The advent of the world wide web and the increase in affordable computers, tablets and smartphones has seen a huge boom in the number of people choosing to buy their clothing, groceries, books, and... well everything online! But don’t get used to the way you shop online right now because it won’t be too long before new, improved technologies transform the face of ecommerce for ever.

Here are a few ways online shopping is set to change in the next decade:

In the not too distant future, there is a very good chance that identity verification software like Netverify will be used not only to prevent fraud, but also to pay for goods and services online too. Your online identity will be linked to your bank account and you’ll able to make purchases without entering your card details ever. There’s a good chance that technology similar to this will be used in bricks and mortar stores, to streamline shopping, too!

As well as using ID verification software for payment, more ecommerce stores, in the next decade will start to incorporate automatic identify fraud measures into their business using software that can make real-time decisions, based on extensive data to work out whether a transaction is authentic or not. This will significantly cut down waiting times when making purchases and ensure that genuine customers don’t get their transaction turned down.

If a fraud does occur, it’s likely that, in ten years time, they will be far less liable for any losses than they are right now, where almost all of the burden is on them. That’s because fraud detection products like Forter, as I mentioned above, will be more commonly in use, thus shifting the burden to an outside source.

Right now, there’s still area difference in the online shopping experience depending on what kind of device you will use. Different code is used to show you stores depending on whether you’re using a computer or a cell phone and this can be annoying and inconvenient a lot of the time, especially when stores are poorly optimized for mobile devices, and you have to scroll for an age just to read a product description! Pretty soon, that won’t be an issue because channels will be merged and you’ll get the same experience whether you’re sitting in front of your laptop or ordering groceries on the go from your phone.

Right now, payment choices are kind of limited to what works for the retailer. In the future, the balance of power is likely to tip in favor of the customer as ever more payment methods become available, and they demand to be able to use them. Businesses that don’t offer more payment options will quickly fall out of favour, and only those who can adapt will be left.

Not only that, but it is extremely likely that payment options will be customized to the individual purchasing goods. For example, one person might log on to, say Amazon, and be offered the ability to spread payments on a new TV, while another will only have the option to pay upfront because they have been profiled and the company knows more about their spending habits and needs than ever before.

It’s already being tested, and there has been much talk about it all over the place, so it’s almost certain, that once the bugs are ironed out, we’re going to see our stuff delivered by unmanned drone direct to our doorstep, perhaps within the next five years if we’re lucky.

I think it’s a pretty safe bet to say that same-day shipping will be the only kind of shipping we have in the future. Lots of companies. Including Amazon, have already started offering the service on some products, in some areas, but in a decade, everyone will be doing it and, in fact, we might even be seeing an increase in same-hour delivery in bigger cities, at least. By then, we will have reached peak convenience.

As you can see, there is some real change on the horizon when it comes to internet shopping. If you’re a retailer, phasing these changes in early will give you a distinct advantage in the market; if you’re a customer, you can look forward to increased safety and convenience when you shop!