While it’s hard to predict exactly what the future will hold for e-commerce, from our experience with resellers and social influencers to help them sell authentic goods from top retail brands, we see a number of interesting possibilities on the horizon.
Amazon will continue to expand into logistics, and possibly launch a UPS/FedEx competitor for last-mile delivery. As for geographic expansion, we predict the e-commerce giant will make major inroads into Latin America in 2019.
We think that technology movements like Amazon Go and cashierless checkout won’t just be a brick-and-mortar threat, but could have an impact in the online space as well. A good example would be the online grocer Ocado, which is building automated warehouses and has partnered with the grocer giant Kroger here in the U.S.
Shopify will start getting into logistics as well. This may include launching its own warehouses for faster shipping from its sellers. We also think the company will offer deeper tech integrations into its platform, because supply chain management is so difficult. If it launches its own hub and nails the inventory management piece in the next year, it may offer something that retailers have all been looking for: efficient warehouse management solutions.
Among other firms, we also believe Instagram will get into the e-commerce game and launch its own dedicated e-commerce app. That would cause Snapchat to counter with more e-commerce features, first expanding on its already launched visual search and shoppable augmented reality lenses, and adding high-margin, influencer-specific merchandise.
