E-commerce experienced a massive surge during the pandemic. The ever-expanding e-commerce landscape spreads out across geographies, integrating the world into one big marketplace.
The drastic increase in the number of online shoppers worldwide during the current pandemic indicates the shift in consumer behavior towards online shopping. During the holiday season, cross-border shopping grows exponentially as prices on items that are not available locally to attract customers all over the world.
Cost, speed, and reliability reasoned a wider adoption of cross-border payments for e-commerce. Cross-border payments breaking down traditional shopping borders has created opportunities for businesses, making it easier for them to expand to new markets and attract a broader range of customers.
Deloitte is forecasting an 11% to 15% increase in 2021 holiday e-commerce sales compared with the same period in 2020.
The opportunities are especially wide during holiday sales, as consumers prefer to order gifts for their loved ones from huge marketplaces, including, Ali Express, Amazon, and for the obvious reasons, including, highly differentiated products range, cheaper prices, and well-established delivery methods attract customers all over the world for the frictionless shopping experience.
Social media platforms establishing trends
The other direction is the development of e-commerce via social media platforms, such as Instagram.
Nowadays Instagram is a showcase of retailers with extensive payment and commerce opportunities. The platform developed its own “Shop on Instagram” feature that enables authentic, unknown designers and retailers all over the world to sell their exclusive products.
This strategy depicts the difference of Instagram shopping among other giant competitors. The potential target market for Instagram sellers is mostly fashion and trend industry followers, who give value to unique, authentic, and often hand-made products.
Maintaining an effective Instagram sales strategy Insta-preneurs as they often call themselves benefit from the extensive e-commerce opportunities of the platform. Instagram retailers offer much more flexible customer support, adapting their products to the needs of each customer. The rate hits the peak during holidays when people are especially eager to buy something extraordinary and special for their loved ones.
Social Diversion and Financial Inclusion
The evolvement of digitalization with the further emergence of digital payments is the main driving reason for the development of financial inclusion. Financial Inclusion drives the expansion of cross-border e-commerce and embraces all social layers leaving no place for people to stay underserved.