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05 Jan

9 eCommerce Trends that will Shape 2018

 

9 eCommerce Trends that will Shape 2018 

 

Did you know that eCommerce is growing 23% year-over-year, and is expected to grow to $4 Trillion by 2020.

eCommerce sales per year

This year promises to be another bumper of a year for eCommerce. eCommerce trends set the tone for the year ahead by shaping the direction your business, your design and your marketing will go.

Trends such as Messenger ads and video marketing will continue to dominate and change the way we budget for advertising. While trends such as augmented reality and voice assistant purchases, previously were reserved for big eCommerce brands, could become more accessible to small to medium online business driven by the growing millennial and Gen X shopper online shopper.

The bottom line is: the landscape is changing; changing, but increasing at a phenomenal rate and if you want to up your game this year, getting ahead of these trends will mean more money in the bank. Here are the top 10 eCommerce Trends and Predictions that shape 2018:

eCommerce Trend #1: Messenger Ads to Lead Facebook PPC

Facebook Messenger ads were already hitting some awesome ROI numbers in the last quarter of 2017 and this is expected to climb over the next year. There is a huge push by Facebook to enter the ‘email marketing game’ with their Messenger ads and although this in no way means email marketing is dead (duh!), it is going to have a huge impact on the direct marketing market.

With the rise of Messenger ads we will also see an increase in Chatbots. Chatbots are no longer just for the ‘big guys, with Facebook already offering automatic replies and built in chatbots to small businesses to help simplify the buying process without losing that personal touch.

Bonus Tip: 9 Merchant Chatbots on Facebook Messenger to Inspire You 

eCommerce Trend #2: Welcome Voice Shopping

The new kid (trend) on the block for 2018 is voice shopping. With the surge in popularity of voice-assist products such as Google Home and Amazon Echo, voice shopping is the new best thing in shopping. In fact it is estimated that 40% of millennials are already using their voice assistants to shop online. From the middle of 2017 we saw big retail giants such as Target solidify their partnership with Google voice-assist home products, offering brands a way to streamline customer experience in a whole new way.

For now this technology and marketing trend is out of many smaller eCommerce sites reach, but with the jump to voice-assist shopping on android and iPhone not that far away, the opportunity for smaller to medium eCommerce brands to cash in on the action is in the cards. For now, this is a trend we will watch closely in 2018!

eCommerce Trend #3: Subscription Surges

In 2018 we are expected to see a surge in subscription-based service business models, such as the likes of Forbe’s subscription leaders like Amazon Prime, Loot Crate and Birchbox in smaller online stores. With a definite leaning towards providing more personalized service to create a bigger loyal-customer base in eCommerce, we will see a lot of medium online stores incorporating subscription models into their traditional setups and models.

leading eCommerce subscription sites

[Source Image]

Still, subscriptions aren’t just about subscription boxes such as tf Loot Crate or providing memberships to fitness programs such as FitGirls, but can be adapted for all sorts of niches. Selling online fashion? Add a seasonal accessory subscription that shoppers can sign up for to get your latest seasonal trends first. Drop-shipping online printed homeware? Why not start a mug-a-month club?

eCommerce Trend #4: More Personalization

I have said it before on this blog: Personalization is so important. However as we go into 2018 it is even more so. This is the year that your marketing needs to be as segmented as possible, where you need to fine-tune your customer service practices like never before and customer experience should be top of your agenda. The bottom line is that customers are getting more and more bombarded by options and in turn online stores will be finding more ways to personalize their shopping experience for customers.

If you can get a jump on that this year, you will be ahead of the pack in time for 2018 final quarter, giving you a big advantage to the big shopping days. Segment your email marketing more so that you are sending products to those shoppers more inclined to buy, optimize your remarketing AdWords campaigns and think small, highly targeted groups, and ensure your site and checkout offers recommended products to customers – all designed to make shopping feel more personal and buying choices easier to make.

eCommerce Trend #5: Increased Product Customization

Personalization is not just about shopping experience this year. 2018 is set to see an increase in product customization and more fulfillment options as well. Big brands such as Puma are already implementing customized options that help those customers ‘stand out of the crowd’ and buy products they feel are just for them.

example of personalized eCommerce products

Image Source
With the rise of platforms such as Inke, which allow shoppers to buy personalized products in niches from clothes to furniture, we will see the 2017 new-climber move into the eCommerce spotlight and allow smaller online stores to cash in on this action.

eCommerce Trend #6: Augmented Reality for Small Business?

We know AR (Augmented Reality) was a huge buzz word for big retail in the second half of 2017, but will it make mainstream eCommerce in 2018?

Not all of us have an IKEA sized budget to product apps like the above, however, in 2018 we will see more eCommerce and retail superpowers moving towards AR and VR. And with it, the need for online stores to come up with more visual ways – such as virtual dressing rooms – to show off their products in the coming years. We don’t expect this to filter down to small eCommerce just yet, but this is something you should definitely be keeping an eye on in 2018.

eCommerce Trend #7: Content Rich Marketing Strategies

If you haven’t invested in a content marketing plan yet, this is your year. Content rich marketing strategies are already being used by most bigger online stores who are said to save $14 on each new customer generated, but in 2018 we will see this filtered down to smaller business who will produce better, more helpful quality content this year.  

According to Demand Metric and Hubspot, respectively, interesting content is now one of the main reasons why people follow brands, and marketers who put effort into company blogs are 13 times more likely to generate a positive ROI. This means an increase in things like how-to-videos and Instagram UGC, which will separate those stores who are not seen as helpful authorities in their niche from the rest of the pack and leave them behind.

Bonus Tip: 6 Tips to Create a Scalable Content Marketing Campaign 

eCommerce Trend #8: Video Will Still Top Dog

If you haven’t started using video marketing, 2018 has to be your year. In November we saw ‘amature’ Facebook video views reach as high as 8 million views, bringing in huge fourth quarter revenue.

According to Huffington Post‘s eCommerce predictions for 2018, it is estimated that by 2020, video will make up 80% of all online consumer internet traffic and that video marketing increases your CTR by 200-300%.

What does this mean for you? This year, your content strategy should be all about video marketing and small to medium businesses that haven’t already, need to up their video content game in a big way to keep up with their competitors.

eCommerce Trend #9: More Mobile Shopping

By end of 2018 it is estimated that mobile sales will account for 50% of eCommerce revenue and is set to make up $669 billion worth of sales in 2018, a whopping 20% increase from predictions for 2017.  This is the year you want to make sure that you marketing to those mobile shoppers to help you cash in on more sales! 

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There is no doubt about it, with the huge influx of online stores and the global shift from retail to online shopping that continues to climb steadily in the coming year, we’re in for a bumper year. Stay tuned to our blog for up-and-coming 2018 eCommerce trends as we tackle this year with you and guide you through all the tools you need to make this your best sales year ever!

05 Jan

Top fintech stories this week – 5 January 2018

Top five lendtech stories in 2017
Top five lendtech stories in 2017 Lend us your time, with a quick look at 2017 with Banking Technology’s top five lendtech stories.
Top fintech stories this week – 5 January 2018
Top fintech stories this week – 5 January 2018 Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Failed fundraiser closes the folio on Folio
Failed fundraiser closes the folio on Folio Closing this month after it failed to meet its fundraising target.
Ex-SoFi CEO on rebound with new fintech venture
Ex-SoFi CEO on rebound with new fintech venture Ex-CEO and SoFi founder plotting a comeback with a new fintech start-up amidst allegations of sexual harassment.
Envestnet finalises acquisition of FolioDynamix for $195m
Envestnet finalises acquisition of FolioDynamix for $195m Wealthtech firm FolioDynamix is now part of Envestnet.
05 Jan

50 Crypto Trading & Investing Lessons Learned Over The Past 5 Years

In the world of cryptocurrency trading, learn the following lessons before it is too late :). Good luck mates.

Disclaimer: AbnAsia.org focuses only on the blockchain technology, the technology that Bitcoin and most other cryptocurrency are based on.

1 – Everyone’s a genius in a bull market. Real traders can survive and even thrive in bear markets or highly volatile markets.

2 – Don’t be a blind bull. ALL markets are cyclical. Don’t be afraid of pullbacks or market crashes – that’s where you can make the most money.

3 – There’s a big difference between a trade and an investment.

4 – Fully plan your trade before you pull the trigger on the entry.

5 – Entries are important, but risk & money management is where you make or lose money.

6 – Beware of get-rich-quick gurus hopping on the crypto bandwagon over the past year.

7 – Decide which types of trade setups or investments you’ll take and ignore everything else.

8 – Don’t assume just because you’ve made a lot of money in crypto that you can just as easily make money in other financial markets. 95%+ of stock market traders LOSE money. The game is rigged. Stick to what you know works for you.

9 – The best way to day trade cryptocurrencies is – DON’T!

10 – The best way to profit in any market is to find something you think has big potential early (before the general public catches on), and invest assuming you’re going to lose 100% of your capital. It’s the “angel investor” approach.

11 – You can’t control the market. The only thing you can control is your entries, trade size, and exits.

12 – One market participant can completely destroy “good technical analysis”.

13 – Don’t blindly follow trade alerts from ANYONE, especially random people on social media or chat rooms.

14 – All financial networking marketing projects are ponzi schemes, period.

15 – If you make a life-changing amount of money, do NOTHING for at least 30 days.

16 – Trading isn’t about picking exact tops and bottoms in a market – it’s about catching the meat of a move.

17 – Don’t turn a small losing trade into a massive losing investment.

18 – Don’t set daily profit target goals – set long-term performance goals.

19 – Learn to survive, then thrive.

20 – The best charting indicators are price action and volume. You can use others, but it won’t necessarily make you a more profitable trader.

21 – Trends can go way past what seems rational.

22 – Don’t try to pick tops in a market. Wait for the market to tell you when the trend is over.

23 – Don’t trade in front of big news events – it’s impossible to predict how markets will react.

24 – The biggest challenge for most traders is their ego, or the need to be right.

25 – You can lose 50% of your trades and still be profitable if you manage risk properly.

26 – The best entrepreneurs and CEO’s typically make the worst traders and investors.

27 – People with the best mindset for investing typically have a career in high-risk situations like firefighters, pilots, police.

28 – Avoid pump and dump groups like the plague they are.

29 – You WILL make every mistake in the book. Don’t beat yourself up when you make mistakes, just learn and try not to make the same mistake twice.

30 – Don’t treat crypto exchanges like bank accounts. You don’t own the coins unless you control the private keys.

31 – Crypto is a 24/7/365 market. You can’t catch every trade. If you miss one, don’t worry – there’s ALWAYS another trade.

32 – Don’t invest in a coin unless you understand it inside out.

33 – You can make money trading the momentum and hype in shitcoins, just don’t invest long-term.

34 – Stay away from coins with low trading volume and low market caps. They are easily manipulated and you can get stuck in a position.

35 – Don’t trade with money you need for living expenses. It’s called “risk capital” for a reason.

36 – Think of yourself as a hunter – save your ammo for the big game.

37 – Crypocurrency exchanges go down when there’s high volatility. If price hits a major target or buy zone, it might make sense to place some orders BEFORE everyone else.

38 – Trading and investing brings all your emotions to the forefront – fear, greed, hesitation.

39 – The hardest thing to do in trading is… NOTHING. This can also be the most profitable thing to do.

40 – Just because a market is in a “bubble” doesn’t mean it’s going to die. Bitcoin has been through over half a dozen big bubbles and increased in price after each one.

41 – Manage your trades in a way that would leave you with no regrets no matter what the market does.

42 – Learn to think like a contrarian. If you’re someone who needs to have your opinion validated by everyone around you, then trading and investing isn’t for you.

43 – The shorter the chart time frame, the less reliable the chart patterns are. The longer the time frame, the more variables affect price action and the harder it becomes to predict price. My sweet spot in the daily chart for trade setups and 60-minute chart for entries.

44 – Some market conditions are great for pushing the gas on every trade setup you can find, where other market conditions call for you to slam on the brakes and step away from the markets altogether.

45 – 90%+ of cryptocurrencies will eventually go to zero. Invest accordingly.

46 – The mental side of trading is the hardest to master, the most under-appreciated skill, and will cause you to make or lose the biggest amounts of money.

47 – The 3 biggest problems for traders are over-trading, hesitating on entries, and closing positions prior to profit targets when the trade is still intact.

48 – You can make a career’s worth of profit in one year or one trade – don’t feel like every day has to be a home run. Play the long game. Be patient and wait for the best plays.

49 – Don’t trust anyone else to trade for you. Manage your own high-risk investments (like crypto trading) or don’t participate at all.

50 – Take the news for what it is – they’re trying to get views and clicks. They’re NOT looking out for your best interests or trying to help you make money.

05 Jan

Mark Zuckerberg says bitcoin could be come to Facebook in the future

The technology could help Facebook stop being so centralised, he suggested

The technology powering bitcoin could help improve Facebook in the future, Mark Zuckerberg has said.

As part of a commitment to help fix the site over 2018, its founder said that he would look into the use of new technology to stop it being quite so centralised.

One of those technologies is bitcoin, he said, in an ambitious post that suggested Mr Zuckerberg is taking to heart the claims that Facebook is broken

In a long post on his own site, the Facebook founder said that he recognised that the problem with the internet is that it is becoming too centralised, and controlled by a few huge companies that include Facebook itself. That was in contrast to people’s vision that the web could be the perfect way of distributing and decentralising power, he said.

“A lot of us got into technology because we believe it can be a decentralizing force that puts more power in people’s hands. (The first four words of Facebook’s mission have always been “give people the power”.) Back in the 1990s and 2000s, most people believed technology would be a decentralizing force,” he wrote in a long post.

04 Jan

Wall Street Systems takes European Central Bank to court over tech deal with rival Openlink

Wall Street Systems takes European Central Bank to court over tech deal with rival Openlink

Wall Street Systems, a long-standing supplier of its Wallstreet Suite treasury management software (TMS) to the European Central Bank (ECB), filed a lawsuit in response to the bank’s decision to sign a new deal with another TMS provider, Openlink.

ECB issued a tender last year for a new system for its treasury management operations. All major TMS suppliers took part in the tender, Banking Technology understands, including Calypso, Murex, the aforementioned Openlink and the incumbent Wall Street Systems.

It is understood from the court document that ECB opted for Openlink’s Findur solution in summer 2017, which meant Wall Street Systems would be losing a major client. Wall Street Systems went to court to protest the decision, but the application was dismissed.

The vendor then promptly lodged another application for interim measures, in an attempt to prevent the ECB from entering into the framework agreement with Openlink, “the successful tenderer in the call for tenders”, pending a final decision of the court on the appeal.

Wall Street Systems was also seeking to arrange a hearing and to get the ECB to pay the costs of the proceedings for interim measures.

LuLu Exchange tackles AML with Fiserv tech stack

Fiserv announced that LuLu Exchange, which provides cross-border remittance, currency exchange and other financial services for consumers and businesses, has selected Fiserv to enhance its financial crime prevention capabilities and enable its expansion into new markets. LuLu Exchange will implement a cloud-based version of AML Risk Manager from Fiserv. The anti-money laundering solution utilizes sophisticated techniques such as machine learning to detect suspicious transactions, leading to more accurate fraud detection and fewer false positives. This helps to eliminate the inconvenience and delay caused when legitimate transactions are flagged for investigation, benefitting both customers and staff by facilitating a better experience and more efficient operations.

Launched nine years ago in Abu Dhabi, Lulu Exchange is today one of the largest financial services companies in their market and has more than 170 branches worldwide. The business currently operates in Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, India, Philippines, Seychelles, Hong Kong and Ireland, and is expanding across the Asia Pacific region and Europe. The experience of Fiserv in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and globally was a key factor in their selection, as LuLu Exchange will rely on the expertise of Fiserv as it moves into new markets.

“Our ongoing expansion prompted an evaluation of our AML strategy,”said Christos Christou, Chief Compliance Officer, LuLu Exchange. “Since we are expanding in Asia Pacific and Europe, we wanted a partner that will provide us not only the technology but also the know-how to mitigate risks in these ‘new to us’markets. We were impressed with Fiserv and their financial crime investigation platform, which, in our view, is a user-friendly, stable, fast and well-developed tool for detecting, investigating, and assessing AML risks.”

Mashreq Bank Receives Nine Awards From Global Finance in London

Mashreq Bank, the UAE’s leading financial institution was presented with nine awards at the Digital Bank Conference and Awards dinner hosted by Global Finance magazine in London, England.

The dinner hosted at the RSA House in London saw Mashreq win awards for:

Best Consumer Mobile Banking Global

Best in Mobile Banking Middle East

Best Mobile Banking App Middle East

Best Consumer Digital Bank Middle East

Best Consumer Digital Bank UAE

Most Innovative Consumer Digital Bank Middle East

Product Innovation –Cardless Cash Withdrawal using Internet Banking

Best Bill Payment & Presentment Middle East; and

Best Corporate / Institutional Digital Bank Qatar.

Commenting on this achievement, Subroto Som, Head of Retail Banking Group at Mashreq said, “We have witnessed a substantial shift among consumers from traditional channels to digital banking and therefore, prioritised the implementation of a strong digital strategy over the past few years. We have invested heavily in the right people, processes and technology to bring our customers a host of digital offerings and innovations to digitize their banking experience.”

Receiving an unprecedented nine awards in the digital banking space represents a milestone for Mashreq and reflects the wider success the Bank has enjoyed in pioneering fintech innovation in the Middle East. These awards are the most important testimony of the bank’s successful digital journey in a region that is constantly looking to the future.

 

02 Jan

Banking Technology News 2.Jan.2018

Market Intel

Top ten core banking software projects in 2017 – Openbank goes for Temenos T24 core banking system, Airtel Payments Bank live with new core banking system, Come Dime with me for Fiserv’s core banking DNA, Co-op Money NZ moves members to Flexcube, Santander UK to revamp corporate tech with Infosys Finacle. Read More

Top ten digital bank initiatives in 2017 – Spain’s first fully digital bank Openbank in major transformation, BPCE targets revenue growth with ꈸm digital revamp, TSB unveils new banking tech platform, Proteo4UK, BNP Paribas to invest 䚻bn in digital transformation, Digital bank bunq goes international with open API. Read More

Top ten payments projects in 2017 – Fiserv buys payments software vendor Dovetail, Standard Chartered and Axis Bank launch cross-border payments, European SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme goes live, Swift unveils “first ever”cross-border payments tracker, Payments UK predicts debit cards to overtake cash in 2018. Read More

Italian banks to test R3 Corda for payments reconciliation – The research and innovation centre of the Italian Bankers Association, ABI Lab, is building a blockchain proof-of-concept to handle straight-through processing of interbank reconciliations over the R3 Corda platform. Read More

Client/Prospect Intel

Barclays begins preparations for Open Banking – With multiple consumer surveys indicating that Brits have limited awareness of the new data sharing regime, Barclays is among the first of the UK’s big banks seeking to publicly educate its customers on the issue. Read More

The Bank of Montreal Group is embracing collaboration in the digital era – Fintech companies are often seen as a threat to established banks, but partnerships between the two can drive innovation. The Bank of Montreal is embracing industry disrupters. Read More

Competition Intel

Fiserv deploys AML solution for international financial exchange – Fiserv announced that LuLu Exchange, a provider of cross-border remittance, currency exchange and other financial services for consumers and businesses, will enhance its financial crime prevention capabilities with a cloud-based version of Fiserv AML Risk Manager. Read More

Jack Henry completes $130M acquisition – Jack Henry & Associates finalized a $130 million acquisition a month after announcing the deal. Ensenta will complement Jack Henry’s existing Enterprise Payment Solutions group, which offers risk management tools. Read More

How TCS transitioned, while Infosys battled a stormy year – A storm was raging in Bengaluru. It was tearing the $10-billion Infosys inside out because cofounder NR Narayana Murthy was at war with its board led by nonexecutive chairman R Seshasayee. It hogged the headlines, television airtime and WhatsApp groups. Read More

Bank Sohar wins Infosys Finacle Client Innovation Award – Continuing the age of excellence, innovation and alacrity in Oman’s banking sector, Bank Sohar again has won an award for its endeavours in these areas at the Infosys Finacle Client Innovation Awards ceremony, held recently at Infosys campus in Mysore, India. Read More

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