Changes in eCommerce in 2021 by Lana Richards

Four months into the year 2021 and eCommerce has already been changing a great deal from previous years. As the end of lockdown approaches and shops, hospitality and services are all set to reopen. We will now let you know what changes we think will be happening in eCommerce in the rest of 2021.

Home Office and Home Security Equipment Continue to Boom

Many people are now working from home. The UK government has made a real push to get as many people as possible working from home to limit the virus’ spread. 

Now businesses are starting to ask people to come back to the office. Many find that they don’t want to or are more efficient when working from home. Home office equipment sales for online workers and indeed students has increased drastically and will continue to do so.

We are all so used to staying home that leaving might be quite mentally difficult. Innovative technology and digital home security equipment is set to increase when people begin to venture out. Be it a digital lock for their front door, a smart doorbell

alarm or a pet tracker or video camera for anxious animals used to having the whole family around. Click here for more information on how to start a technology-based business.

More Small Businesses Using Online Tools

There are a lot of people who have lost out during the pandemic financially. With a clamour for jobs and not enough to go around, there will be a vast increase in small businesses. This is both online and offline as large high street chains have gone, leaving their units available for new meat across the country.

This is a great time to set up small business help sites, graphic design, and marketing tools to assist small businesses. Take this logo design software for instance. It is free to use and simple for anyone to create a design of logo for their business. Creating and using helpful tools such as this will be very popular this year.

Many small businesses will be paying for marketing and services. Aiming services at small businesses this year is a great idea if you want to boost your online findability and popularity.

Food

Online shopping has become a massive sector of eCommerce. Many businesses will start to sell food during 2021. Not only are more customers switching to online food shopping. The government allowed businesses selling food to stay open throughout the lockdowns when they closed others like clothes and toy shops, calling them non-essential. This has meant that more offline businesses have made the switch to selling food also.

Tapping into the food-based e-commerce market now could be a great move before internet giants like Amazon get too well known. Building a local customer base and stocking fresh, ethical products could be a good move for those setting up a food delivery service in 2021.

Pets

Pet products are getting more sales online at the moment. It could be that more people have bought or rescued animals for something to do during the lockdown, or perhaps they have a more profound love for their pets after spending so much time with them. Whatever the reason, pet product sales have gone right up. For example, ‘Next’ is now running a line of pet sofas for dogs and cats.

Starting a pet product eCommerce shop can be a lucrative decision but make sure you test your products’ quality before you start selling. Customers want to trust in a business, and if you buy a pet product that instantly breaks when you get it home, you are very unlikely to shop at the same company again.

What business have you noticed that seems to be trending on your news feeds or television screens? Remember that many businesses use targeted advertising and algorithms, so you won’t always have a clear perspective of the most popular businesses. Do some research and get involved

By Lana Richards