Last Updated on November 25, 2021 by Guest
Ecommerce is probably one of the rare business sectors which benefited from the outbreak of COVID-19. Being locked in their homes, people had no other choice than to start shopping online. Now that they got the gist of it, the genie can’t be put back into the bottle and some eCommerce trends become evident.
Speaking in concrete numbers, the eCommerce market is on an excellent way to reach 20% of US retail spending by the end of 2022, which represents a 30% climb compared to pre-pandemic years. However, this higher exposure comes hand in hand with a growing number of disruptive factors that will form this market as it breaks into the mainstream.
Let us look then at some of the most important trends that will shape eCommerce in 2022 and see how you can use them to your advantage.
Social media channels become sales channels
In this case, the writing was on the wall for quite some time now. Social media platforms have become an essential part of our lives, making commerce a big part of this trend. A recent survey suggests that as much as 54% of social media users use their platform of choice to research the products they intend to buy. So, why wouldn’t we close the gap and give them what they want right where they’re at and earn some money in the process? Since platforms like Facebook and Instagram have built-in live streaming features, we can expect the following years to be marked by the rise of live shopping.
Growing demand for personalized product
If we are, to be honest, the demand for customized products was always there but the traditional retail model. Offering exclusivity always had a massive impact on customer satisfaction.
When shopping gradually moves to the augmented online realm, we finally have the infrastructure to allow customers to design their final products.
Recently, Nike offered their users an option to use augmented reality and customize their sneakers using video mapping. Perks like these are a perfect way to stand out in a very saturated market, so get used to seeing them more in the following years.
Variety of financing options speeds up the commerce
Over the last couple of years, we have seen a couple of spectacular examples of products being delayed for a whole variety of reasons. All these products that are not delivered in time can’t be charged in time, which can create serious cash flow issues and entirely disrupt an online store’s inner workings.
Fortunately, quick financing options like, for instance, Trade Finance loans should finally remove these obstacles. These small-scale loans are a perfect way to iron out occasional cash flow wrinkles and keep the supply chain going until the retailer can charge the invoices and speed up the trading.
Chatbots take over the customer service
Customer service makes one of the most critical business sectors, especially in mid-size and large enterprises. Fortunately, the rise of AI and chatbots we have experienced over the last couple of years has made this critical activity faster and simpler.
However, AI was capable only of simple tasks like collecting feedback from surveys, answering FAQs, suggesting recommendations, and promoting current sales offers. In the following period, AI will become advanced enough to engage in more complex interactions with users taking a more prominent role in customer relations.
SEO leveraging the power of Google Lens
Up until now, the SEO sector has proved to be quite capable of leveraging the growing number of search options to bring their clients closer to their intended customer base.
The ever-increasing popularity of Google Lens – a streamlined way of searching for the product by taking a picture of it – presents one of the latest hurdles to cross. And much like in the case of previous challenges, the solution will be found in the innovative product listing and creative use of relevant keywords. The stores that crack this formula first will get access to a market that is still fresh, developing, and has excellent growth potential.
Rapid customer research for keeping up with customers’ needs
The unfortunate circumstances the world experienced over the last year threw a wrench in everybody’s life. With the end of COVID-19 still too far ahead of us and more measures to contain the virus in the line, our habits, pace of life, and purchase habits will continue to change daily. That is why the eCommerce companies that want to stay in touch with their customers’ needs need to master the art of rapid customer research, move away from focus groups and look for more actionable insights. Asking focused yes or no questions to focused target groups is the way to go in 2022.
We hope these few growing trends will give you an idea of where the eCommerce market is heading in the year 2022. The outbreak of COVID-19 considerably sped up the development of this industry sector without giving us the chance to assess its outcomes properly.
Now, we are forced to play the catch-up game and make corrections on the go. But, we have enough data to make educated assumptions. In the right hands, even this limited knowledge should be enough to climb to the top of the market.