Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Top ecommerce trends 2022 has fully become mainstream. Consumers led the industry to a combined $791.70 billion gross in 2020 according to U.S. Department of Commerce statistics, and that is just including U.S. merchants.
However, with the pandemic slowing down heading into 2022, the rapid growth of digital businesses will also begin to even out. Customers are already becoming more comfortable with the concept of leaving their homes, and brick-and-mortar stores will fully open up their operations. The popularity of digital commerce will not disappear overnight, but the sense of complacency many businesses have from the boom can end up being dangerous.
You will need to keep on top of the latest trends to stay competitive going forward into the new year. Here are seven trends that will likely shape the top ecommerce trends 2022 , and will be essential to invest in.
Social Media Sales Channels
Social media has evolved from simply being a way to connect with your peers to a full-on tool where you can market your product to millions of users. Popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and now TikTok have introduced “buy” buttons in an effort to introduce social commerce to keep consumers on their websites at all times.
With 54% of consumers using social media to research products they are interested in, it is a no-brainer to begin to push your business and products on social platforms to meet your customers where they spend most of their time.
Sustainability
Thanks to the internet and social media, the world has become far more conscious about the impact it has on the environment. This mission of sustainability has made its way into many industries, one of the biggest being top ecommerce trends 2022, with approximately half of customers willing to buy more products from sustainable businesses.
Taking your company down a more eco-friendly route through going paperless and introducing recyclable supplies will not only help your business save money, but also help win more potential customers over to your store.
Visual/Augmented Reality Commerce
Ordering an item online only to find that the final product is not what you envisioned is one of the most disappointing things any customer can experience. Enter augmented reality (AR). Not just a gimmick used for video games, AR can completely change the shopping experience for many industries by showing consumers exactly what a product will look like in real life.
Now, potential buyers can see how furniture will fit in their home, glasses will look on their face, or how makeup can clear any blemishes, all in real-time through their phone or laptop. While not widespread at the moment, ABI Research estimated that over 120,000 stores will integrate AR in 2022 to allow their customers to better engage with their products. Now is a better time than any to start thinking about how augmented and virtual reality can be brought into your business so you are ahead of the curve.
Personalization
Nowadays, making a personalized experience for your customers is far more involved than merely greeting them by their name in an email. Personalizing a customer’s experience is an incredibly easy way to make them feel special. Around 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a company that caters specifically to them through content or promotions.
While it would be harder to implement, incorporating the ability to personalize a product through the best top ecommerce trends 2022 platforms like CloudCelero FastCatalog or Magento is also guaranteed to win over your consumer base.
Omnichannel selling
Putting your focus primarily on your online store is explicitly never a bad idea, as having a dedicated batch of customers come to you directly is a sign that you are doing things perfectly right. However, this also means that you are likely leaving out potential customers; 1. Who have not heard of you or 2. That are on the fence about purchasing from your store.
Nowadays, it is important to make sure your business has a consistent presence on social media, but to spread your business’s influence to other fronts. Bringing your brand to other retail websites like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy can also bring attention to your company to consumers that largely stick to larger online stores. While difficult to pull off for an independent business, the results will speak for themselves, with 84.9% of customers not purchasing a product until they have seen it multiple times on different channels according to stats from Sprout Social.
Voice Search
In recent years, businesses have wisely been focusing on proper mobile layouts for their shops, whether it be for dedicated phone apps or websites. With the rise of voice assistants on smartphones or smart hubs through the pandemic, it is important to begin to optimize your business for hands—and visual—free shopping too.
There certainly are limitations to how much you can do now, but even optimizing your website for keywords so customers can easily find your products or store hours through Siri or Alexa can save you plenty of time in the future. The amount of voice shopping is expected to increase by 55% in 2022, so getting a head start on your competitors now can build valuable relationships with customers that are constantly on the move.
AI/Chatbots
Artificial intelligence is no longer a feature of science fiction movies, and its implementation in E-commerce has proven to be wildly useful for customer service. Realizing that the in-person experience of an employee walking a customer through a brick-and-mortar store can not be replicated one-for-one online, business owners have realized that AI can best meet that expectation.
AI can understand repetitive human behavior to analyze shopping and buying habits, and from there make pinpoint accurate recommendations and assistance as consumers browse your store. Additionally, chatbots can offer customers any kind of assistance regarding products at any time of the day, saving you time and money to focus on the important aspects of your business.
Katalyst Can Transform Your E-commerce Business
While disruptions of all kinds are sure to happen as we approach the end of 2021, it can be vital to get a start now to prepare your business for the future. At Katalyst Software Services Limited, we have years of experience helping companies of all sizes transform their supply chains and online presence. Contact us today if you want to see what trends could help the most for your business, or ask for a free demo on our CloudCelero products.
