2022 E-commerce Trends

 

The e-commerce market has experienced incredible growth in the past five years. According to Forbes, e-commerce will account for 20.4% of global retail sales by the end of 2022, up from only 10% five years ago (1). With the continuous and rapid increase of consumers opting to shop from their mobile devices, the market is constantly changing to adapt to the current trends. As e-commerce grows in popularity, more and more businesses are opening online storefronts increasing the competition to achieve traffic. In today’s blog, gain insight into the trends to look out for and take note of in the e-commerce market throughout 2022.

 

1. Increase in Brand Advertising: As brands continue opening online storefronts and utilizing e-commerce to sell their products, competition becomes more intense. To strategically and successfully drive traffic amidst the competition, brands are investing in advertising and marketing to boost their algorithm performance. With so many products and e-commerce platforms and websites, the main priority for e-commerce retailers is brand recognition and understanding the algorithms in order to appear on potential customer’s mobile devices. Overall, e-commerce brands are spending more in 2022 focusing on their online presence (2).

 

2. Greater Focus on the Customer Experience: With more consumers opting to do their shopping online, companies are going the extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction and exceeding expectations. Online consumers rely heavily on product reviews because they are not physically seeing the product before purchasing. For this reason, companies are going the extra mile to decrease shipping times and provide support. In order to keep reviews up, there is more pressure to constantly exceed expectations and continuously provide customers with the best service (3).

 

3. Easily Accessible Online Storefronts: Modern day consumers are constantly looking for accessibility and ease of access when making purchases. Confusing website layouts and online storefronts will result in frustration from consumers ultimately leading them away from the page. Throughout 2022, e-commerce businesses will be focusing on making their storefronts both aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate for visitors.

 

4. Live Shopping Experiences: A huge trend that has been occurring recently is brands going live on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to showcase their products to viewers. The shoppers watching the livestream have the ability to comment and say which piece they would like to buy, and the shop can send them an invoice. The convenience factor is certainly real in this case, because shoppers usually get a glimpse of the product more in depth than online, such as a model trying on the piece and moving around in it. This type of shopping also increases customer engagement because they are more likely to tune in for the next live shopping experience if they enjoy the first (3).

 

5. Social Media Shopping: With the subsequent rise in usage of social media platforms, brands are beginning to advertise and sell their items directly from platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. In the past, brands would utilize social media solely for marketing and advertising purposes, but now that has all changed with the ability to make direct sales from the platforms. This is expected to become even more popular throughout 2022 (4).

 

In conclusion, e-commerce is not going anywhere anytime soon, and will likely be many consumer’s top choice when it comes to shopping experiences. Many businesses are integrating online storefronts to their business model to supplement brick and mortar sales, but when online sales begin to boom, it may start to feel overwhelming to manage. Integrating an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Solution with an e-commerce platform takes the stress away from online orders and fulfillment.

 

Softengine is the 2020 SAP North America Partner of the Year, and is ready to help your business grow and succeed with the help of ERP solutions such as SAP Business One!

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Resources:

1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/03/14/e-commerce-trends-2022-what-the-future-holds/?sh=3c118f9d58da
2. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/03/07/2022-e-commerce-trends-and-how-brands-can-capitalize-on-them/?sh=1556dda926d5
3. https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/ecommerce-trends-2022
4. https://rewind.com/blog/ecommerce-trends/