Whether it’s shoppables on social media or Amazon dropping off parcels inside your home, ecommerce is constantly advancing. The latest trend to emerge out of the US is in-car ecommerce. Almost half of America’s 135 million commuters are using their smartphones to shop while they’re on the move.
But is this trend set to take off in the UK? Or will in-car ecommerce stay put on the other side of the Atlantic? Keep reading as we discuss the latest ecommerce trend…
The emergence of Siri
Since their conception, Siri and other voice search engines have become firm fixtures in many of our every day lives. Want to find out the weather around the world? Ask Siri. Need to order a new phone case? Alexa will take care of it. Want to keep the kids busy with another rendition of ‘baby shark’? Google has got you covered.
So many of us rely on technology all the time to make our lives easier. Now, we can even shop on the go using these devices. Most modern cars have integrated Bluetooth and phone-syncing capabilities, allowing drivers to make phone calls, hear texts and listen to music on the go.
Of course, only hands-free usage of phones is permitted whilst driving in the UK, and on-the-spot fines can be handed out to anyone using their phones while their car engine is switched on. That’s where voice assistants come in.
You may be driving along when you notice an advertisement for the latest digital camera. By speaking to your phone’s voice assistant, you can order the camera on the go without taking your eyes off the road.
Getting yourself on the map
This isn’t just restricted to ecommerce either. Retailers who operate both in-store and online can use in-car ecommerce to guide people to their brick-and-mortar stores. GPS, Google Maps, Waze and other geo-localisation technologies help businesses and advertisers understand where people are going, how often they go there and the route they take.
Just like Google Analytics is used to track people’s internet journey, these technologies can monitor phone users’ whereabouts. While this may sound a little over-the-top, it’s vital to help brick-and-mortar retailers target customers and track leads. Let’s say you know that someone regularly travels past your business, you can use this to target these customers when they’re not in transit.
Just make sure you’re registered on Google maps, so it’s easy for potential customers to locate your store or office.
Is 2019 the start of in-car ecommerce?
Whether or not in-car ecommerce will take off in the UK remains to be seen. Voice search engines are becoming increasingly popular across the country, with Gartner predicting that, by 2020, 30% of all web browsing sessions will be carried out without a screen, meaning voice searches will start to pose a serious threat to the keyboard in the coming years.
While the UK may be moving over to voice search engines slower than the US, we are seeing clear changes. With that, we can expect to see an increasing number of brands trying to make the most of it.
Magento specialists
From in-car ecommerce to making mobile purchasing easier, it’s important for any ecommerce business to stay up to date with the latest trends and technologies.
Fluid Digital’s team of Magento experts can do exactly that. We make sure all our clients are at the forefront of their industry with a site that attracts traffic and converts visitors into customers. If you’re looking for a team to guide your ecommerce business through 2019, feel free to get in touch with our team.