6 innovative eCommerce businesses to learn from in 2021

With technology advancing, AI becoming more and more popular and incorporated into most businesses, and recent COVID-19 events resulting in life moving to the online zone, companies really need to do everything they can to stay relevant. Get inspired by a couple of new and very innovative eCommerce businesses.

Customers want to be surprised by companies

Over the last year the online commerce has grown rapidly, and its existence has truly been a lifesaver during the lockdowns. The pandemic surely has influenced shopping behaviors and patterns, but also made us buy more products and services online. 36% of consumers now shop online weekly, an increase from 28% before the pandemic.

On the other hand, with so many people switching to online channels, companies are rushing on their feet to meet the consumers’ expectations, racing to come up with newer and better ideas. They know that if they don’t meet these exaggerated, so to speak, demands, they will have to wave goodbye to the market.

Top 6 business innovations that’d make you pop

Here are the Top 6 business innovations you should be learning from to not drop out from the hunger games of ecommerce.

Headless Ecommerce – edit the frontend without interfering with the backend
Augmented reality – connect the real world with the computer generated world
Radical Transparency – be transparent with your production process
Killer referrals – master the word-of-mouth marketing strategy
Rent fashion and personal shopping service – instead of selling, rent your products and tailor them to your customers
Online education – enable people from all over the world to learn from you without leaving their homes

#1 Headless Ecommerce: Annie Selke turned to faster, and more engaging experience

Headless eCommerce really stands out because it separates frontend (head) presentation from backend commerce functionality. In short, this means that the user interface, social commerce and digital marketplace can be updated individually without having to change the backend.

Annie Selke took advantage of this feature and used a combination of PWA and AMP technologies and server-side rendering to improve site performance.

With improved load times, the brand saw a sudden boost, increasing overall organic traffic by 32% and organic traffic from mobile devices by 40.41%.

#2 Augmented reality: Spatial – Sit next to each other from across the world

Although augmented reality is on the market for some time now, last year made our love for it burst again.

Spatial company felt the right moment perfectly. During 2020, when face-to-face contacts were restricted, they presented 3D collaborative virtual space. It lets participants from around the world represent themselves in a virtual work space using an avatar.

They simply listened to their customer needs, and it definitely paid off as at the beginning of the year, they raised additional $14M more for a holographic 3D workspace.

#3 Radical Transparency: Everlane – It’s expensive, but you can see exactly why

The online market is so crowded that it’s nearly impossible to stand out and compete, when you don’t have the lowest prices.

However, Everlane decided to reverse the narrative and show the true cost of each step in the production process. They posted these costs on their product pages, along with information about the factories they used, the materials, and the exact profits from each transaction.

This radical step is something eCommerce doesn’t practice very often, yet it has made the company stand out from its competitors by turning to a conscious way of buying

#4 Killer referrals: Greats – marketing campaign run by itself

Would you like your campaign to be run by itself? It’s possible with a solid word-of-mouth marketing strategy.

“Friends? Frenemies? Become Friends with Benefits and give them $25 OFF their first order.”

Greats is using their killer referral system, which allows them to cut the costs of any additional campaign tools, leaving it all in the hands of their loyal customers.

There’s an important lesson from Greats: When you provide a product or service worth bragging about, and a discount for referrals to monetize, the marketing campaign basically runs itself.

#5 Rent fashion and personal shopping service: Armoire – solve the quiz and get tailored clothes

When it comes to shopping, the most tedious part is finding what fits you. That’s why you can simply tell someone to pick out the clothes for you! What’s more, if you get bored with them, you can simply send them back.

Armoire has combined these two solutions, creating a unique customer experience, perfectly answering their customer needs. After completing the quiz on their website, they curate a selection of styles with help from algorithms and professional stylists. Customer can rent his favorite styles, then exchange and repeat the process.

This is a great example of AI and humans working together to lead to better CX.

#6 Online education: Skillshare – learn new stuff without leaving your house

Recent events have taught mankind that it will not always be possible to take onsite courses, which is why online learning platforms have become even more desirable than before.

Skillshare offers courses for both professional creatives and everyday creative hobbyists. But not only that! They provide option for teachers as well. Simply sign up for free and start creating a variety of unique courses.

When the companies will move 10% of their employees to permanent remote positions post-COVID 19, consumers will surely be eager to stay at home and turn to online learning for entertainment and enrichment. That’s a real tip on how to plan your business for future events.

Meeting today’s market demands is not easy. If you are looking to improve your online business, consider implementing a Customer Data Platform. By building 360° customer profiles in a unified and persistent customer database, you will be able to provide incredible Customer Experience