the role digital marketing can have in your growth, then the likelihood is, so are you.