While brick and mortar stores still hold important place in the buyer’s journey, consumers increasingly prefer to shop online. The internet influence on shopping behavior has been on the rise since the advent of online stores, but recent data show consumers are becoming more comfortable purchasing on digital environments. In 2019, according to leading marketers, these are the trends that will drive ecommerce growth:

Peer Influence at the Point of Sale

When browsing the product page, consumers want to read what other shoppers have to say about the product. They ignore what marketers are saying and pay attention to the experiences peer consumers had with the brand. Shoppers looking for yoga pants, for instance, are increasingly interested in seeing how average women—like themselves—look in those pants, not models. In fact, 56% of consumers are more likely to buy a product after seeing it featured in a positive or relatable UGC piece (Olapic/Censuswide, 2007).

Social Platforms Become Shoppable

Social platforms will start driving fewer users to external ecommerce pages to become themselves a popular point of sale. BigCommerce’s 2018 Omni-Channel Retail Report showed that only 9.6% of Gen Z and 31.4% of Millenials reported buying at physical stores. Meanwhile, both generations of consumers spend the majority of their shopping dollars on products they find on Instagram and Snapchat.

Online Subscriptions

2019 shoppers will come to expect a convenient brand experience, which finds its epitome at online subscriptions. Online subscription made its way from niche monthly boxes with makeup samples to mainstream weekly grocery shopping, and everything in between. According to McKinsey & Company, 15% of online consumers acquired an online subscription in the last year, and the trend continues to rise.

Voice Shopping

Smart assistants will easily integrate with more retailers offering seamless electronic purchasing experiences, which consumer like. Buyers will ever more tell the types of Siri and Alexa to do their shopping. A 2018 study by NPR & Edison Research found that 39 million Americans own a voice-activated smart speaker, a marketing touchpoint set to grow in importance.

Shopping on the Go

Consumers are more than ever confident about turning to their phones when they need to buy something. When shopping on the small screen, buyers prefer apps that offer premium immersive experiences and safe checkout options. Forrester anticipates that consumers will spend $175.4 billion dollars shopping on their phones in 2022.

Brands that need to break through the online noise to connect with consumers should evaluate how they can make the most of these ecommerce trends.