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Happy new year 2017! The new year is upon us, and it brings a lot of hope and opportunities for etailers. Browntape brings to you some probable ecommerce trends that are likely to rule 2017, and how you can use that to your advantage. Read on to know more.

Top 5 predictions for 2017

While the growth has been slow in 2016 for ecommerce in general (15% according to RedSeer), it is expected to grow by 40% in 2017 says an executive in a leading ecommerce company.

1. Private labels

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Most leading companies have been slowly turning their attention to private labels to steer their fortunes towards profitability. Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra and others are focussing on their private labels. Flipkart is looking at an electronics brand, while Amazon is concentrating on fashion.

In the era of heated competitions, experts feel that private labels are one way that will give companies their distinct identities. Even online grocery stores like BigBasket are looking at their own labels. Private labels help create a brand recall in the minds of the shoppers. They also have the advantage of being cheaper to produce, with the added advantage of price control (in the hands of the brand owner). It also creates a sense of exclusivity, which also helps push up popularity.

2. Business to business ecommerce

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With investments drying up and devaluations on the rise, the B2B prospects are fairly high. Amazon recently put in Rs. 160 crores in its B2B arm, Amazon Business. Investors are quite gung-ho about B2B; preferring to lend to wholesale entities rather than retail, which is struggling with losses and increasing expenditure.

“There is massive untapped potential within this segment and that’s why we have closed several partnerships with players in this space,” says Mukul Sachan, cofounder of LendingKart, a company that provides working capital loans to small businesses. Sachan says that B2B in India could reach $ 700 billion by 2020.

3. Social media

The story of the power of social media is quite old, so we are not going to repeat how it helps create an interactive, real time relationship with the customers. It gives retailers direct feedback from their customers and helps track their preferences real time. Some of the reviews are in the form of frustrated rants, but etailers should pick out the cues and work on them.

This infographic shows how social media impacts ecommerce:

https://bizztor.com/evolution-of-social-media-in-indias-ecommerce-ecosystem

Social Media Optimisation (SMO) also helps boost sales and spread the word of your brand.

4. Hybrid commerce

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Most etailers have realised the power of a physical store in addition to their virtual store or marketplace. Many have established a physical presence in leading cosmopolitan cities in the form of experience centres and pop-up stores (Urban Ladder), experience studios with expert to guide buyers to make the right buy (Pepperfry), and retail stores (Myntra).

Flipkart is also mulling over the idea, and might come up with its retail store chain in the near future. Likewise, Amazon is also thinking about physical stores to tap the rural market. Having a physical presence will help in brand recall, and increase popularity among the non-tech savvy crowd, namely senior and rural shoppers. Limiting yourself to one medium will not help in expanding your footprint.

5. Unified Payment Interface

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While the demonetisation has majorly turned the spotlight on mobile wallets, experts say that it is all in the past. 2017 is the time of the Unified Payment Interface (UPI).

Mohandas Pai, (former Infosys director) and investor declares, “Mobile wallets are history. The give-away signs are that the biggest wallet player (Paytm) is getting into payment banking. UPI is also a game-changer with almost no costs, and is fit for India.”

While that might be a little exaggerated, we can infer that UPI will be giving tough competition to digital wallets. That is what Sharad Sharma, co-founder of iSpirt feels, “The payment landscape will include debit/credit cards, wallets, UPI, and Aadhaar-enabled micro-ATMs.”

Keep an eye out for these ecommerce trends when you plan your next move. Do you think there are other ecommerce trends that will rule the roost in 2017? Let us know in the comments section below, and let’s make it a mutually beneficial discussion.

If you want a customised growth plan for your ecommerce business, then reach out to Browntape. We are India’s largest ecommerce service provider, and are always ready to help!

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