I came across this article in HBSDealer and thought you would be interested in these emerging ecommerce trends.

Consulting firm Absolunet, based in Montreal, Canada, revealed its list of top 10 trends that will impact North American retailers in 2018. The impact will be felt across the entire supply chain: by manufacturers, distributors, retailers and consumers alike, says the company.

“The technologies themselves already exist, we expect the adoption and proliferation of these technologies to grow substantially this year, changing the very nature of how companies do business.” says Charles Desjardins, Absolunet senior VP. “We hope that the top ten e-commerce trends for 2018 report helps retailers, manufacturers and distributors gain valuable insight and helps them choose the right strategies and partners to bridge the ecommerce gap.”

Here are the top ten:

1. The rebirth of brick and mortar

A  breed of retail stores and in-person experiences will begin to replace outgoing retailers.

2. The consumerization of B2B

The perfect storm is about to hit the nearly 1 trillion $ B2B e-commerce sector.

3. AR in your house

Augmented Reality will go from “novelty” to a sales driver.

4. ROPO (Research Online, Purchase Offline), the new measure of a retailer’s digital success

Retailers will be able to know which clicks led to in-store sales.

5. Mobile checkout overtakes desktop checkout

Mobile commerce’s biggest challenge – checkout – will become its greatest asset

6. AI will create the perfect customer experience

Shopping will be customized and optimized for every consumer.

7. Amazon and the year of marketplace maturity

Amazon will be a ubiquitous element in every e-commerce Business Plan in 2018.

8. Voice will change Google/SEO/e-commerce forever

In 2018, consumers will speak to their devices and use voice to make purchases like never before.

9. Photo shopping

Image-based product searches will be big in 2018, essentially altering the very nature of “search”.

10. Reaching peak browser

The browser will no longer be the de facto means by which we purchase products or services digitally.