We're at a point where eCommerce is not just an addition or luxury, but it is a necessity now. If you're a B2B & B2C business looking to grow and develop, transitioning to eCommerce is essential. With eCommerce, you can get almost anything and everything to your doorstep at your convenience. Things are just a click away, and that ease has won over people more than any other marketing tactic. Accessibility is another thing. Everybody has a smartphone, and getting to connect your business with everyone is key to scale. So, that is another solid reason to consider eCommerce.
eCommerce has the ability to facilitate brands with D2C business models, too, and they can deliver a pretty fantastic experience for the users. Meanwhile, you have to realize that even the established eCommerce mediums have to keep updating with the ever-evolving eCommerce trends to stay alive in this domain. For every term, you as an eCommerce platform must aim to bring in new directions and updates to your company to draw in people and stay ahead of the curve. So, let's take a deeper insight into the eCommerce trends in 2022 that are evolving and, in general, about the future of eCommerce!
Table of contents
- Top 12 eCommerce trends for 2022
- Increased usage of voice search
- AI-dependent upselling and cross-selling
- Multiple payment options
- Augmented reality to ease purchases
- More innovative mobile shopping tools
- Analytics and machine learning to optimize sales
- Automated B2B transactions
- Transparent consumer privacy preference
- D2C business continues to flourish
- Social Commerce
- Livestream shopping
- Headless eCommerce
- What’s in the future of eCommerce?
- Conclusion
Top 12 eCommerce trends for 2022
Stepping into 2022, We need to implement and find ways to attack the market and grow. The above graph depicts the rise of eCommerce from year to year. Which is a solid reason to attack the domain. Here are some notable eCommerce trends that are 'happening' right now and need to be taken advantage of:
1. Increased usage of voice search
The use of Voice assistants and voice tech has come a long way. Almost all devices have been developed and optimized to a certain level from your smartphones, televisions, smart home devices, and more. People have found voice search to be convenient, and the numbers & usage of voice tech show how popular it is. Now, In the eCommerce industry, you have to understand that this directly has an impact on search results and shopping tendencies. Ecommerce sellers must stay updated and be conscious of changes in search behavior so that they can alter and develop for future sales. Therefore, ensure that your eCommerce site is optimized for voice search for mobile devices by focusing on crucial information like Website and physical address, contact details, and working hours.
2. AI-dependent upselling and cross-selling
AI and machine learning are the core for predicting a customer's shopping behavior. Prediction of this data relies mainly on a shopper's browsing history and the shopper's purchase history. While it seems pretty impossible to personalize your Website for the wants and needs of every individual customer, AI could actually make the impossible seem possible. While there are negligible amounts of retailers that possess the volume of information required for legit artificial intelligence, Certain ERP and Customer relationship management systems include machine learning features to facilitate cross-selling and upselling activities.
3. Multiple payment options
It's 2022, and if your business only facilitates payment through a debit card or check, It's time you reconsider your payment gateway options. Opening up to a wide range of payment options, Gives buyers from all over the world the chance to purchase your products without a hassle. This also boosts the conversion rate on mobile devices. A considerable number of online retailers make use of tools that give the space for consumers to purchase with the help of a payment plan with zero additional fees.
4. Augmented reality to ease purchases
The one segment where online shopping got a lot of hate was that it lacked the ability to get a feel for the product and that visualizing is pretty tricky. Meanwhile, Augmented reality has been a fantastic eCommerce trend. With the help of AR tech, shoppers get a natural feel for the item they are purchasing, which facilitates shoppers to make a confident decision about buying a product. As we strongly believe, Words can lie, but numbers don't. Recent polls have shown that about 35% of people agree that they would be shopping online frequently if they had the ability to try on a product before purchasing it virtually. About 22% of them even agreed that the chances of visiting a store and purchasing products would be slim to none if their go-to store had AR features. The beauty of AR is that not only does it give you a 3D model view of a product, but it also allows a user to get a feel for the product as if they had it with them in their hands. This is where Augmented reality scores.
5. More innovative mobile shopping tools
Mobile shopping gives customers the space to make purchases from pretty much anywhere, which is critical and essential to thriving in the eCommerce domain. Be aware that if your eCommerce website isn't optimized to function responsively on mobile devices or through web apps, you'll be leaving a lot on the table. Mobile users have risen enormously, and tapping into them is necessary to scale and expand. Mobile users expect the mobile version of your Website to be responsive and expect your Website to facilitate various digital payments. A statistic stated that by the end of 2021, 73% of eCommerce sales will be run through mobile devices.
6. Analytics and machine learning to optimize sales
Analytics tools made use of to gather and accumulate information. Analytical tools integrated with eCommerce platforms reap your live results. You get a live insight into how customers feel about your eCommerce site or ads with the help of real-time data. When integrated with machine learning, you can use this data to evaluate your company and get data about projective sales and places your eCommerce site has to work and pick up the speed. This way, you can minimize bounce rate and cart abandonment.
7. Automated B2B transactions
The more your B2B functions are automated, the more tasks you will be able to run efficiently and seamlessly and eliminate pain points. Some automation functions include accounts payable, accounts receivable, reordering, and fulfillment activities.
8. Transparent consumer privacy preference
Online privacy laws condemn what businesses are allowed to track and what they are allowed to do with accumulated customer data. Sometimes, It's easy to oversee these laws and trip over accidentally, so make sure your business is flexible. Inform your customers about the ways in which you keep their data secured and safe. Keep everything transparent. This will help you to build customer loyalty and help you to earn their trust.
9. D2C business continues to flourish
D2C companies do not depend on intermediaries like retailers and wholesalers to sell their products. D2C is looking to accelerate in the upcoming years as it possesses a new set of eCommerce preferences and tools.
10. Social Commerce
Social commerce is the business of buying and selling products/services with the means of a social media platform. With the antics of influencer culture on the rise, The business domain is going to find a way to provide a platform to facilitate influencers and organizations to sell to consumers. How easy is it to click on a product tag and purchase a product/service in a jiffy?
A research stated that 73% of businesses have begun participating in social commerce, while 79% plan to be doing so in the coming years. The bottom line is that everyone is preparing or already attacking the social forum.
To enter the social commerce domain, Figure out where traffic is accumulating and establish your business there. Keep a record of your journey through native app analytics and website referral traffic.
11. Livestream shopping
Livestream shopping is an integration of social commerce and literal live-streaming. Using a specific social media platform, Influencers and companies go on live streams to showcase the products and services they provide. During the broadcast, Potential customers get a chance to interact with each other and the companies to purchase the showcased products. All of this from the comfort of your place is what makes it a hot spot for companies and brands to explore.
Remember that anytime you complete the job of the consumer more effortlessly, you are doing great in the business world.
The interactivity and ease of access if what makes Livestream shopping a fun experience. When customers can't come in-store, look at products and make purchases, A Livestream session helps the seller sell their products seamlessly. This demonstration gives the customer a thorough idea of the product, Thus allowing them to purchase the product/service with complete confidence.
12. Headless eCommerce
Headless commerce is being adopted as a solution by many businesses due to its flexibility on the backend. The SEO benefits, the content, and the digital marketing capabilities make it a go-to option for eCommerce platforms that are looking to establish themselves. Headless eCommerce gives you more control over your content and eventually the customer journey until checkout.
What's in the future of eCommerce?
The eCommerce universe is evolving to become the best version of itself and meet new consumer expectations times. eCommerce businesses are aiming to automate marketing, production, fulfillment, and other business functions to take advantage of emerging technologies.
To achieve massive rewards, you must equip your business with an advanced and progressive eCommerce model that allows you to create seamless omnichannel experiences across in-store, web, and mobile channels and facilitate both B2C and B2B businesses. Automation and machine learning will run and determine the future of eCommerce.
The good part is that AI and machine learning will bring down costs while boosting sales for eCommerce businesses. Businesses that adopt these automation techniques and implement them will evolve and scale with ease. Numbers tell that customer preferences are also drifting towards eCommerce more than ever.
Conclusion
New eCommerce trends keep coming out every year. Tech is being developed at a rapid rate, and there is no doubt that it is making our job more manageable. But, Does that mean that we have adopted all of the current eCommerce trends? Probably not.
We have listed a number of trends that have the potential to do well and are doing well. But will it benefit your business module to its best is a thing that you will have to decide for yourself? So, now that you know what trends rule eCommerce and about the future of eCommerce, explore and implement different trends to get the best out of your business. Good luck!