Global e-commerce trends in 2024

Dhari AlAbdulhadi: An innovator and technology leader who drives global e-commerce excellence as Founder and CTO of an e-commerce company. Ubuybased in Kuwait.

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The global e-commerce market is expected to reach $6.3 trillion this year. Now one of the most important ways that businesses interact with their customers, this market can only grow.

The purpose of this trend briefing is to provide businesses with a picture of what consumers around the world want and expect from their e-commerce experiences in 2024 and beyond.

Mobile shopping

Customers around the world are increasingly using e-commerce via mobile devices. In many ways, China is leading the way in e-commerce and other online behaviors, setting the trends we see around the world. It has been reported that in China, more than 50% of all online purchases are made via mobile devices. In the U.S., 91% of respondents to a Pew Research survey said they had made an online purchase via mobile phone.

To prepare for the mobile world of e-commerce, retailers should optimize their sites for ease of navigation and use from a mobile device. A site originally designed for desktop use will often load slower for mobile users. Slow loading speeds are a key factor in bounce rates, where users leave after viewing just one page of your site.

Mobile UX design has a major impact on consumers, including menu navigation, adding items to a cart, and searching a site. Yet Baymard’s research found that 62% of the top-grossing US and European mobile sites have “average” UX design. Visitors who have a positive online shopping experience are more likely to stay on the site long enough to convert and make a purchase.

Live streaming e-commerce has taken off in China, with customers watching, interacting, and ultimately buying from retailers all in one app, like Taobao Live or TikTok’s equivalent Douyin. Live streaming software company Verb Technology signed a deal with Meta earlier this year. Meta was interested in using MARKET.live’s shopping integration on its social media platforms — we could soon see live streaming take on a more prominent role on Facebook and Instagram.

Personalization

Personalization continues to be a significant trend in e-commerce, albeit in new forms. The end of third-party cookies means that e-commerce personalization becomes more creative, more agile, and less based on customers’ browsing history.

With the AI buzz showing no signs of slowing down, more and more AI tools are popping up in the B2B market, sold to companies to help them improve their services. Online retailers can use tools like visual search, allowing customers to upload a screenshot of a product they’re interested in to find it on their site.

AI algorithms can also target customers with personalized product recommendations, drawing their attention to new products selected specifically for them. While this is a sensible tactic for retailers to use on their website, it can also be an omnichannel opportunity, targeting relevant customers on social media.

Dynamic pricing tools can adjust product prices based on a variety of personalized factors. These include customer shopping behavior on a retailer’s site, competitor prices for similar products, and seasonal demand for a given product. Based on all of these factors, AI tools can generate a price that is precisely optimized to appeal to individual customers.

With AI-powered tools and more advanced forms of personalization, retailers can surprise and delight their customers with optimized product recommendations, superior customer service and competitive pricing.

Flexible payment options

The most popular payment methods vary by country. If you want to appeal to a global audience of shoppers, one of the best ways to give them everything they need to choose you as a retailer is to make sure you have a range of payment options.

In addition to accepting card payments online, many successful retailers are opting to enable payments from digital wallets, one of the most well-known of which is PayPal. One of the reasons many customers choose to use digital wallets to make payments is that this method protects the privacy of their data. Digital wallets often send a randomly generated token instead of the customer’s card details to make a payment.

Digital wallets that are part of apps that support other features (such as WeChat Pay and Alipay) are popular in China. For e-commerce businesses looking to appeal to Chinese consumers, offering these payment methods will make shopping with them easy and hassle-free.

Buy Now Pay Later options have also become increasingly popular, often due to the feature allowing customers to break down the cost of a purchase into smaller payments. Different providers serve different regions, with Tabby being one of the most popular in MENA, Klarna in Europe and Affirm in the United States.

Application

E-commerce is constantly changing, and retailers can stay on top of trends by developing a solid understanding of which tactics are working globally to create positive customer experiences and high sales. Global e-commerce leaders are quickly adapting to changing customer expectations, drawing inspiration from brands in other countries. What is commonplace for brands operating in China in 2024 could be incredibly popular with customers in Europe and the US by 2025.

E-commerce shoppers, no matter where they are, want a seamless shopping experience. In addition to the trends mentioned above, there are many opportunities for online retailers to provide an even better deal. Factors to consider include delivery options. Statistics have shown that Gen Z, in particular, are less willing to pay for delivery if it takes longer than two days. Raising prices to reduce delivery costs could be one way to combat the growing preference for free and cheap shipping that retailers and market researchers are seeing.

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