10 WooCommerce Trends in 2024: What's Shaping the Future of eCommerce

In 2024, eCommerce business owners who use WooCommerce to serve consumers must stay ahead of the trends to adapt to ever-changing customer behaviors and emerging technology.

WooCommerce, a free plugin that works seamlessly with WordPress websites, is a favorite platform among eCommerce business owners. Keeping up with WooCommerce trends can help you improve the customer experience, operate more efficiently, and stay competitive.

In this article, we will explore 10 WooCommerce trends for 2024 and learn how they are shaping the future of eCommerce.

Personalization

Whether it's personalized marketing emails, offers and discounts, adverts, or content, consumers need to feel special. In 2024, businesses using WooCommerce can capitalize on its open-source nature and flexibility to create personalized user experiences (UX).

However, to personalize a shopping experience, you must leverage customer relationship management (CRM) tools - such as HubSpot and Jetpack CRM - to gather data like:

• A customer's name.
• Location.
• First language.
• Shopping habits, such as buying and browsing history.
• Website behavior, such as what time they shop.
• Traffic source, such as mobile or desktop.

Luckily, WooCommerce offers a variety of features that can help you provide customers with a more personalized shopping experience, including:

• MultilingualPress. If your online store has gone international, translating your pages to the customer's first language is vital for increasing conversions.
• Extra Product Options. This plugin enables you to add custom product fields - from 19 field types - and sections to your product page.
• Darwin Pricing Integration. This plugin enables you to add geo-targeted coupon codes and tracking codes.

Personalizing your messaging will help you reach each audience segment's needs and preferences more effectively.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Advances in AI have made it more user-friendly and affordable for eCommerce retailers of all sizes to improve operations and business outcomes.

Brands have used AI in the past to automate mundane tasks, but in 2024, the technology can:

• Answer questions in natural language to get answers that will help you personalize customer experiences and make upsell and cross-sell offers that work.
• Analyze customer data to create marketing content and social media posts that increase engagement.
• Automate processes such as customer service by giving customers answers to simple questions within seconds.
• Generate product descriptions and images, enabling them to showcase the product in various settings without requiring a large-scale photo shoot.

In 2023, Statista ran a survey to narrow down the main areas of an online shopping experience that AI will likely improve. The five areas included:

• Price comparison (50% of respondents).
• Finding deals (46% of respondents).
• Relevant offerings/products (41% of respondents).
• Personalized assistance (35%).
• Reviews (29%).

Given that so many brands already use AI to enhance their operations, you should make it one of your top priorities for 2024.

Augmented Reality (AR)

A significant disadvantage of eCommerce stores has been the inability to try on a new t-shirt or see how a shade of lipstick suits you. However, AR is now closing that gap by allowing consumers to project digital objects into real-world environments.

For example, a makeup retailer can allow consumers to use their smartphone camera to virtually 'try on' lipstick, lip gloss, and other makeup shades so they know what's best for them. Meanwhile, a furniture retailer can leverage AR to show consumers how a new sofa will fit in their living room.

61% of consumers prefer online stores that offer AR experiences, and 71% say they'd shop more frequently if AR were available.

In addition, WooCommerce now offers a 360º Image feature, which provides consumers with a clear view of the product, helping them make informative purchasing decisions. High-quality and detailed product images are crucial to establishing trust and credibility with potential customers.

Subscription Commerce

The subscription commerce market is predicted to grow by $2.323 trillion from 2022 to 2028. So, this is a 2024 trend we can't ignore.

So, what is the subscription commerce model? A customer subscribes to pay a recurring fee in return for weekly, monthly, or quarterly deliveries from your business.

The main benefit of subscription commerce is the high customer retention rates. Customers only commit to a subscription if they are satisfied with a product and want more.

In addition, subscriptions provide businesses with a reliable revenue stream because they don't have to rely on customers to remember to place orders.

Netflix and Amazon have used subscription commerce for years, but now, the model works for several retailers, including those that sell consumables, beauty products, fashion and accessories, and pet supplies.

More Payment Methods

eCommerce consumers constantly demand new and diverse payment options that suit their needs and preferences.

In 2024, WooCommerce will keep supporting a variety of secure, convenient, and localized payment methods to improve the purchasing experience.

If you currently only accept credit or debit card payments, consider how you could benefit from other payment methods, such as:

• Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments. This method lets customers pay you directly from their bank account over the ACH network.
• Buy now, pay later. This method allows customers to divide their payments into multiple installments or choose a 'pay later' option without qualifying for traditional financing.
• Mobile wallets. In the US, 53% of consumers use digital wallets - such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay - more than traditional payment methods.
• Venmo. This method allows customers to pay you through the Venmo app or a quick response (QR) code unique to your business.
• PayPal. This method is a fast and secure way to pay online without the hassle of converting currency first.

Nearly half of consumers who shop digitally say the ability to use their preferred payment method is very or extremely important. So, the more options you can offer your customers, the more they will buy from your eCommerce store.

Privacy and Security

In 2024, data protection and privacy are non-negotiable, so WooCommerce websites should prioritize GDPR compliance and consider using a zero-party data collection strategy which doesn't involve third-party cookies.

The zero-party data collection strategy gained traction in 2023 after Apple and Google discontinued their support for third-party cookies. Here are some simple ways you can collect zero-party data:

• Quizzes.
• Conversational popups.
• Post-purchase surveys.
• Visitor polls.
• Product onboarding.
• Giveaways.
• Account signups.
• Contests.

In addition, fraud costs the retail industry about $100 billion annually, a number that's growing as fewer people are face-to-face with a sales associate when they make purchases.

Luckily, retailers are fighting back with technology and processes that make it harder to commit fraud. For example, AI can spot unusual behavior that may signal fraud, such as an order from a country that doesn't match the customer's ZIP code, several orders from the same IP address, or multiple high-value purchases in an hour or two.

Alongside this, a number of e-commerce retailers are opting for a web hosting provider that prioritizes security in 2024.

If your brand is committed to privacy and security, you will build consumer trust and credibility, which results in more purchases.

Multichannel Customer Service

Your brand should be able to deliver seamless customer service through various channels, including phone, email, live chat, chatbots, social media, and more.

The number of consumers who contacted brands through social media increased by 27% in 2023. However, chatbots are also becoming a more popular customer service channel.

Powered by AI and machine learning (ML), Chatbots are available 24/7 to answer simple customer queries and streamline interactions. By leveraging chatbots, e-commerce stores will enhance responsiveness, increase revenue, and create positive customer experiences.

Luckily, WooCommerce is ahead of this trend with several chatbot plugins that offer automated customer support, including:

• WooWBot is an independent chatbot that operates without the need for any third-party service integrations.
• Facebook Messenger for WooCommerce is leading the way regarding chatbots, as it's easy to install and familiar to most consumers.
• Tidio has live chat, chatbots, and email integration features all in one plugin.

While plugins can enhance your website’s features, overloading your WordPress site with too many plugins can slow down WooCommerce’s performance. So, ensure you manage these plugins with regular audits to determine which are essential and which can be removed.

Mobile-First Shopping Experience

Statista reports that 60% of all eCommerce sales worldwide originate on mobile devices, highlighting the need for all eCommerce sites to be mobile-optimized in 2024.

Website owners must design for a smartphone first, then scale the design for larger tablets, laptops, and computers. Here are some of the ways you can improve the mobile-first shopping experience:

• Allow consumers to use digital wallets, like PayPal or Apple Pay, or mobile payments to make purchases.
• Opt for a design that is easy to scroll through on smaller screens.
• Enable social media sign-in so consumers don't have to make a new account at the point of sale.
• Allow consumers to pay or sign in using facial recognition and fingerprint technologies.

Luckily, almost all WooCommerce-friendly themes available for WordPress are responsive and flexible, meaning they work great for mobile devices.

A mobile-first approach could lead to less cart abandonment, more revenue, and increased loyalty. In addition, Google has transitioned to mobile-first indexing, so a mobile-first design can help you improve search engine optimization (SEO).

Voice Searches

With the ever-increasing popularity of voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant, voice commerce is expected to revolutionize online shopping.

Consumers can search for products, add items to their shopping carts, and complete purchases by speaking to the voice assistant embedded in their smartphone. In fact, PwC research reveals that 68% of consumers use voice assistants to add items to a shopping list, and 50% use them to buy something.

Keep in mind, though, that the way people speak isn't always the same as how they type. So, eCommerce stores must optimize their product listings with descriptive and natural language keywords to support voice searches.

By embracing voice commerce, WooCommerce store owners appeal better to the growing number of consumers who prefer hands-free interactions.

Sustainability

As consumer awareness of sustainability continues to grow, especially among younger generations, brands using WooCommerce will want to focus on ethical operations.

Here are some ways you can do that:

• Focus on your packaging processes and materials because 60-7
• 0% of consumers would pay more for a product with sustainable packaging.
• Find more efficient manufacturing and fulfillment methods, including those related to energy and water usage, waste products, supply chains, and more.
• Find more responsible ways to handle returns, such as reselling, donating, or repurposing.
• Be transparent about your supply chains and provide consumers with detailed information about where and how your products are made.

Products marketed as 'sustainable' are growing almost three times faster than those not. So, in 2024, eCommerce retailers will see tremendous success if they adopt sustainable practices, work with suppliers who do, and communicate that to their customers.

Ensure you add a section about sustainability on your About page or create a whole new page on your website. You can also include a few sentences on your checkout page, such as "all our shipping materials are recyclable", as an incentive not to abandon the cart.

Wrapping Up

If you thought 2023 was the year of changes in eCommerce, these 2024 trends will keep you on your toes. The trends shaping WooCommerce underscore the importance of mobile optimization, AR integration, personalization, and chatbot support.

Operating a successful eCommerce business means continually adapting to new changes and trends. So, keeping these ten eCommerce trends in mind as you plan your 2024 business strategy can help make your customers happier and grow your eCommerce business.