New Trend : E-Commerce 2.0

TREND #1: Rich Internet Apps Are On the Rise
First, expect a significant move to more interactive user experiences delivered through rich Internet applications (RIAs).

The early signs are everywhere: from Gap’s QuickLook to Amazon’s & Angara’s Diamond Search to MyRatePlan’s phone chooser to Harley Davidson’s bike configurator. This is just the beginning. With E-Commerce 2.0, RIAs will dominate. The main goal will be reducing shopping cart & checkout abandonment which, believe it or not, is sometimes in excess of 50% and is the key ingredient of low conversion rates (some of the best etailers are in the 3-4% range). In a world where shoppers can increasingly get the same product from ever more etailers, innovation will also target search integration and optimizing consumers’ browsing & product selection experiences to attract a bigger audience.

TREND #2: Disaggregation is Accelerating
The second trend is accelerating disaggregation, brought about by the dual forces of focusing on core competencies and leveraging network effects.

Disaggregation is not foreign to E-Commerce 1.0. Some businesses have pushed it to the extreme, outsourcing their entire online operations to Amazon, GSI Commerce and the like. For years, Amazon’s affiliate Web services have allowed businesses to build sites using the Amazon catalog and backend. That’s nothing new, though even more highly-customized, audience-specific sites will serve the Long Tail of consumer interests.

What’s new in E-Commerce 2.0 are network-wide services that provide only a portion of the e-commerce experience yet benefit from focused network effects. Ratings and reviews are a good example. E-commerce 1.0 has aggregators such as NexTag and Epinions. E-Commerce 2.0 has BazaarVoice and PowerReviews, which bring ratings & reviews capabilities to all sites. Payment is another good example. E-Commerce 1.0 has PayPal while Google Checkout belongs in 2.0. The key distinguishing features of the 2.0 services are tight integration with the e-commerce experience and the ability to go beyond simple hosting and leverage network effects. The most successful services will reduce the barriers to purchase across sites. Google Checkout and ARPU are two early innovators that merit keeping a close watch on. It is also interesting to ponder whether there is a 2.0 version of e-commerce analytics driven by the following trend.

TREND #3: "Social Commerce" is Emerging Fast

The third trend is social commerce, which comes in two flavors: content-driven and interaction-driven, or passive vs. active.

Examples of content-driven social commerce are already present, albeit not automated. Our purchase choices are influenced by those in our social networks. Brands know that. That’s why promotion on MySpace is the cool new thing. What about being able to see what products your friends have viewed or purchased? It’s coming to an e-commerce site near you.

Interaction-driven social commerce is different yet, again, a new spin on an offline idea—multi-level marketing. Remember Tupperware house parties? Well, the company has started hosting these online. Why can’t iTunes start offering incentives to people who recommend songs to others? And, since any individual can become an Amazon affiliate, anyone can have product links in their social network profiles that reward them for sending interested buyers to Amazon. With E-commerce 2.0 these types of social interactions will infiltrate the shopping experience. Combined with disaggregation, it means that social commerce will happen everywhere, not just on the e-commerce sites.

[via http://www.web2journal.com]
source: "E-Commerce 2.0" – The Velvet Revolution by Simeon Simeonov