The Internet of Things Will Fundamentally Change eCommerce
The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the way consumers shop online, and businesses are scrambling to figure out how to use consumers' 24/7 interconnectivity to their advantage.
According to data compiled by Contentstack (see the full infographic below), the average American household contains five connected devices now, and that number is expected to rise by 180 percent in the next five years. By 2025, it's expected that 27 billion devices will be connected to the IoT. This vast network of connected objects has huge implications for the way consumers shop online, and of course, businesses want the valuable data that these devices provide.
So what does this mean for the average consumer? Mostly good things, according to Contentstack's report. Businesses want to capitalize on making transactions faster and more convenient for consumers and simultaneously reach more of them across a variety of devices and platforms.
One way to do this is to embrace the fact that their consumers are always online. Data from a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center shows that 77 percent of Americans now go online at least once a day, and that includes outside of regular business hours (who doesn't love browsing Amazon at 1 a.m.?) And with access to business and product reviews, notifications for sales and discounts, and fast shipping, digital shoppers are smarter and more informed, with the ability to harness data to inform their own purchases.
This also means that the connected customer wants fast, personalized correspondence with brands, with 80 percent of consumers saying that they expect a response within six hours after posting on a business' social media.
Consumers are using Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant to compare prices and research products more so than make purchases, though that is expected to change as the global connected market is expected to grow by $150 billion by 2023 and voice purchasing becomes more streamlined. There may even come a time when products can be trained to buy themselves. For example, when your connected home system senses that a lightbulb has gone out, it can automatically order a new one for you.
This may or may not sound like something you'd want, but it definitely leaves questions about security on most consumers' minds. As we've previously reported here at PCMag, IoT security is still developing, and consumers are aware of that fact. In 2018, for example, 78 percent of consumers said that concerns over data privacy could inhibit their use of connected devices to make purchases, according to Contentstack's report.
In addition, the report also states that only about half of companies were able to detect security breaches in their IoT products in real time, further which could further reduce consumer confidence in making secure purchases.
There's no doubt that the IoT will fundamentally change e-commerce, but it might take some time to get to a point where it's completely streamlined. Consumers simply won't use platforms that aren't functional, secure, and easy to navigate, so it's up to businesses to lay the groundwork for an always-online, interconnected marketplace.
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.