In a survey of 46 trend and wonder manufacturers and retailers, greater than 37% have launched a third-party market to their on-line shops, 35% of which did so within the final 12 months. These marketplaces let manufacturers promote merchandise from different manufacturers or suppliers by their very own web site with out having to develop, personal or ship stock themselves. Often, that is carried out in partnership with a tech firm like Mirakl, which gives the know-how for one model to course of and fulfill orders positioned by one other firm’s web site.

Matt Scanlan, who’s on the chief group of a number of trend manufacturers together with Naadam, One thing Navy and Thakoon, beforehand informed Shiny that, as extra consumers transfer on-line, marketplaces can assist carry new clients and extra transactions to the positioning.

The opposite massive funding firms have made in e-commerce was round launching AI-driven personalised product suggestions. Greater than 15% of respondents stated that they had launched this function within the final 12 months, making it the commonest latest web site addition amongst these polled. In whole, greater than 36% of respondents supply this function, together with those that had launched it greater than a 12 months in the past.

Algorithm-driven suggestion companies are in excessive demand, as demonstrated by Pinterest buying the purchasing platform The Sure in June. Mada, a Gen-Z-focused app, is now aiming to scoop up The Sure’s former clients with its AI-driven outfit suggestions.

Whereas marketplaces and AI suggestions have been the 2 greatest latest e-commerce investments amongst manufacturers, a number of different traits stood out, as nicely. Reside chat was revealed as essentially the most extensively used function, with greater than 50% of respondents providing it, but it surely was additionally the function that the majority firms had launched a couple of 12 months in the past; 47% stated they launched it in 2021 or earlier.