eCommerce Trends You Need to Know to Increase Sales in 2022

If there’s an industry that changes rapidly, it’s certainly eCommerce. Thanks to ever-changing trends and developments in marketing, sales, fulfilment and more, it pays to stay up-to-date with the latest eCommerce trends. After all, if you don’t, your competitors will. So, if you want to know the eCommerce trends that’ll increase your sales in 2022, keep reading…

Rising costs

This probably isn’t something you want to read, but it’s a reality that can’t be avoided.

If you want to make more sales in 2022, then you’ll need to factor in the higher costs of doing business and incorporate them into your sales and marketing budgets for the year ahead.

A combination of COVID-19 lockdowns, supply chain disruptions and raw materials shortages has created an inflationary pressure which means rising costs associated with employees, property, shipping, marketplace costs and much else besides. If you want to set yourself up for success in 2022, keep a close eye on those costs and budget accordingly.

The social media sales channel

Whilst this is a development which has already been underway for the past couple of years, expect sales via social media to explode in 2022.

2020 saw Instagram launch the shopping tab as a way for its users to explore and shop for new products. Since then it’s added additional features that make it easier than ever for eCommerce retailers to turn Instagram into a fully-functional sales channel.

Other social media platforms have followed suit, with platforms such as Facebook Live allowing brands to launch and retail new collections and products through their platform.

With consumers continuing to spend a great deal of time dwelling on social media channels, you absolutely need to embrace social media as a sales channel in 2022.

Augmented Reality (AR)

Shopping online just isn’t quite the same as shopping at a brick and mortar store. You can’t simply pick something up and inspect it closely. You can’t grab a garment and feel the weave of the fabric.

However, with the rise of Augmented Reality, this is changing. Smart eCommerce retailers are embracing AR which allows consumers to use their smartphone to see what a product would like in their own home.

AR allows consumers to ‘walk around’ a product, watch a moving demo, see the product in action, and zoom in and out at will.

In other words, AR brings the online retail experience about as close as it’s possible to get, to the brick and mortar experience.

And, if that hasn’t convinced you, maybe this will; an impressive 71% of shoppers say they’d be more likely to shop with an eCommerce retailer if it offered AR.

So, to boost your sales in 2022, consider incorporating AR into your online shopping experience.

Flexible payment options

Have you heard of Klarna? If you haven’t then you’ve probably been living under a rock!

Klarna, and multiple other ‘smart finance’ companies such as PayPal Credit, Affirm, AfterPay, and Splitit have exploded in popularity over the past year – and are only going to get bigger in 2022.

Klarna alone has seen a 132% increase in its US retail partnerships between June 2020 and July 2021.

They allow you to offer flexible payment options to your customers (for example, paying for an item in three instalments).

Offering these types of flexible payment options can help convince consumers to pull the trigger on big-ticket items and therefore increase your overall sales…

Plus, if you’re not offering these payment options and your competitors are, you can wave goodbye to your customers!

The rise of marketplaces

If you’re not making use of online marketplaces to promote and sell your goods, you should consider doing so in 2022.

Whether you like them or not, online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay just keep growing and growing – in fact, the UK online marketplace sector is forecast to grow by £13 billion over the next five years.

That means online marketplaces will be gaining larger and larger shares of the online shopping market.

Whilst online marketplaces certainly have their detractors, they are an excellent way of reaching huge numbers of potential customers. What’s more, they can even help you to open up international markets for your products.

Could 2022 be the year your eCommerce business embraces online marketplaces?

Voice shopping

If you’re retailing consumables, general household items or even foodstuffs, then you need to investigate voice shopping in 2022.

The medium’s non-visual format means it’s not particularly suited to big-ticket, big-commitment purchases, but it does lend itself perfectly to those last-minute, “I’ve just run out of…” purchases.

And, it’s growing as a sales channel. According to a study by Finances Online, the number of ‘voice shoppers’ is expected to increase by 55% by the end of 2022. That’s a huge growth; driven in part by Amazon’s launch of its Echo smart speaker.

Green credentialism

How green is your eCommerce business? It’s a question you’ll need to be willing and able to answer in 2022.

Consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of their online purchases and want to work with brands that are able to demonstrate their green credentials.

A Neilsen study in 2018 found that the sales of products which included claims about their sustainability achieved higher sales than the category average. As an example, the study found that sustainable chocolates achieved a 16% increase in sales, whilst all other ‘non-sustainable’ chocolates achieved only a 5% increase in sales.

Going ‘green’ extends beyond the products themselves. As well as sourcing sustainable products, eCommerce retailers are increasingly looking to make their packaging, shipping, and overall operations more environmentally friendly.

Whilst some of these efforts do incur costs, as we’ve seen you’ll more than makeup for them in increased sales from eco-conscious consumers.

Product customisation

Although this isn’t suitable for all eCommerce retailers, if you sell clothing, shoes or other similar items, then giving customers the ability to customise their purchases could drastically increase your sales in 2022.

 

Customisation adds a personal touch to what could be an otherwise generic product. Take Nike’s Nike by You service as an example. Customers are able to customise the colours, design, material and fit of their shoes.

If you’re able to offer something similar to your customers in 2022, you could find yourself with an enormous advantage over your competitors.

Outsourced fulfilment

The final eCommerce trend you should be aware of in 2022 is outsourced fulfilment.

Although customers have always wanted to receive their purchases quickly, 2022 will see customer expectations reach higher levels than ever.

This means eCommerce retailers need to absolutely nail their fulfilment process if they are to win and keep customers.

To do this, they need to outsource their fulfilment.

Outsourcing your fulfilment to a specialist such as 3PL allows you to focus on what you do best – developing, marketing and selling your awesome products!

Want to make 2022 your best-ever year for sales? Then outsource your fulfilment to the professionals.

Speak to 3PL about outsourcing your fulfilment today

 

For more eCommerce business, marketing and fulfilment advice, read the 3PL blog…

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