Four Key Trends Shaping the Future of E-Commerce

E-commerce is evolving. Whether you click ‘buy’ at work or at home, here are four trends that we’re likely to see more of.

Online buying has become a normal part of our personal lives, and it is starting to find its way into our working lives as well. After all, corporate purchasers of goods and services are also consumers. They want the same easy experience of purchasing online for their business that they get outside the workplace.

There are plenty of statistics about the boom in consumer e-commerce from 2020; one that stands out from DHL’s realm is a 40 percent increase in B2C e-commerce volumes. At the same time, however, B2B sales in e-commerce are also booming. In fact, research firm Forrester forecasts that business e-commerce in the US alone is on track to reach $1.2 trillion in 2021.

It’s all part of the massive change brought on by the outsized role of e-commerce in our lives – here’s a look at four trends we can expect to shape the future of B2C and B2B purchasing.

The rise of ‘social commerce’ and virtual marketplaces

Consumers are moving away from completing online purchases on corporate websites. In fact, according to research firm Forrester, 67 percent of B2C online sales will take place on virtual marketplaces by 2022.