According to hybris 2008 will be a pivotal year for e-commerce as retailers respond to the demands of web-savvy shoppers. The company’s prediction is in line with many leading analysts and industry commentators who have been speculating on the emergence of e-Commerce 2.0.

Ariel Ludi, CEO of hybris, said: “Today’s online shopper is very sophisticated and this is forcing retailers to raise their game. 2008 will see the bar being raised as consumers are eager to adopt new technologies and reap the benefits of online shopping. We are working with our customers, the retailers in business, to ensure they can meet consumers’ demands and provide their customers with the types of service they are expecting. 2008 will be an exciting year for retailers, consumers and e-commerce experts alike.”

Amongst the trends that hybris has identified in the market that will see an upswing in e-commerce activity during 2008 are the following:

• Better website accessibility and usability thanks to increased use of AJAX, Drag & Drop, One-Page-checkout facilities and rollover lists in navigational areas.

• More Multi-Channel Commerce solutions for business users based on a single data and pricing information source

• More user friendly and socially sympathetic commerce websites thanks to Web 2.0 software tools with greater community and user input and involvement

• Increased use of a sales catalogue on retail websites with features such as the intuitive turning of pages

• Increased use of ASP multi-tenant solutions which will save money as these can manage all tenants on a single platform. This will also enable new business opportunities for companies to offer white-label service offerings to partners.

• Comparative online customer service stats will be available so retail sites and others can ensure they are providing top levels of service and competitiveness

• Increased accessibility of digital downloads thanks to functionality such as Software as a Service

• Greater integration with physical stores (store pickup, returns, POS terminals)

• More multi-national e-commerce websites will be established which will led to a need for more international payment solutions including automated tax and delivery calculation

• Integration of advertorials in shops e.g. of partners (cross selling) as ad spending on the internet further increases

• Long tail cataloguing will allow retailers to provide more choice for customers

• Brand oriented websites are important for brand presence and brand loyalty as the competition is just one click away

• International websites will be more important than ever in 2008 as many retailers broaden their global presence and global offering which brings product information implications with global differences