Although amounting to $4.8 billion in sales, worldwide e-commerce sales growth is predicted to steadily decline by roughly one percent year after year until 2021. To survive this future, you must include seamless e-commerce integration. Here are five key things that your business needs to offer to make sure it gains and maintains a competitive advantage, according to research by Subscriptionly.

Optimize Delivery Speed

If you can, offer same day deliveries. Most of your shoppers will buy more if you offered same-day deliveries. Most of your shoppers will also expect same-day deliveries from you if your brand is high end. The importance of same-day shipping is underscored in Subscriptionly’s research that shows 73 percent of buyers are willing to pay $10 for shipping via drone if their packages are guaranteed to be delivered within an hour.

Personalization

Content overload is a problem these days. People don’t want to see content they don’t care about, especially when there’s better, more relevant content vying for their attention. That’s why customers value customization and personalization.

According to Subscriptionly, 41 percent of surveyed customers changed to companies with better personalization, and 48 percent spent more money because of good shop customization, like showing recommended products based on their likes or even the current weather!

Always Mobile First

While numerous shoppers purchase on desktops, more than half of consumers browse using smartphones. In fact, 58 percent of buyers use their mobile devices to research products. Smartphone-based purchases are also forecasted to increase up to 60 percent by 2020. If your e-commerce store isn’t optimized for mobile, the bad UX will likely detract from your sales, likely hurting your SEO.

Provide Multiple Access and Payment Options

Seventy-three percent of consumers shop using multiple channels. Try to at least be present in two social media networks to make it easier for your audience to find and interact with your brand.

Also, alternative payment options like cryptocurrency are predicted to overtake credit cards as the preferred mode of payment. Research now on how to integrate that into your current payment options.

Video Is King

Because people want to see how to use your product or service, showing them in a video builds trust. You can increase your average order value by 68 percent by inserting product videos in most of your page.

There are more ways to ensure you stay competitive in e-commerce. In fact, the aforementioned tips are only a sneak peak. To learn more about thriving in e-commerce, examine the infographic below.