Contact
Happy New Year everyone! With a new year, comes new trends and predictions show that trends will definitely be changing for eCommerce merchants. Some of these changes may be more obvious than others, but all should be taken into consideration as they can have a significant impact on your bottom line. In this blog post, we’ll discuss 10 trends to watch in 2022 and how you can prepare for them now so you’re not caught off guard by their arrival!
Trend #01: The Continued Rise of Voice Commerce
Voice commerce is continuing to grow in popularity as more and more people adopt voice-activated devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home. In fact, a recent study by Forrester found that by 2021, 50% of all online shopping will be done via voice. This trend should be taken very seriously as an increasing number of consumers are beginning to rely on voice assistants for everyday tasks like buying products online. Voice is expected to be a $40 billion channel by the end of 2022, it’s important that your eCommerce business be ready to take advantage of this growing trend.
Trend #02: A War Between Amazon & eBay?
This upcoming year will see Amazon taking steps to become more competitive with third-party sellers, which could result in the company trying to steal business away from eBay and other marketplaces. This could mean more restrictions on what sellers are able to do and less favorable terms for those selling products through Amazon. If you’re a third-party seller on Amazon, you need to be prepared for these changes and other similar ones that could come in the future.
Trend #03: The Continued Rise of Mobile Commerce
In 2021 we saw mobile commerce hit $359.3 billion in sales, and “m-comm” will continue to grow as consumers become more comfortable purchasing items from their phones. In fact, a study by Google found that nearly half of all smartphone users have made a purchase on their phone during the last month! And mobile commerce sales are expected to double by 2025 hitting over $728 billion. However, this doesn’t mean that desktop is going away anytime soon – there are still many consumers who prefer to shop on a laptop or desktop computer. Make sure you’re optimizing for all screen sizes so you can reach as many shoppers as possible.
Trend #04: More Sophisticated Fraud Tactics
As eCommerce merchants become more adept at thwarting fraud, fraudsters are getting smarter and coming up with new ways to exploit the system. This means that you’ll need to be even more vigilant in monitoring your transactions and ensuring that your fraud prevention measures are up to date. One way to do this is by using machine learning algorithms that can detect patterns in fraudulent behavior that humans would be unable to see. A company that’s doing a great job of this is one of EYStudios’ partners Signifyd, an eCommerce fraud protection platform. They leverage big data, machine learning, and expert manual review to protect your orders from fraud.
Trend #05: New Shipping Techniques Emerge as Consumers Demand Faster Delivery Times
With supply chains becoming more fraught with delays, shoppers are fed up with shipping delays. Merchants that can solve this issue for their customers will come out on top. In 2022 we’re going to see new ways for eCommerce merchants to ship their orders to customers emerge as consumers demand faster delivery times. One example of this is using drones for deliveries, which could be especially useful for companies that sell items like clothing or shoes where fit and sizing are important.
Trend #06: The Continued Rise of Social Commerce
In 2021, social commerce surpassed $30 billion in sales and it’s only going to continue to grow. This is because more and more consumers are trusting social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook when it comes to making purchasing decisions. In order to take advantage of this trend, you need to make sure that your eCommerce store is integrated with social media platforms so you can reach these shoppers. This will include having social media buttons on your product pages and using social media ads to drive traffic to your store. You may also want to consider reaching out for help with social media marketing from EYStudios.
Trend #07: Gamification Will Continue To Boost Engagement and Spending
Gamification is the use of game mechanics in non-game contexts to engage users and boost spending. This trend has been hot in eCommerce for a few years now and it’s not going away anytime soon. In 2022 we’re going to see more merchants using gamification techniques to get shoppers involved with their stores and encourage them to spend more money. For example, according to data from Reflect Digital, 60% of consumers say they would be more likely to buy from a brand if they enjoyed playing a game with it. And, emails with gamification elements get 74% better engagement. If you want to increase your eCommerce conversion rates, make sure you incorporate elements of gamification into your email marketing and product pages.
Trend #08: Increased Use of Augmented Reality
Augmented reality (AR) is becoming more and more popular, and in 2022 we’re going to see it being used more often in eCommerce. This is because AR allows shoppers to get a better idea of what a product will look like in their home before they make the purchase. For example, you could use AR to allow shoppers to see what a piece of furniture would look like in the corner of their living room. To take advantage of this trend, you’ll need to have an augmented reality feature on your product pages where customers can visualize how items will fit into their home or office space.
Trend #09: The Continued Rise of Subscription Commerce
By 2023, subscription e-commerce is expected to generate more than 38 billion dollars in revenue, more than double the amount registered in 2019. This increase in subscription services comes as more and more shoppers become comfortable with the idea of signing up for subscriptions for everything from food to clothes to beauty products. This is because subscription services offer shoppers convenience and a variety of choices when it comes to what they want to receive each month. In order to take advantage of this trend, you’ll need to make sure that your eCommerce store offers subscriptions for the products you sell and that you have a system in place for managing recurring payments and orders. One way to do this is through the help of EYStudios and our partner Recharge, an easy-to-use subscription payment platform. EYStudios can help you set up your subscription service as well as design the process to be unique to your business.
Trend #10: Digital Wallets Continuing to Gain Popularity
Digital wallets are becoming more and more popular as a way for shoppers to pay for items online. By 2023, it is estimated that there will be 1.31 billion proximity mobile payment transaction users worldwide, up from 950 million users in 2019. Digital wallets will continue to grow, so merchants need to make sure that they have all their payment systems in place to accept these types of payments. This includes accepting digital wallets like Google Wallet, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay as well as possibly creating a system for processing bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In addition, you’ll need to keep track of what payment platforms are becoming popular amongst your customers. The number of mobile wallet platforms transacting more than $1 billion annually is expected to jump 27% by 2025 to 69 platforms.
Need help making these trends resolutions in the new year? EYStudios offers marketing, development, and design services to help eCommerce merchants reach more shoppers online. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you increase your online sales!