eCommerce Predictions 2021

For eCommerce, 2021 predictions are exciting and challenging. That’s in large part because 2021 is a year of both promise and uncertainty. With the better-than-expected 2020 holiday season in the books, we’ve learned what lessons we think we can bring into the new year.  Now, we look ahead to what the new year may have in store for us.

Here are some eCommerce predictions in 2021 we’re looking forward to.

#1. Ecommerce sales will grow, but at a slightly slower pace in 2021. Expect to see growth in the range of 14 percent (down from 2020’s 30 percent growth). This is to be expected, as retail sales will almost certainly begin to recover as widespread vaccine availability increases. Experts do think that the trends that started in 2020 will continue, and that the sales genie will not be placed all the way back into the bottle any time soon. 

#2. Consumers will continue to shop online (even after it becomes safe to return to stores). The big question is how much? We know that habits are learned, and that once ingrained, they can be hard to break. Having learned that eCommerce is easy and convenient, with business hours that span 24-hours, we expect that consumers will have a different mix of shopping preference, and that will include expanded use of Omnichannel services.

#3 Sales will continue to boom in some industries. We expect that if consumers are stuck inside their houses for much longer, they’ll continue the trend of wanting to renovate, clean and be entertained. Health industries and home organization and improvement will likely see sales continue to soar. 

#4. B2B Sales will continue seeing growth. It was not just consumers who bought more online last year; businesses themselves did as well (for many of the same reasons that B2C consumers did). Ease of use and necessity forced many businesses to rethink the way they purchase the products they need, and there’s little to no signs of this changing any time soon. If you can expand into B2B sales, then you should really consider doing so.

#5. Amazon’s “it takes money to make money” motto will continue. With all the investments Amazon made in 2020, they’ll not going to be shy about opening the checkbook again. They’ve turned from leasing aircraft to purchasing 11 Boeing 767-300 cargo jets. The purchase will result in lower operating costs over time, and some estimates suggest their fleet could grow to 200 aircraft by 2028. This begs the question: is Amazon the world’s leading marketplace, logistics organization, or both? The answer is likely both, and there are some predictions that Amazon will successfully overtake the volume of both shipping giants UPS & FedEx by 2022.  

These are just a few of the trends we’re highlighting right now. But we look forward to continuing to offer even more insight into what could be important to your business this year.

Want to discuss your take on 2021? Please reach out – we’d love to chat!