The world of e-commerce has always been a shifting landscape, with trends coming and going. How consumers buy and what they expect pivots with every new technology. Old-school advertising and modern data analytics have merged with mobile devices and the growth of a global fulfillment network. New e-commerce trends emerge each year, and some change the industry drastically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One trend that persists is the continued growth of online shoppers. In 2021, there were an estimated 2.14 billion digital buyers<\/a> worldwide, growing 29% since 2017. And the value of global e-commerce sales was $4.9 trillion in 2021<\/a>, with projected growth to $7.4 trillion by 2025. Companies developing new products must take note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this article, we\u2019ll examine nine trends vital to companies engaged in new product development. We\u2019ll also offer suggestions on how to understand and respond to these trends to your benefit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you\u2019re adding to an existing brand or looking to disrupt your industry with a new product offering, these trends will help you plan your journey. They affect e-commerce businesses that run online stores with Shopify, sell through Amazon, or have a hybrid approach that sells online and at retailers like Target and Walmart. But you can pull ahead of the competition if you understand that what worked last year may not work this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Before we begin, we need to acknowledge the ball-shaped spikey elephant in the room regarding the future of e-commerce \u2014 COVID-19. The pandemic was a shock to a quickly evolving but fairly predictable industry. The double whammy of a crippled supply chain and being forced to shop from home caused more of a revolution in e-commerce than an evolution. Some of the trends listed are new aspects of changes already taking place, and some directly result from the disruption caused by the pandemic and its aftermath. <\/p>\n\n\n\n