Have you written your New Year’s resolutions yet?
Do you, in any way, include your e-commerce store in your New Year’s resolutions?
Well, whatever your answers to the previous questions are, think of this article as a friend who will help you pave the way for you and your e-commerce store to succeed and develop in 2024.
Every new year brings opportunities that e-commerce businesses can’t wait to dive into. However, our world is not all sunshine and rainbows; sometimes, there must be a little rain. That means that just like a new year brings opportunities that e-commerce stores must seize, it also brings challenges they can’t avoid. The year 2024 is no exception.
In this article, we will discuss the top challenges that your e-commerce business might encounter in 2024 and recommend a few tips on how to deal with these challenges. That’s what New Year’s resolutions are all about, aren’t they?
Before we delve into this, we want to remind you that New Year’s resolutions are not magic, which means figuring out what you should take care of in the new year will not magically get it done. You will have to put some effort into it.
As promised, in the following points, you will learn everything you need about e-commerce challenges in 2024. However, as we just said, there is nothing such as magic. So, merely learning about the challenges isn’t enough; you must also consider how to deal with them. Rest assured, we've got your back, offering some of the best tips to make it easier for you and your business.
If there is one word that could describe the year 2024 perfectly, it would be “uncertainty.” To be honest, this global uncertainty has been going on for quite some time now; however, it is highly likely to increase in 2024. Humanity has been overwhelmed by crisis after crisis for the past few years. Political crises have turned into economic ones and vice versa, leaving no time for anyone to catch their breath.
Every business on this earth is bound to be affected by the global economic and political situation. Yes, that even includes your little e-commerce store.
So, what kind of economic and political situation should you expect in 2024?
We should all admit that the global economy is still trying to heal from the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in 2024, this is exacerbated by several political crises in different parts of the world. So, this year, we can expect anything from inflation and economic stagnation to full-blown recession.
Tips:
It is true that, in the previous point, we discussed a dire economic situation in 2024; however, this does not contradict the fact that competitiveness in the e-commerce market will be on the rise in 2024.
Statistics show that global e-commerce sales are expected to reach over $6 trillion in 2024, as 24% of retail purchases will be online. It is also expected that the e-commerce market will grow by 10% in the upcoming years, reaching a value of $5.026 trillion in 2028. Moreover, in 2023, 2.64 billion people were shopping online; however, in 2024, this number is expected to increase to 2.71 billion (Demand Sage, 2023).
The previous statistics show that more people will shop online in 2024, which means the demand in the e-commerce market will increase. With a basic economic understanding, one can conclude that the increased demand will need an increased supply. That means more e-commerce stores will join the market, increasing competitiveness.
Tips:
You would hope that in a time of economic pressures and increasing competition keeping you on your toes, customers would ease up on you a little. However, unfortunately, that will not be the case in 2024. It is the exact opposite.
Customers today are very cautious about where and when they spend their money. They are also becoming very aware of the abundance of options available. Hence, satisfying your customers, keeping them loyal, and retaining them is becoming very challenging.
Remember that you also should be cautious about where you spend your money. You don’t want to find yourself losing money on customer acquisition costs.
Check out this article to discover the best tactics and strategies to reduce Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC).
Tips:
Speaking of customer segmentation, converted.in offers a marketing automation tool that can conduct customer segmentation without you having to exert any effort.
They always tell you how crucial it is to gather as much customer data as possible, but they don’t stress enough how critical it is to invest in the privacy of this data. Cyber security threats are one of the biggest challenges facing e-commerce stores in 2024. Unfortunately, technology is a double-edged sword.
Just like it is important to leverage technological advancements for your e-commerce store, it is equally important to mitigate the risks they can create for your business.
Research shows that Global cybercrime damage costs are expected to grow by 15% per year over the next two years, reaching $10.5 trillion annually by 2025 (Forbes, 2023). That will result in customers becoming more and more skeptical and hesitant about which e-commerce stores to share their data with and which ones to avoid.
Tips:
Many factors can cause disruptions in the global supply chain, resulting in unavoidable logistical challenges for e-commerce businesses. These factors can include natural disasters, geopolitical tensions, or economic crises. The world is becoming increasingly unpredictable. You would be surprised how one small event can impact the availability of products.
Tips:
Technology is great and everything, but trying to keep up with it can get overwhelming sometimes, don’t you agree?
Keeping up with technological advancements will be a constant challenge every year because the world is not planning on putting a hold on its technological ambitions anytime soon. Therefore, this is a challenge that you will always have to deal with.
Tips:
For example, using AI-powered customer service, such as AI-powered chatbots, can help you increase customer satisfaction; hence, cross that challenge off your list. Also, AI can help you make better product recommendations and personalize your customers’ experiences better, helping you deal with the challenge of hyper-personalization, which we will thoroughly discuss in another point.
Research shows that 91% of top businesses have an ongoing investment in AI and hope to increase it in the upcoming years (NVP, 2022).
Regulations impacting the e-commerce market, directly or indirectly, are gradually increasing. A few years ago, you wouldn’t have heard many people use the terms “e-commerce” and “regulatory landscape” in the same sentence. Nevertheless, it is something that you will hear about very often in 2024 and the upcoming years.
In 2024, you will witness the rise of e-commerce-related laws and regulations in many countries around the world, such as regulations for E-Signature, Anti-Cyber Security Threats, Information Technology Crimes, Personal Data Protection, National Strategies For Artificial Intelligence, Intellectual Property Rights, Consumer Protection, Taxes, Digital Identity, Online Payments, and others.
Tips:
We do not doubt that you already care about the planet and wish to see women empowered. However, we are here to tell you that these two causes will be on top of the list for your customers in 2024.
Awareness about environmental sustainability and women's empowerment has been increasing for years. That awareness might be reaching a whole new level where customers expect businesses not to be merely aware of but to commit to making actual change.
Tips:
You might be thinking that cart abandonment is not a new challenge, and you’re right. However, even though it’s not new, it is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Recent research shows the average cart abandonment rate across all industries is around 70% (Drip, 2023). THAT IS A HUGE PERCENTAGE, which qualifies this as one of the persisting e-commerce challenges for 2024.
Instead of giving you a few tips on how to deal with this challenge, here’s a whole article about the most common cart abandonment reasons and how to solve them.
Going omnichannel for an e-commerce business means offering a seamless shopping experience to customers across different channels, platforms, and devices. It is about existing wherever your customers are and whenever it is convenient for them. In 2024, the challenge is not in working through multiple channels and platforms as much as in ensuring that all these touchpoints are perfectly connected, well-synchronized, and transmitting the same message and quality of service.
Research shows that 73% of retail customers shop across multiple channels. Additionally, retailers who use three or more channels increase customer engagement by 251% more than single-channel retailers (Capital One Shopping, 2023). Again, having accounts on multiple social media platforms and having both an e-commerce and a brick-and-mortar store is easy. Seamlessly synchronizing them is where it gets challenging and tricky.
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, quarantine was imposed, and people stopped going to physical stores; businesses only had to focus on their online shops, social media platforms, and other third-party marketplaces. In 2021 and 2022, when places started opening again, businesses shifted their focus to embracing customers’ return to in-person shopping. In 2023, it became obvious to e-commerce businesses that customers got used to shopping across multiple channels and jumping from one touchpoint to another. That’s why, in 2024, this is considered a challenge for e-commerce businesses. It is not a luxury anymore; it is something your customers will expect to enjoy without disruptions.
Quick Tip: Always remember that no matter which touchpoint your customer chooses to continue their buying journey, they must be able to seamlessly pick up where they left off.
You can find all the Tips you want in this article about the top omnichannel marketing strategies for e-commerce. Also, check out this article to discover the best omnichannel marketing examples for e-commerce.
We’ve been talking for years about the significance of personalization for e-commerce businesses. In 2024, all the talk will be about taking it to the next level: hyper-personalization.
In 2024, EVERYTHING should be personalized.
Tips:
Are you struggling with competition in your local market?
Do you need to broaden your customer base?
Are you considering expanding your business to international markets?
The global market in 2024 is offering numerous expansion opportunities. The challenge is represented in how much your e-commerce business will be able to catch these opportunities and take advantage of them.
International e-commerce, also known as cross-border e-commerce brings complexities like handling different tax laws, shipping regulations, cultural differences, and customer preferences.
Tips:
With every passing day, marketing evolves. As much as having an abundance of marketing approaches that e-commerce businesses can adopt is a good thing, it can become overwhelming.
Sometimes, it gets tempting, pushing you to adopt more marketing approaches than you need or can handle. You cannot afford such a mistake in 2024 because everything costs, and as discussed earlier, the economic situation requires cautious spending.
Tips:
Speaking of automation, the marketing automation tool offered by converted.in can create, personalize, and automate your email marketing campaigns and social media ads. Be sure to check it out.
Final Words:
To sum up, navigating the constantly evolving e-commerce market comes with unavoidable challenges. However, if you familiarize yourself with these challenges early on in the year, you can transform them into opportunities for growth. In this article, we discussed some of the most crucial challenges that e-commerce businesses are expected to face in 2024. We also provided as many useful tips as possible on how to deal with these challenges.
It’s your turn now! Familiarize yourself with the challenges and be prepared for them!
These challenges have got nothing on you, Champion!