What are the big trends in ecommerce for the next 12 months? Rory Dennis, founder and general manager of Amplience, gives us the inside track on what 2015 has in store for online retail.

Content is the future of commerce

In the coming years we will see huge growth in ‘lifestyle' media incorporated into websites. As online shopping continues to gain market share, the competition between brands will become fiercer, brands will look to sophisticated content that engages, inspires and influences to help them turn customers to advocates.

In tandem, we will also see customers become more demanding of their website experiences, which will also feed competition and the use of sophisticated content to attract consumers.

Videos will become more prevalent

Videos are already gaining ground as inspirational and educational tools, and we will continue to see this trend increase in the year to come. More specifically, we will see the rise of shoppable videos that allow consumers to purchase items directly from the videos they’re viewing, right at the point of inspiration.

In the years to come, the ability to shop via videos will become increasingly prevalent and will ultimately be the expectation for consumers. In addition, video content will spread outside of the usual realm of fashion and into other sectors, such as lifestyle. How-to videos that offer engagement and advice will also increase in prevalence.

Personalisation will be the gold standard

For marketers striving to create impactful ecommerce experiences in the year to come, personalisation will be the name of the game.

Consumers will demand personalised content, and those retailers that can deliver will gain market share. As a result of increased personalisation, we will also see more segmentation of messaging and content, which in turn will increase media requirements.

Crowdsourced content will be huge

In the coming years we will see more and more brands turn to user generated content, especially content stemming from social media.

Content will remain king, but it will be put in the hands of the consumer so that it is increasingly crowdsourced, and this will become a focus for retailers.

Consumer generated content will be utilised by brands to develop and support brand image and influence customers through social validation. We will see more brands dedicate portions of their websites to displaying this type of content and encouraging interactions through their sites.