Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like every year goes by faster than the one before. It’s hard to believe that we are wrapping up 2016 already, but the time has come. It has been another great year for eCommerce and it doesn’t show any sign of slowing down. Let’s recap some highlights from 2016, look ahead to 2017, and preview what we have planned for you in the coming year.
What happened in 2016
This time last year, experts were predicting that 2016 would be all about mobile dominance, social selling, multi-channel shopping, and real-time analytics. Many of these predictions have come true, in a big way. Black Friday was the first ever to hit more than $1 billion in mobile sales, and a third of Cyber Monday shopping was done on mobile. Customers expected integration between all their shopping experiences, from mobile to desktop to in-store. Facebook debuted its Marketplace feature, allowing for local buying and selling. Visual commerce was on the rise this year, allowing customers to shop and purchase items from a picture.
There were some other major changes in 2016. Google announced mobile-first indexing, meaning SERP listings will be ranked based on mobile content. Google also updated Penguin and Possum, Amazon debuted its Dash Buttons, Snapchat continued to grow, and a slew of virtual assistant products were released. Compared to the third quarter of 2015, eCommerce retail sales in the third quarter of 2016 increased by almost 16%.
As we discussed in our Year in Magento News post, this has been a big year for Magento 2. Released in November 2015, this year gave partners and merchants the chance to see what Magento 2 is all about. Highlights include improved page caching, partial indexing, enhanced scalability, new catalog features, better security, and payment gateway integration.
What can we expect in 2017
Content is still king, but long-form content may be the emperor. There was a time when 600-word blog posts dominated content marketing, but that time is passing. Aim for longer, more in-depth blog posts, guides, and other types of content in 2017. According to Kissmetrics, longer content tends to rank higher on SERPS, results in more time spent on a site, and performs better on social media.
Speaking of SERPS, according to Practical Ecommerce, the importance of backlinks is on the decline. Backlinks are still used as a ranking factor, but they do not carry quite as much weight as they used to. Other SEO predictions for next year include increased importance of AMPs, more rich snippets and schema markup, and the continued growth of voice search.
2017 is also expected to see the rise of AI, especially in the form of chatbots, to meet customers expectations for personalized and convenient shopping experiences. Social commerce is likely to grow as well, with social platforms constantly developing new and improved ways to shop. Social is a also a place where shoppers go before the purchase to research products, read reviews, and engage with brands. Video is expected to be a huge trend for 2017, on social media as well as other channels. Rounding out the list of expected trends is improved mobile everything, the Internet of Things, and virtual reality.
ParadoxLabs in 2017
Here at ParadoxLabs, we’ve got big plans for next year. Our website has been going through a major redesign over the last few months and we are thrilled to say that the new site will be launching in a matter of weeks. On the blog, look for longer, deeper, more actionable content focused on Magento 2, useful tools and extensions, and ecommerce business strategies. We are debuting a YouTube channel bringing you Magento 2 tutorials, extension demos, and up-to-the-minute coverage from Magento Imagine 2017. Our new monthly e-newsletter will provide you with the latest from ParadoxLabs and the ecommerce industry. From downloadable content to optimized social media to development and support plan options, 2017 is all about giving you everything you need to run an amazing Magento store.
Thank you so much to all of customers, clients, employees, and supporters. You have made 2016 a fantastic year and we could not be more excited for all the wonderful things that 2017 will bring.