What is E-Commerce? It is the buying and selling of goods and services online or on the Internet. Why is it so important? Because e-commerce is one of the most rapidly developing spheres of our lives. For instance, according to statistical records, in 2021, there were more than 26 million online shops around the globe. Moreover, approximately 28% of people worldwide are digital buyers (it makes 2.14 billion online shoppers out of nearly 7.74 billion people in total).
Moreover, more people started choosing online shops over their offline competitors due to the advantages the Internet brings to online shopping. These include
- Simplicity and comfort
- A wide range of goods
- Saving time
- Saving money
- Getting detailed information about the purchased good
- 24/7 access to the shop
- No human contact (a plus for introverts and during the COVID-19 pandemic)
In this article, I talk about the best e-commerce companies worth watching this year. In addition, if you want to learn more about the most recent improvements in e-commerce, read these articles: How Voice Commerce is Dominating the E-Commerce Market Through AI? and 5 Ways AI Is Changing E-Commerce.
Amazon
Who doesn’t know about Amazon? According to statistics provided by Drip, Amazon’s market share made up 37% of all U.S. e-commerce in 2017. Four years later, in 2021, the company accounted for nearly 50% of all retail sales in the United States. Hence, Amazon is an e-commerce representative that is hard to compete against.
Amazon is a true leader in eCommerce in the USA and sets standards for other e-commerce businesses. For instance, the company effectively utilizes Artificial Intelligence in many ways. The most known forms of AI implementation by Amazon are personalized product recommendations and Alexa-enabled voice shopping. Personalized recommendations are broad-based nowadays; however, Alexa is a unique feature the company provides. For instance, Amazon claims that Alexa gives the platform’s users the opportunity to choose and purchase the wanted goods by directing the voice assistant instead of touching the screen.
eBay
Founded in 1995 in San Jose, eBay is a popular e-commerce company. An interesting fact is that the platform is so popular that even NASA sometimes utilizes it to find some replacement details.
As mentioned before, Amazon is the most popular online shopping platform in the U.S.; however, British people prefer eBay. Nearly 19 million English citizens monthly use eBay to complete their buying-selling operations.
eBay implements AI to enhance search, provide personalized recommendations, help sellers choose optimal prices for their goods, and organize marketing campaigns. Moreover, the company implements Natural Language Processing (NLP) to break language barriers between buyers and sellers.
Also, eBay provides sellers with tools that help them boost the visibility of their goods and expand exposure for buyers. One more great feature the company suggests is Time Away which allows sellers to update their goods and protect the on-time delivery record even when they are away from selling or on vacation.
Walmart
Founded in 1962 by Sam Walton, Walmart is a multinational retail corporation. It manages a chain of hypermarkets and grocery & discount department stores from its headquarters located in the United States (in Bentonville, Arkansas).
Since its establishment, Walmart’s goal has been to provide customers with low everyday prices. Thanks to this aim, the corporation managed to gain popularity and build a loyal and strong customer base. Walmart has over 10,500 physical stores and clubs in many countries and operates several eCommerce websites.
The corporation implements modern technologies in both physical and online stores. For instance, in its offline shops, Walmart uses robots for various tasks like washing the floor, checking shelf stock, and scanning price lists for errors. In addition, the corporation recently launched its Text to Shop function based on conversational AI. Walmart’s online customers only need to text the bot about the specific good they want to purchase, and it will automatically be added to their cart. Moreover, Text to Shop provides product recommendations if the user needs them.
To find out more about conversational AI, read this article: Top 5 Uses of Conversational AI in Retail.
Postscript
Postscript is a company that helps other e-commerce firms establish successful communication with their customers via SMS. The company works with clients from various industries, including beauty & cosmetics, food & beverage, fashion & apparel, fitness & outdoors, and many more.
Postscript offers its clients such options as:
- Automating their text marketing
- Maximizing ROI with targeted campaigns
- Spark conversations that bring revenue
On the company’s website, you can find several case studies with Postscript’s previous projects, their help for various industries, and a partner directory. Moreover, Postscript provides many resources that help teach customers more about the specifics of SMS marketing, including their blog, automation template library, and learning center.
Function of Beauty
As the company’s name makes clear, Function Beauty works in the beauty industry. The company claims that they “are rewriting the rules of beauty.” The products that Function Beauty offers are focused on hair (shampoos, conditioners, hair masks, etc.), body (body wash + lotion), and skin care (serum, moisture, and cleanser).
One of the most interesting features on this e-commerce company’s website is a set of quizzes related to hair, skin, and body care that users can take to find out the right care for themselves. Function Beauty also provides reviews of its products from other customers. What is great about the review section is the opportunity to share your personal characteristics (e.g., hair type, hair structure, and scalp moisture) that might be important for others when choosing a product.
Vue Storefront
Vue Storefront is creating front-end decisions that will help the company’s customers enhance their performance and conversion. Vue Storefront includes all aspects of customer experience that might be important to their customers. These include:
- Supersonic speed and mobile-first architecture
- 20+ out-of-the-box integrations
- Ready-to-customize design system and UI
- Hosting Platform
Vue Storefront suggests its customers from the e-commerce industry boost their site performance and improve customers’ shopping experiences with the help of such tools as JavaScript stack and PWA. The company defines itself as “the fastest-growing front-end project in the world.” Also, Vue Forefront has additional information for developers on their website.
Maude
Maude is a sexual wellness startup that launched in April 2018. The company’s product line includes various goods related to sex and body care, such as massage candles, body oil, libido, massagers, condoms, and more.
Forbes mentioned that the company is “redefining the sex essentials industry for modern consumers.” Maude’s three primary values are quality, simplicity, and inclusivity. The company works with the best factories to provide consumers with top-notch goods, utilizes simple and elegant designs for its products, and stands for inclusion for all. In 2020, Dakota Johnson joined Maude in the role of investor and Co-Creative Director.
Maude’s website fully supports the company’s aims, goals, and visions. Its front-end decision includes all the necessary components, from creativity to simplicity and elegance.
Goldbelly
Launched in 2013, Goldbelly is a great online marketplace for foods curated from various restaurants, delis, and bakeries and shipped across all 50 states of the USA. In the popular categories, you can find literally any type of food, from pizza and seafood to pies and bagels.
One of Goldbelly’s greatest offers is purchasing an e-gift card for your loved ones. By choosing the card amount, users can use one of the suggested sums of money or enter their customized amount.
Goldbelly uses such social media platforms as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to attract new customers; however, the customer boom happened in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic and the broad-based lockdown brought “food nostalgia” to many people and made them look for various opportunities for food purchasing. Hence, Goldbelly gained a million new customers, with sales increasing by 200% compared to the previous year.
Underground Cellar
Underground Cellar represents itself as “the best way to discover wine deals and buy wine online.” Truly, the company suggests many featured offers, discounts, and gifts, as well as a broad variety of wines, which makes Underground Cellar especially attractive to wine lovers.
On the company’s website, you can:
- Discover the best wines tested by experts
- Upgrade your offer to bottles valued at more than you paid for free
- Save up to 500 bottles for free in your personal CloudCellar
- Ship the chosen wine at any time
This online marketplace has a well-developed loyalty program that allows customers to get special offers and upgrade their wine bottles by bringing in their friends, participating in various discussions among users, and purchasing wine.
Lumify
Lumify is a great platform providing many benefits to healthcare professionals. Launched by Anthony and Jennifferre, nurses and co-founders of the company, Lumify Care is trusted by more than 50,000 healthcare professionals.
With the help of Lumify you can find all the necessary products for your job. For instance, among the suggested goods are uNight Light, scrub hats, under scrubs, compression socks, and many other great products.
Lumify offers healthcare professionals to have all of their gear and resources and gets the best rewards and various benefits from their favorite brands. Also, users can join a large community of experts in healthcare. In addition, Lumify gives healthcare professionals the opportunity to buy their gear with discounts and giveaways, trade advice, look for and find great job opportunities, and perform many more activities that make professional life much easier.
