A RAPYD REPORT FOR

MERCHANTS

8 Trends to Grow Your

Global Sales in 2021

Get Ready to Win

the Future of eCommerce

rapyd.net
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................. 3

1. Cross-Border Sales................................................................................................................................. 4-6

2. Shoppable Content.............................................................................................................................. 7-9

3. In-Car Commerce.................................................................................................................................. 10-12

4. Fulfillment and Delivery Innovations......................................................................................... 13-15

5. Visual Search. . .......................................................................................................................................... 16-18

6. Progressive Web Apps........................................................................................................................ 19-21

7. Subscriptions........................................................................................................................................... 22-24

8. Composable Commerce................................................................................................................... 25-27

Conclusion. . .................................................................................................................................................... 28

About Rapyd................................................................................................................................................. 28

Sources............................................................................................................................................................. 29

2
Introduction
Emerging trends in ecommerce and
customer experience technologies
have the potential to expand your
market and increase revenue while
creating more meaningful experiences
for your customers.
This guide provides insights, case
studies and actionable steps you
can take to put these trends to work
for your business in 2021.
3
8 Trends to Grow Your
Online Sales Site in 2021
1. Cross-Border Sales
Tap into faster-growing markets
2. Shoppable Content
Reduce the clicks from browse to buy
3. In-Car Commerce
Make buying more convenient
4. Fulfillment and Delivery Innovations
Increase loyalty with faster delivery
5. Visual Search
Grow sales with more engaging search results
6. Progressive Web Apps
Drive conversions with engaging app-like experiences
7. Subscriptions
Expand your business with subscription-based recurring
revenue models
8. Composable Commerce
Build a best-of-breed retail tech stack
1. Cross-Border Sales

Cross-Border Sales Will Garner a Greater Share

of Revenues...But You Need to Enable it First

Data indicates that 2020 will result in cross-border ecommerce sales of $1 trillion.
(Invesp) With more than half of all shoppers making purchases from foreign websites,
cross-border sales represent a significant opportunity for business growth.
(ResearchAndMarkets.com) If you don’t already have a solution to accept local
payment methods from international shoppers, you need one now.

Cross-Border eCommerce as Share of

Total eCommerce Worldwide in 2016 and 2022.
25%
22%
Share of ecommerce sales

20%

15%
15%

10%

5%

0%
2016 2022

Source: DHL; Forrester Research; Practical Ecommerce

4
CROSS-BORDER SALES
Know the Who, What and Why
A successful cross-border ecommerce strategy needs to focus on the
right regions for your products while being localized to consumer
preferences and expectations. That means knowing your customer,
how they behave, what matters to them and using those insights to
create a localized online experience.
6 Elements of Localization
Local Payment Methods: Almost half of all global
consumers don’t use credit cards. (Rapyd) Accepting
locally preferred payment methods can double your
global addressable audience.
Local Currencies: Displaying prices in local currency
is not optional. Retail Info System’s research shows that
one in four shoppers leave a website if their local currency
is not displayed. (RIS)
5
Languages: Modern browsers may be able to translate
sites but they leave the content feeling foreign and
unfamiliar.
Mobile Web and/or Apps: Preferences for mobile
shopping change as you expand abroad. For instance, in
China, consumers have a strong preference for in-app
purchases, and UK consumers prefer to complete trans-
actions on the mobile web.
Shipping and Fulfillment: As retailers grow their
business overseas, they should consider working with a
third-party logistics company (3PL) that specializes in
cross-border fulfillment.
Customer Support: If live local language support
operators are out of the question, consider a
robust local language self-help section.

Take Action
To reach new markets, businesses
need to make localization part of their
international expansion strategies.
6
Thinking local is essential to reaching, engaging
and retaining cross-border customers who value buying
from sites that reflect their local languages, currencies
and payment methods.
Consumers expect fast and efficient
transactions online regardless of their country
of origin. Merchants must create a seamless customer
experience and remove friction from cross-border
payments. Offering customers trusted payment methods
that balance convenience and security, reduces cart
abandonment and increases conversion rates.
2. Shoppable Content

Shoppable Content Is Transforming

How You Convert Browsers into Buyers

Shoppable content is any type of online content that provides a direct purchasing
opportunity. As people spend more of their time-consuming imagery and video online,
and less time with traditional media channels, retailers are responding by making their
images, articles, videos, live streams and lookbooks shoppable.

Shoppers can click on an image and be

seamlessly brought to an online checkout What Type of Content Do You Want to See
flow. Customers can buy the specific item from a Brand or Business You Support?
immediately or continue to browse through
54%
recommended or related products.
46%
41%
Shoppers Want More Video 34%
Consumers have a strong preference for
video as a medium for content. Videos c
 atch 18% 17%
and hold viewers’ attention longer than any
other form of content. Integrating c
 lickable 2%
and shoppable elements into v
 ideos can Videos Emails/ Social Social Blog Content Other
Newsletters Images Videos Articles (PDF)
drive significant sales growth.
Source: Hubspot Research

7
SHOPPABLE CONTENT
Ted Baker Uses Dynamic Clickable Video
to Drive Sales with Shoppable Video
Ted Baker, a British luxury clothing retailer,
uses shoppable videos with dynamic
hotspots to highlight product features
and offer viewers a link to buy online.
During the first week of the #TedPresents
campaign, users interacted with the video
for an average of sixty seconds.
This engagement could be directly
attributed to $75,000 of sales on the
website in the first week. The comprehen-
sive data generated by the campaign has
allowed the company to build on its
success and optimize future campaigns
8
#TEDPRESENTS
No need for frantic shopping sprees or hours spent online – simply watch Ted’s fantastical film, filled with shoppable gifts.
For the best cinematic experience on a mobile device, Ted recommends you view the video in landscape mode.
with insights to help drive even greater
connections and conversions. (Epsilon
International)
As multimedia continues to blur the lines
between shopping and entertainment,
merchants that understand how to simplify
the route from browsing to buying will stay
ahead of the competition.
Source: Ted Baker
Source: Ted Baker

Take Action
Retailers can work with technology
providers to transform content into
an interactive shopping experience that
drives engagement and sales.
9
Livescale is a live shopping solution that helps
brands to engage, convert and attract customers
through a customizable and brand-owned live shopping
solution.
Buywith is a platform for online shopping live-stream
sessions using a screen-sharing feature. Retailers can
enable influencers to shop with their followers on their
ecommerce site.
Bambuser lets retailers provide live video shopping
with chat, likes, and direct shopping on a website. 
3. In-Car Commerce

Connected Vehicles Create New Possibilities

for Local eCommerce

The number of IoT devices now exceeds the number of people in the world. No longer
confined to industrial or manufacturing environments, IoT devices are embedded in all
aspects of consumers’ lives. Nowhere is this trend more prominent than in the automotive
industry, where consumers are making purchases from their cars.

Commuters spend $212 billion a year from their cars

using smartphones, with 66% indicating that they
How Consumers Use the Internet and
would make more purchases if in-car purchasing was
Connected Devices in Their Cars
available. (pymts.com) With the recent proliferation 47.2% Found a gas station

of curbside pickup due to the pandemic, this trend 35.3% Ordered food & picked up at drive-through

is only set to spike. 33.4% Ordered coffee & picked up at drive-through

16.5% Ordered food & picked up in restaurant

14.9% Ordered an item & picked up at a store during the commute

14.5% Ordered groceries & picked up

13.9% Ordered coffee & picked up in restaurant

13.5% Found available parking spots

13.3% Ordered food to be delivered upon arrival

14.8% None of the above

Source: https://www.intellias.com/fintech-in-automotive-how-to-im-
plement-payment-systems-in-connected-cars/Case Study or Advice:

10
IN-CAR COMMERCE

Driving New Possibilities for

Consumers and Local Businesses

Many car manufacturers are integrating new ecommerce functionality to provide even
greater convenience for drivers. Jaguar, GM, Hyundai and others have partnered with
payment technology providers, gas companies, restaurant chains and even Amazon to
enable drivers to pay for goods and services with near-field-technology integrated into
their vehicles.

Drivers can pay for meals at a drive-through or curb-side pickup, purchase gas, or book
a yoga class, without ever needing to swipe a card or handle cash. It’s only a matter of
time before in-car commerce transforms the way people check out and interact not
only with national chains, but also more local merchants.

Source: Ted Baker

11
 Utilize APIs from platform services such as Google
to bridge connected cars to consumer’s mobile apps. For
instance Android Auto from Google allows Android users
to connect their phones to the car display and connect
apps to the Android Auto projected experience.

Take Action Joining the Delivery.com marketplace

may be a way for local merchants to access the GM
Utilize connected cars to create new in-car commerce marketplace. Other Neighborhood
ecommerce channel opportunities. economy platforms may be following suit in the near
future.

12
4. Fulfillment & Delivery Innovations

Logistics Advances Deliver Customer

Satisfaction and Competitive Advantage

The global shift to digital channels during the pandemic has changed shopping habits
and the demands and expectations of customers. Consumers are increasingly looking
for their purchases to be delivered the same day or at a specific time that suits them.
Providing customers with a choice of delivery options that offer speed and convenience
can differentiate merchants from their competitors.

Meet Customer Expectations for

eCommerce Delivery The Importance of Offering Fast
Offer a choice of cost, speed and convenience to
AND Free Delivery Options
increase conversions and loyalty. Increasingly, digital
natives are less willing to wait and more likely to
pay for expedited delivery. In other situations, fast 72% 24% 41%
shipping is unnecessary and considered to be too
expensive. In addition, if the preferred carrier is
Rank free delivery Willing to pay to Willing to pay a
not included in the list of options, a consumer
as the #1 reason receive packages charge for
may abandon their shopping cart and make their to shop online in 1 to 2 hours same-day-delivery

purchase elsewhere.
Source: Conveyco 2020.

13
FULFILLMENT AND DELIVERY INNOVATIONS

The Sky’s the Limit!

Retailers are turning to advanced technologies to meet evolving consumer expectations.

Self-driving vehicles and drones will become key to high reliability and same-day
delivery in both urban and rural settings.

UPS’ Flight Forward subsidiary (UPSFF) has recently partnered with iQ Healthtech
Labs to launch a commercial drone delivery service for rapid delivery for time- and
temperature-sensitive medical supplies using a hub-and-spoke routing model.

An Irish startup, Manna, recently completed a trial to deliver medicines to vulnerable

patients. Working with healthcare authorities, once the doctor has written the
prescription, the medication can be dropped directly to patients’ homes.

Many of the innovations that took place in the healthcare space in 2020 will be making
their way into consumer ecommerce in 2021. Businesses need to be prepared to meet
Source: UPS

consumer’s growing expectations for fast and convenient delivery.

14

Take Action
As faster automated delivery options take hold,
businesses have an opportunity to dramatically
improve their customer experience. Providing
shipping options helps online retailers convert more
shoppers and reduce cart abandonment rates.
Add-ons and extensions can expand the shipping
choices offered to customers, allowing them to
select the option that suits them best — from
selecting delivery times and local couriers,
to allowing orders to be split and shipped
to different destinations.
15
Easyship provides retailers with access
to enhanced international shipping capa-
bilities, including a network of couriers and warehouses,
and it keeps customers updated with information on
their shipments.
Retailers looking to match Amazon
Prime’s 2-day delivery should consider a third-party
fulfillment company. Fulfillment companies can look
after order processing, packing, and shipping, allowing
online retailers to focus on growing their business.
As retailers grow their business overseas,
they should consider working with a third-party logistics
company that specializes in cross-border fulfillment and
allows businesses to store their goods across borders to
optimize delivery times.
5. Visual Search

New Visual Search Technology Closes the Gap

Between Search and Purchase

Visual search empowers users to see something they like online, in a picture or on
social media and easily find the item or something similar to purchase. In product
categories such as home decor and fashion, this can significantly narrow the gap
between seeing and buying.

Research of Gen Z and millennial consumers found a strong preference (62%) for
visual search. (ViSenze) Businesses that have optimized their digital channels to rank
highly in image search results will gain a significant advantage over competitors,
with research indicating that those brands supporting visual and voice search will
increase digital commerce revenue by 30% by 2021. (Gartner)

16
VISUAL SEARCH

Asos Makes a Match with

Shoppers Images

Asos is one of the biggest names in UK fashion ecommerce. With 80% of UK traffic
and 70% of orders coming from mobile devices. Asos introduced a visual search tool
through their mobile app to match pictures to items in their catalog.

Asos Style Match allows shoppers to upload any image from their photo library, images
from magazines or screenshots from social media. The tool presents the best matches
available as well as similar or close matches in case the specific item is unavailable. This
creates an easy way for shoppers to find the right look fast.

Source: Asos

17

Take Action
Visual search technology continues to improve as
users become more accustomed to its convenience
and efficiency. Businesses, particularly those in
highly visual industries, need to understand how
they can apply this functionality to optimize their
websites and social media strategies.
18
Companies like Shopix offer AI-based
visual search engines for existing ecommerce
websites, allowing smaller merchants to build customized
and scalable visual search engines into their sites.
Pinterest has visual search built into their
platform with Pinterest Lens allowing users (Pinners) to
find specific products by clicking the camera in the search
bar and snapping or uploading a photo.
To create shoppable Instagram and
Facebook posts, retailers need to ensure that they
have business accounts on each platform. For Facebook
this translates into having a Facebook Page as opposed
to a profile and for Instagram having a business account.
6. Progressive Web Apps

PWAs Go Mainstream and

Take Mobile Commerce with Them

Nearly 42% of the world’s population has access to the Internet through a mobile
device. (Statista) Moreover, mobile ecommerce sales are expected to account for 54% of
total ecommerce sales by 2021. (eMarketer) With mobile adoption growing fast, mobile
apps and sites are critical for reaching new customers and improving mobile conversions.

Mobile websites are faster, easier and less expensive to produce. Mobile apps provide a
better experience, but they cost more and only capture traffic from shoppers who know
and download your app. Progressive Web
Apps (PWAs) offer the best of both worlds. Global Smartphone Adoption
as a Share of Population
PWAs allow websites to deliver an 50%
44.9%
Share of population using a smartphone

app-like experience without the app: 41.5%

38%
35.8%
40%
• Loads faster and responds quickly to user 33.5%
interactions 30%

• Less expensive to develop and maintain

20%
than apps
• Operates across platforms and operating 10%
systems
0%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Source: Statista 2020

19
PROGRESSIVE WEB APPS

Starbucks’ Mobile Experience

Gets a “Grande” Makeover

In developing markets, Starbucks created a PWA that has the same look and feel as an
app. Much of the PWA is accessible without an internet connection, increasing usability
in network dead spots.

Its small size (99.84% smaller than the 148MB size of the mobile iOS app) makes it fast
and ultra-responsive — providing all of the functionality and experience of an app.
Once connected, customers can view pricing based on their location, earn Starbucks
Rewards, order and pay with their phones.

Source: Starbucks

20
 Plugins from companies like KnowBand
can create progressive web apps from your ecommerce
website without significant development investment.
KnowBand offers integrations to many popular
ecommerce platforms, including WooCommerce,
Magento and Shopify.

Take Action
PWAs can be delivered quickly using
existing web development resources and
at a fraction of the cost.

21
7. Subscriptions

New Technology Is Increasingly

Helping More Businesses Transform
to Recurring Revenue Models

Technology has changed how consumers read, listen

to music, manage their fitness, watch television and
so much more. With more products and services
becoming subscription-based, consumers are “buying
into” the concept of access rather than ownership.
Subscriptions Are an Increasingly
Common Way to Buy Online
Percent of online shoppers who signed up for subscription
products and services online
Product Only: Blue Apron,

Subscriptions can be an effective way for a business Product & Service

4% Dollar Shave Club, etc.

to support their growth objectives and expand into 1 1%

new markets. The growth of a subscription product
or service can be hindered if customers’ preferred Media Only: Neither

payment methods aren’t accepted. Businesses need

Netflix, Spotify,
Online 5 1%
CklassPass, etc.
Shoppers
to understand customer preferences and integrate 34%
preferred methods into payment options.

Source: McKinsey analysis, Which of the following have you

purchased or subscribed to in the last 12 months?

22
SUBSCRIPTIONS

Bark Uses Data from Subscription Customers

to Drive One-Off and Retail Sales

Since launching in 2012, pet-toy retailer Bark has taken a big bite out of the sales of
traditional pet retailers like PetSmart. Their monthly subscription sales grew 70% from
2017 to 2018 and the retailer boasts an impressive 95% shopper retention rate.

Bark started by selling dog toys from other manufacturers, but due to their excellent
relationships with customers, and the feedback and data they were able to collect,
they began manufacturing their own toys. Their ongoing relationship with subscription
shoppers gave them unique insights into their customers, which they use to create
better products.

The strategy worked so well that the company expanded into brick and mortar retail
sales in 2017 through an arrangement with Target to sell their Bark brand toys. Bark’s
success shows that subscription and one-off purchases don’t need to be mutually
exclusive. For many retailers, the biggest advantage will come from embracing both
models.
Source: BarkBox

23
 Popular ecommerce platforms give you the
ability to offer subscriptions and memberships. Magento
and WooCommerce both have this functionality built in.

Offerings can be configured based on factors

like physical or digital delivery, subscription tiers, billing

Take Action
frequency and trial periods.

Merchants can generate recurring income Consider offering multiple subscription

and grow revenues by adding subscription tiers that provide an opportunity to up-sell customers
payment options for products or services. to more profitable subscription levels in the future.

24
8. Composable Commerce

Composable Commerce Will Drive

More Agility, Adaptability and Speed
for Midsize and Small Merchants

Composable commerce, also known as headless commerce, is an approach to

ecommerce that combines best-of-breed elements to create the solution that best
fits your business needs.

With the vast selection of plugins and integrations now available for WooCommerce
merchants, more small and medium-sized businesses are taking a composable
approach.

Merchants that try to rely on a single solution for all their needs could quickly find
themselves left behind as competitors offer more robust features and capabilities
that improve the customer experience.

25
COMPOSABLE COMMERCE

Gartner Predicts that Businesses

Example of a Composable Commerce Approach
Embracing Composable Commerce
Will Leave Their Peers Behind Mo
ts bi
en l

e/
ym

PW
According to a recent Gartner Report, Composable Commerce Must Be Adopted for the

Pa

A
Future of Applications, by 2023, those organizations with a composable commerce approach API-Enabled
will outpace competitors by 80% in the speed of new feature implementation. By 2024, 30% Plug-ins eCommerce Plug-ins
of organizations will use a modular architecture to construct ecommerce applications. Platform

Sub

ch
ar
sc
pt

Se
al

ri
io n u
s V is

Vendor
Third Party Logistics

26
 By rethinking the technology stack,
organizations can leverage technologies across a
range of functions (shopping carts, promotion engines,
recommendation services) to respond to customer
demand and preferences, develop new capabilities,
expand into new markets, and develop more innovative
solutions.

Take Action
Building a composable commerce solution
with best-of-breed applications from
different vendors gives retailers more
opportunity to optimize the customer
experience and compete
more successfully.

27
Conclusion
Innovation is a powerful
catalyst for growth.
Choose the trends that are most
relevant to you and then use the action
steps to help you identify the right
technologies and get started putting
them into practice.
28
About Rapyd
Rapyd is the fastest way to power
local payments anywhere in the
world, enabling companies to expand
globally without building out complex
payments infrastructure. By utilizing
Rapyd’s global payments network and
flexible Fintech-as-a-Service platform
businesses can accept and disburse
funds and create innovative payment
experiences. Rapyd is backed by
Stripe, General Catalyst, Oak FT and
other top-tier investors.
rapyd.net
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Some icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com