Must-have features for an eCommerce website in 2020

The dawn of the digital age has brought along the wave of eCommerce that has taken over the market across all verticals in this 21st century. The days of retail market shopping and coming to a halt making way for the online market to flourish and further, leading eCommerce website to be the dominant aspect of all businesses. Right from buying clothes and accessories online to book a movie and scheduling doctor’s appointments, the rise of eCommerce statistics has made lives easier allowing people to order products and get services online. 

This gives way to the specialized companies in the field of Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, mobile apps, and website development to be the beacon holder for the players who are entering the online market. The aficionados of modern tech are companies with a wide array of features to create a standalone impression amongst their customers and edge over their competitors in the eCommerce sector. 

Let’s have a look at the must-have features for an eCommerce website that can help a company gain grounds over its competitors. 

1. Augmented Reality – Images and videos of products are now readily available on eCommerce website platforms, in-fact most of the online players have leveled up to high-res pictures of their products, at times even supplemented with HD videos. This helps customers to have a better look at the product before purchasing the same. Augmented Reality has notched up the game and allows users to superimpose the product image in the real world, giving them realistic feel related to the product in terms of size, scale, color, and design. Some of the eCommerce players are even using a 360-degree product view giving a detailed observation of the product to customers.
2. Product Video – Though most of the eCommerce players are yet to jump the bandwagon and introduce Augmented Reality on their platforms, HD product videos and 360-degree views is something that they have already opted for. Consider an example of any automobile company, where they showcase their cars in a high-def video, which obviously leaves a greater impact on the customers and helps them make the right choice suitable for their purpose. It isn’t prevailing just in the products category, as video explanation has also changed the service segment on eCommerce website platforms. Companies can now explain their services to customers through explanatory videos.
3. Chatbots (Live chat assistance) – Long gone are the days when a customer had to solely select the product with his limited knowledge. Today, with the intervention of AI-based chatbots aka virtual assistants available on eCommerce sites, a customer can easily opt for the most suitable product with the help of these chatbots. Moreover, any query related to the selection, purchase, or return of the product can be easily handled with the help of live chatbot assistance. This feature not only helps in increasing the footfalls on the web-platforms but also helps retain the existing customer base resulting in overall profit for the company. 
4. Social login – If you cannot finish your shopping and payment checkout with just a few clicks then it is certain that the return and retention of a customer will have a lesser probability. The whole purpose of the modern eCommerce platforms is to make the customer experience easy with a quick and hassle-free process. Instead of making a new login ID for the customer, the modern eCommerce players are also providing options for login through social media accounts. This serves another purpose of showing customized products to the customer on their social media handles, which, in turn, increases sales and profit. 
5. Mobile-Friendly – The number of smartphone users surpassed 3 billion marks in 2019 and it's growing exponentially. The recent technological advancements have made smartphone accessible across the social strata. This gives a great conclusion that only mobile-friendly eCommerce platforms are going to flourish in the near future. As per Statista, the number of smartphone users is going to cross a 3.8 billion mark by 2021. Keeping a balance for both mobile and desktop users is essential for online platforms. The easier the purchase process, the quicker the page loading in the mobile app, the better the user interaction, the greater are the chances for the eCommerce website platform to stay ahead in the business game.
6. Easy Search Facility – when everyone has a limited time for every task, spending more time in finding the right product is surely going to disappoint the customer. Not just this, but an easy search facility with features of keywords and image search makes it a smooth and happy experience for the customers that further strengthens the satisfied clientele base. Faster loading time and easier navigation also contribute to the easy search facility offered by an eCommerce website. 
7. FAQs and Product Description – There is one most important aspect of online purchase and that is trust and confidence in that online platform. Many a number of products require a detailed description that can help the customer understand the product in a better way. The expensive the product, the explanative the product description should be. Also, FAQs are projected by the eCommerce players so that genuine and trustful information regarding the product can reach the customers and potential buyers.
8. Marketing Automation – Personalized shopping experience is the new age trend and every customer yearns for that. Through different tools, applications, and web-integrations, the eCommerce players can plan their campaigns and the ads and schedule them in sync with celebrations and festive seasons. Right from email marketing campaigns to other social media campaigns, the marketing automation tools positively change the customers’ personalized experience.
9. Pop-ups – The days of random pop-ups are no more. Today, with the developments in AI and Machine Learning algorithms, pop-ups are customized and presented to a customer depending on their search history and the products that have interested them earlier. This way, pop-ups are indeed a great tool for websites. Whether it is a pop-up that appears the moment the customer takes the cursor near close icon or try leaving the page, the customized pop-ups are a powerful tool to change the customers’ minds and help them opt for the offered products. 
10. Security Features – Transactional security takes the prime position when there has been a purchase on any online platform. With the rising cybercrime around the world, it has become essential for eCommerce Installation sites to present completely secured payment gateways and merchants' accounts to ensure that the transaction happening on their platform is completely secure. From SSL certification and firewall to TPA services, the advanced payment options make it all easier for the customers to purchase products online and therefore also helps eCommerce platforms to retain and increase their loyal customer base.