The world of eCommerce, particularly that sector chiefly concerned with the provision of entertainment and media, has been undergoing some meaningful shifts in the way it conducts its business in the 2020s.
The reasons for this are manifold, but not unexpected. Like many other markets, this sector has come to benefit from the disruptive impact of novel technologies and monetization approaches that are helping pave the way for ever more compelling experiences – both for the end-user, and service provider.
Here we’re going to take a rundown of the trends that are having the largest impact on this sector in 2024, and will be seeking to get to grips with what they imply for the state of the industry, and in the years to come.
The Rise of Post-Search
For decades, there was one – and only really one – way to search for content on the internet. That was through the use of search engines, from Google to Bing and DuckDuckGo. These engines effectively construct a map of the open internet, and use this to connect a users’ search query with pages offering relevant results. However much has changed in recent years, with the extent of modern SEO optimization effectively limiting the benefits of search engines for all but the most general enquiries.
In light of this, there’s been a growing trend in the entertainment sector towards favoring alternative discoverability processes. For example, in the iGaming sector, it has become increasingly commonplace for users to search for new gaming platforms through dedicated comparison platforms such as Vegasslotsonline CA as the narrow focus this offers users saves a lot of time, and yields higher quality results. What’s more, platforms such as these have come to serve as effective affiliate webrings, with patrons able to avail themselves of cost-effective sign-up offers, casino bonuses and welcome deals when opting to route through one of these directories.
Elsewhere, web users have begun to demonstrate a preference for searching for content through closed app platforms, such as the social networks TikTok and Instagram. This is only a natural evolution of the fact that these platforms are where the average internet user now spends the majority of their time online anyway. What they offer for search, especially for the entertainment sector which is able to effectively leverage the audio-visual orientation of these apps, is a bespoke and algorithmically tuned way to connect with their audience, cutting out the middle-man.
Growing Import of DeFi
While crypto and the blockchain are nothing new, their march towards mainstream acceptance has been marked by all too frequent setbacks. From concerns with the environmental costs of crypto mining, to the high profile fraud cases being leveled against leading exchanges, decentralized finance has had to face an uphill battle to get its merits recognized by the wider public.
Fortunately however, these are more properly thought of as growing pains. The sector has markedly cleaned up its act, with major coins like Ethereum even pivoting to a low-energy verification process. As for the concerns over fraud, this has led to the rise of new and more rigorous standards coming into place to prevent repeat offenses.
This is good, because the benefits for the entertainment industry and the wider eCommerce sector beyond are enormous. That’s because cryptocurrencies offer unparalleled privacy, security and flexibility to people around the world, and represent a novel and compelling alternative to legacy payment processors.
The blockchain can host everything from NFT receipts for transactions, to micro-cryptocurrencies that can be employed by brands like store-credit. In our modern world, the way people pay, live and work has never been more diverse – as evidenced by the range of novel technologies pioneered by necessity by the fintech sector. The online entertainment sector, as one of the leading drivers of digital growth, is recognizing the necessity for leaning in to the diverse benefits of crypto in order to create a payment experience favorable to the widest range of its potential consumers as possible.
While the metaverse, the VR-optimized dream of a cyberspace successor to the current internet, is still struggling to get off the ground in a decisive way, few imagine that the entertainment products to be unveiled within such a context will avoid the prospect of monetization through blockchain tools. Thus, the forward-thinking brands are already eagerly preparing for what they see, in this, as an inevitability.
