Six Key Magento E-Commerce Trends for 2016

Magento once again proved to be the ecommerce platform of choice for 2015 – and it’s looking like more of the same to come this year. User numbers are quite literally exploding by the day and the number of successful web commerce ventures powered by Magento is inspiring to say the least.So in terms of the kind of Magento trends likely to make waves this year, what exactly can we expect to see in 2016?Switch to Magento 2   Well, first of all it’s pretty much a given that the switch to Magento 2 will continue to gather pace throughout the year. Boasting a huge array of performance improvements, security enhancements and conveniences for developers, it’s the upgrade millions have been waiting several years for.Check out the full list of changes of updates by clicking here.Low Prices Take a Back SeatWhile providing outstanding value for money will continue to be of importance, Magento business owners will spend much of 2016 focusing on the overall user experience. From speeding up page loading times to nurturing engagement with valuable content and right through to simplifying checkout processes, these and a variety of other considerations are slowly but surely taking precedence.Social Commerce is Getting BiggerAs the name quite rightly gives away, ‘social commerce’ is all about using the power of social media to boost your ecommerce ventures. Effective social marketing involves a variety of techniques, including use of comments and reviews for reputation enhancement, special offers for social media subscribers/followers, actively joining the conversation with audiences and building a unified presence/message across all of your online presences.Mobile Shopping Continues its Takeover With close to 5 billion people now owning and operating Smartphones, the importance of focus on mobile ecommerce cannot be overstated. But with such a vast array of devices and platforms to cater to, 2016 is definitely the year in which responsive Magento website design is mandatory. It is no longer advisable to focus on one consumer market or the other – responsive design ensures both boxes are ticked.Loyalty Schemes Are Gathering Momentum Though not previously considered a prerequisite, loyalty programs are slowly but surely becoming just the kinds of thing to help hold onto existing customers. With such vast competition in the ecommerce space, you simply cannot expect to get away with offering your existing customers no real perks or advantages, when most of your rivals probably are. What’s more, they need to be the kind of simple, accessible and genuinely rewarding loyalty schemes shoppers respond to – not those simply thrown out as a pointless token gesture.Multilanguage Last but not least, research has shown that when an ecommerce website is available in the native language of the shopper in question, they are exponentially more likely to a) convert, b) come back and c) spread the word. Magento allows for multilanguage website design, so there’s really no excuse for not expanding efforts in 2016. Chances are that no matter where you are based, your country is home to a wide variety of internationals speaking any number of languages – why not offer what you do in their mother tongue?