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On The Table Read, “the best creativity magazine in the UK“, Covid brought about a huge number of changes to e-commerce. Here’s how web designers are shaping e-commerce and boosting the post-pandemic economy.
In the e-commerce world, the design of your site is as important as the products you sell and the customer service you offer. There’s no denying that the visual appeal of your website plays a critical role in online traffic, conversion rates, and effective marketing.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, e-commerce platforms experienced unprecedented growth, triggering a boom in the online retail industry and changing the course of website design forever. Consumer behaviour adapted quickly to prioritise different site elements, and it continues to evolve.
But how do designers keep up with this evolution and how does the way they work influence the future economy of the online retail sphere? We delved deeper into the subject to find out.
How Online Consumer Behaviour And E-Commerce Economy Changed After Covid-19
Consumer behaviour is constantly evolving. But the pandemic brought more changes to it than most events in the timeline of modern society. Because web design plays such a large role in how consumers perceive brands and for-sale items, the design industry has had to rapidly adapt to these changes.
When everyone was staying indoors, brick-and-mortar shopping came to an abrupt halt, and some interesting new consumer patterns emerged.
Here are some of the most prolific post-Covid consumer trends:
Increased Demand For Personalisation
Personalisation has been a growing trend over the past few years. But it really took off during and after the pandemic. As people spent more time at home or in their own company, the craving for curated, personalised options exploded.
E-commerce platforms are responding to this by implementing web design algorithms that respond to individual users by using their names, providing them with curated suggestions, and advertising products that match the search history of their accounts.
A string of big e-commerce brands has embraced the personalisation trend by adding customisable options to their products, such as names or photos printed on inanimate objects like mugs, cushions, posters, and magnets. Being able to customise and personalise makes today’s consumer happy.
Value-Based Purchasing
Economic instability, tighter budgets, and the stockpiling spike of 2020 pushed consumers to crave products that were distinctly higher value for money. Few people could afford to spend leisurely during the pandemic. This prompted designers to place more emphasis on showcasing certain items.
Different from pre-pandemic days, consumers moved their focus from non-essential items to almost exclusively essential items. Their price sensitivity made them wary of spending recreationally, triggering a new wave of consumers that prioritise quality over quantity.
This affected the way web designers presented the order of products on e-commerce sites. Items like household supplies made their way from the back to the front, appealing to consumers’ desire for reliable, sensible products.
More Engaging Animations And Visual Aids
The amount of high-quality content that consumers are exposed to in the 2020s is extremely high. A vast majority of the world spends several hours a day purely dedicated to digital content consumption. And the result? An army of consumers with very high standards for visual engagement.
This puts extra pressure on web designers to produce content that’s not only easy and fun to consume but also surpasses competitors’ standards. After all, the attention of consumers is ultimately what all e-commerce platforms want—and that makes web designers’ jobs even more difficult.
Since the pandemic, web developers and designers have had to re-assess their approach to website layouts and functionality, supplementing them with eye-catching visuals and animations that capture consumers’ attention quickly.
Post-Covid-19 E-Commerce: What To Expect
Even though the e-commerce industry has already seen some dramatic changes over the past few years, it is only a taste of what’s coming in the future.
We are still only experiencing the early phases of Covid-19’s impact on the economy and society and consumer behaviour. Such a significant event is sure to have a ripple effect on people’s buying and scrolling habits for decades, if not centuries to come. Here’s what we can expect:
Progressive Web App (PWA) Implementation
PWAs are a relatively new technological breakthrough anticipated to become the golden standard for e-commerce platforms in the future. A sort of hybrid between a website and an app, a PWA has all the best bits of both—the accessibility of a website, and the versatility of mobile interfaces.
Minimalist Interface Design
Due to the rising quantity of digital clutter being offloaded onto the internet, minimalistic design themes are already becoming popular amongst e-commerce users from around the world.
By keeping the user interface (UI) stylish yet simple, web designers can make consumers feel calm and in control while doing their online shopping. This makes it easier for users to focus on what’s available and reduces the chance of a high bounce rate due to a slow-loading site.
Thumb-friendly Navigation
This is a trend that’s already going mainstream, and you can see it everywhere from well-designed portfolio sites to those built for e-commerce. Mobile browsing has seen a huge uptick in activity since the pandemic. This has promoted designers to accommodate smaller screens and single-finger browsing to maximise the user experience (UX). In the future, this style of navigation is going to become even more prevalent.
Thumb-friendly navigation requires designers to think about those browsing on a handheld device, and only using their thumb to swipe or tap buttons. Creating a UI that places essential tabs closer to the thumb creates a user-friendly experience that makes browsing or shopping simple and streamlined.
Data Visualisation
Post-pandemic consumers are big fans of data visualisation charts. This helps them can a clearer idea of trends, movements, and statistics, which can be used to influence their purchase decisions. While presenting complex data entertainingly and in a way that enhances the UX is a challenge, web designers need to rise to it.
Data visualisation can also help e-commerce platforms keep better track of economic growth patterns and consumer behaviour over time. All in all, we can expect to see more of data visualisation.
A New Normal Leads The Way
Any e-commerce platform that wants to make itself known as a competitor in the market needs a web designer that knows their stuff. Since the pandemic-inflicted lockdown, online consumer behaviour has changed and evolved significantly, driving web designers to take a whole new approach to design.
Today, successful e-commerce platforms are created for more quickly capturing users’ attention, providing them with more personalised options, and exaggerated brand identity. As the world continues to evolve, sites that adapt to these economic and behavioural shifts are more likely to succeed.
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