The eCommerce Industry is highly competitive today. eCommerce companies are doing everything possible to improve their businesses in order to meet customers’ needs and satisfactions (better customer experience).
Ecommerce trends need to be adopted and monitored tightly in order to stay ahead of the competition. These eCommerce trends will prove to you that eCommerce is rapidly growing and developing every day, and it’s here to stay!
Importantly, as a business owner in the eCommerce industry, you should include these eCommerce trends in your business to enable rapid growth in your online store.
Moreover, in the year 2022, in promoting your business ensure you take advantage of these emerging trends in the eCommerce industry not just for the present alone but ahead of future success that is yet to come.
Top 10 Ecommerce Trends in 2022
Here are some of the top 10 eCommerce trends you need to look out for in 2022:
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
There will be certainly more exciting developments showing forth in AR and VR technology in 2022 and beyond!
In recent statistics, it was discovered that:
By 2022, over 120,000 stores will be using Augmented reality (AR) technologies, offering a much richer buying experience to shoppers.
Also, 71% of consumers say they will be interested more in shopping with eCommerce brands that utilise Virtual reality.
In the e-commerce world today, augmented and Virtual reality has been a smart approach to solving buyers’ major online shopping problems. You may be wondering, what’s the major problem?? Buyers online do not get the chance to view their products first-hand. Buyers think quite a lot before spending their money on a product if such product will match their expectations when it finally gets to their doorstep!
AR and VR technology helps to bridge this gap by boosting shoppers’ confidence in making the right purchasing decisions. With a non-static, three dimensional preview of products, there is a better shopping experience in industries such as fashion, home decor, and artwork as customers can have a better feel for the product without having to view it in person.
Some examples of brands that utilise AR and VR go thus:
- Sephora allows customers to try make-up looks and take pictures with the outfits they are putting on.
- IKEA allows users to visualize furniture in their homes using the mobile’s camera.
As it is, eCommerce stores should seize the opportunity to utilise AR and VR technologies in their online businesses as it gives them an edge ahead of their competitors in the industry.
Moreover, it gives shoppers the ability to test and explore products conveniently as they would do when buying from a physical store. Now, isn’t that cool? Getting an improved online shopping experience similar to an in-person shopping experience.
Increased Prevalence of Voice Search
Voice search is growing in popularity over time. It positively influences search results and shopping outcomes.
According to Google’s new guidelines, content for voice search should include more textual contents that will allow them to appear in rich snippets and knowledge graphs.
An eCommerce business owner should leverage a voice search optimization strategy for immediate and future sales in ensuring your products and services rank for keywords and phrases suited for voice search queries. The use of voice-enabled buttons will lead to higher conversions.
Amazon and other top brands have started making eCommerce apps for voice assistants thereby making it easy for users to order with their smart speakers.
Voice technology such as Google voice search, and virtual assistants such as Apple’s Siri, and Amazon’s Alexa have been of great help in our lives. Business needs to understand these emerging trend and utilize it in their marketing strategy.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence and machine learning are the talks in the digital marketing industry today. They are essential and are of great help to any business today. They are quite affordable also. They promote customers’ automated and personalized shopping experiences.
When it comes to predicting shopping habits based on browsing and shopping history, Artificial Intelligence plays a huge role. AI on a continuous basis, collects data-data on how the customer shops, the duration of time a purchase is made, and what customers are looking for in a product or service. The accuracy of the data is determined by the quality and size of the data.
AI is an effective personalization strategy that can be implemented by business owners.
Seamless Personalization
More than 50% of online buyers are looking for personalized shopping experiences. Personalized merchandising in e-commerce explains personalization best.
Data collected from AI makes it possible for customers to get the best-personalized product recommendations and customer service. Some data points include:
- Search queries
- Purchase history
- Shopping cart
- Geographical location
- Social behaviour
By using such data points, customers’ experience can be improved. With personalization, how can you possibly improve customers’ experiences? You can with:
- Lower prices
- Giving discounts
- Better customers communication
- Faster shipping
- Unique customer services
- Easy-to-navigate website
Improved personalization will bring about higher conversions and advance customers relationship. As an eCommerce business owner, you must invest in personalization tactics to make the online shopping experience better for your customers.
The Rise and Use of Chatbots
Presently and in years to come, chatbots are a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool. Chatbots are effective as they interact well with online customers just the same way an in-store attendant will.
Today, many online shoppers lack the patience and get frustrated when they can’t find and buy products easily in just a few clicks. Therefore, while browsing online, customers might need more information about a product they are interested in, and the use of chatbots will hasten sales as information are provided to customers’ satisfaction.
Chatbots improve customer engagement.
Mobile Commerce/Shopping
Ecommerce growth has been influenced greatly by the increase the mobile usage. As Millenials and Gen Z are growing up surrounded by computers and the Internet, so also is the rate of online shopping increasing every year.
People trust and are comfortable with online shopping from their mobile phones at their convenience with effective digital payment methods.
It is paramount to ensure your website is mobile responsive as a business owner. Ensure your online store is well-optimized for a wider target audience reach. Now is the time to make your store responsive!
More Flexible Payment Options
As a business owner, if you only accept credit/debit card payment methods, it is time for you to consider more improved options. Customers get frustrated when they check out their carts after shopping and they realize the store does not offer any of their preferred payment methods.
Therefore, offering a wide variety of mobile-based payment methods is essential for your online store. When you provide customers with a fast and easy payment process, there will be high conversion rates on the use of mobile devices to shop. For example, digital payment methods and cryptocurrencies are widely used nowadays.
Subscriptions
The use of subscription models is on the rise. Subscription models have been proven successful and businesses are now turning their products and services into subscriptions to ensure customer loyalty for months and years to come.
As a business owner, it is more likely you have to return customers when you sell with subscription-based models.
It is paramount to note that subscription success requires a long term mindset and a change in focus from “customer support” to “customer success”.
Sustainability is becoming more important
Nowadays, both consumers and businesses are more conscious of their environment. Customers are always observant and careful of where they shop and its environmental and other related effects.
Likewise, businesses are finding ways to be eco friendly by using biodegradable packaging and recyclable supplies. Consumers and governments are also making an apparent shift in renewable energy and sustainable environmental practices.
Customers prefer businesses with strong sustainability practices.
Automated B2B transactions
B2B is a big business segment. Always ensure you use the latest technology in solving other businesses’ pain points if you serve other businesses.
Using eCommerce trends in B2B transactions will enable more automation including automated accounts payable and receivable, reordering and fulfilment.
Conclusion
As you can see as our eCommerce world is changing, people and technology are also evolving.
As an eCommerce business owner, always remember to choose the best eCommerce trends that suit your brand needs, tone and goals. It is paramount to note that all trends will suit your business.
Whichever trends you decide to adapt to your business, ensure you improve your customer’s shopping experience and build a long-lasting relationship with them.
As a business owner, it’s not too late to get started with these trends, taking your business to the next level!