Nate Burke , CEO, Diginius 01.18.22
With the limitation of social interaction over the last two years, ecommerce has risen to prominence at break-neck speed. Nate Burke, CEO and founder of digital marketing specialist Diginius, shares his predictions for ecommerce trends in 2022 and offers helpful tips on how companies can adjust in an ever-changing market.
Omnichannel Strategy
According to Zendesk’s customer experience trends report, high-performing customer experience teams are more than twice as likely to be taking an omnichannel approach as underperforming teams. What Zendesk also reports, however, is that only 35% of benchmark companies have an omnichannel strategy in place – this represents a great opportunity for businesses to gain an edge over their competitors.
With the ever-increasing prevalence of online channels, the modern-day consumer has more options than ever before, and consumer expectations are rising in turn. Omnichannel marketing is the upgraded version of multichannel marketing; it sees brands integrating their services across various channels as opposed to simply having them.
The pandemic has caused seismic changes to occur in the retail industry, and online shopping has become more prevalent than ever before. Though statistics suggest that online retail will remain popular, there is equally a growing desire to return to the personal experience offered by brick-and-mortar stores.
Currently, 63% of shopping instances begin online. The proliferation of mobile devices and digital advertisements means that, regardless of where a product is purchased, the majority of purchases will start online. With cross-channel purchasing options like click-and-collect rising to prominence, though, it is crucially important that businesses adopt omnichannel strategies to meet changing consumer expectations and priorities.
Increased Use of Online Marketplaces
An exponential increase in the use of online marketplaces was apparent in 2021, and 2022 will see these platforms used further still. The prevalence of these marketplaces is unprecedented. Amazon, for example, currently controls over 40% of the US ecommerce market.
These marketplaces have a host of benefits, and represent another great opportunity for businesses to get ahead of their competitors. Online marketplaces make customer acquisition far easier, given their huge audiences. In the UK, for instance, over 90% of consumers use Amazon.
The platform has a global presence and reach desired by most businesses. By selling products through Amazon, or another online marketplace, they are exposed to a wide pool of consumers. Moreover, the mass prevalence of marketplaces such as Amazon marks trust vested in them by consumers, and seeing products on the platform will make consumers, in turn, trust the business.
Another advantage of using these platforms is their logistical power. If products are sold with a retail giant such as Amazon, businesses can leverage their industry-leading logistics system by shipping products to their fulfilment centers. In doing this, businesses can free up space and time, and can dedicate both of these to improving business.
Social Media as a Sales Channel
Another change in consumer behavior is the increased use of social media. By the end of 2021, over 57% of the earth’s population were signed up to at least one social media platform. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram are leading the way, with each of these social media networks representing a unique opportunity for ecommerce marketing. Facebook’s marketplace feature, for example, has been around for years. The marketplace allows both businesses and private sellers to generate and target leads, therefore increasing sales.
Instagram has also been placing emphasis on ecommerce and digital marketing, with its “Shopping” feature, for instance. The “Shopping” tab allows businesses to sell directly on Instagram’s app, totally integrating social media and ecommerce.
Instagram is a particularly useful tool in ecommerce marketing with 81% of users navigating the platform to research products and services before purchasing them. If a business’s target demographic is young, they should be aware that 47% of 18-24-year-olds have purchased products after seeing them advertised on Instagram.
