The Next Big Thing: 2017's top e-commerce trends

Here’s a statistic that might wake up traditional retailers – 51% of Americans prefer to shop online rather than in stores.

That simple majority jumps to 67% for Millennials, and 56% for Gen Xers.

Those figures come from Absolunet, a research and consulting firm that has released its list of the top 10 e-commerce trends that will impact North American retailers in 2017.

http://10ecommercetrends.com

Here is Absolunet’s top 10 list:



1. The end of Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Tech–savvy merchants are replacing Black Friday and Cyber Monday with Cyber November;



2. Real-Time Customization: The online AND in-store shopping experience will adapt to each consumer in real-time;



3. Data-As-A-Service + E-commerce: Every retailer will be able to match Amazon's selection, all the way down to product descriptions, images – even comments and reviews;



4. Hello, Artificial Intelligence: Consumers will interact with A.I … and they'll love it;



5. Bye-Bye Wallet: The beginning of the end for the wallet and cash – brought to you by mobile, wearables and other payment-enabled tech;



6. The Snapchat-ization of Shopping: Real-time commerce for a hyper-local era: how consumers will use mobile to unlock exclusive retail experiences;



7. Predictive Analysis: How merchants will use data to accurately predict their customers' next purchase;



8. The Uber-ization of Shipping: Smaller Walmarts, the rise of local drop-off points for online orders and same-day delivery;



9. Unified Commerce: The merging of e-commerce and commerce (silos are out and, possibly for the first time ever, easily avoided)); and



10. Disintermediation: Consumers want to deal directly with brands, and the brands couldn't be happier. Where do retailers fit in?

Absolunet also pointed to stats predicting online sales will increase from $335 billion in 2015 to $523 billion in 2020, a rise of 9.32% per year, although the current annual growth rate is actually 14%.