Ecommerce has continued to come a long way since the days of overpriced Beanie Babies and ill-fitting pants. In fact, as ecommerce continues to grow at a rapid pace, global sales are projected to increase rapidly year after year. We’re seeing even more innovation in ecommerce trends of 2022 how we shop online.
This year alone brought us a brand-new technology that lets you take virtual selfies of your favourite purchases, plus another update that allows brands to optimize their product pages, so they load faster on mobile devices. Everyone is getting into the game because more and more shopping is happening through mobile devices while people are riding on trains, relaxing at home, and waiting for the boring first date to finally be over.
As the ecommerce industry continues to grow and evolve, online store owners need to stay up to date on the latest trends to remain competitive. In this article, we’ll explore some of the top ecommerce trends of 2022 that you should keep in mind as you plan for the future of your business.
Top Trends of 2022 to Take into 2023
1 – Integrating AR into the Shopping Experience
Augmented reality (AR), a technology that allows users to interact with digital content in the real world, has become increasingly popular in ecommerce. It’s used to create interactive product experiences, like showing how products look in your home or even on you before buying them.
This technology can be especially helpful for shoppers uncertain about what a piece of clothing will look like on them or if they want to try out different styles of furniture from their living room couch.
The more you personalize your user experience, the greater the conversion rate you will experience in annual sales.
2 – Leveraging User-Generated Content
User-Generated Content (UGC) is content created by customers. It’s a great way to improve the customer experience, increase conversion rates, and improve search engine rankings. UGC also has many additional benefits, such as improving brand awareness and social media engagement.
Brands need to understand how UGC can help them reach their online goals – but how exactly do you use it? The best way we have seen is to showcase authentic customer reviews and share online posts that people have uploaded related to using your products or services.
Think about the various viral videos of people using everything from Ocean Spray fruit juice while riding a skateboard to funny footage of your uncle falling over trying to play on an Oculus Rift. The point is UGC makes your brand more relatable while boosting engagement.
3 – Providing 24/7 Customer Support
In addition to providing a great product, 24/7 customer support will be among the crucial ecommerce trends of 2022 to keep going in 2023. Customers expect high-quality products and services and are willing to pay more for them—but they also want immediate access and personalized attention when something goes wrong.
If you can’t provide that kind of customer service, your ecommerce business won’t last very long! So how do you make sure that your customers are satisfied?
Fortunately, technology has made it easier than ever before. You can now offer 24/7 chat services or phone calls on demand through custom plugins, especially if you are using the WooCommerce platform. Our team at OPMC has developed a vibrant Customer Support for WooCommerce plugin that enables you to integrate chats into your ecommerce online store. This creates way more positive customer experiences with your brand.
4 – Offering a Wide Range of Payment Options
When it comes to payment options, customers want the freedom to pay how they want, when they want. This means offering a wide range of ways for customers to pay and being able to accept all major credit cards, as well as alternative methods such as PayPal and Apple Pay.
It helps if you start to expand your payment options to cover new geographic areas. For example, a current rising trend in ecommerce sales is broadening your target markets to new territories like China. Integrating a plugin like our AliPay Cross Border Payment Gateway for WooCommerce ensures you can accept more buying interest from one of the largest populations in the world.
5 – Using AI for Consumer Behaviour Insights
AI is already being used in ecommerce to analyse customer behaviour, identify customer needs, and predict their behaviour. In the future, AI will be able to create personalized shopping experiences for every single user. AI can also be used to create more engaging content that is relevant to your customers’ interests or the problems they want to be solved.
Online shopping has already seen a significant increase over the past year. This trend is likely to continue as more people become comfortable with the convenience and safety of shopping online. Ecommerce stores that can anticipate and respond to these changes in consumer behaviour will be well positioned to succeed in the coming year. Using AI with data analytics ensures you can meet this demand efficiently.
6 – Building Personalized Customer Interactions
Personalized customer interactions are a hot topic in the ecommerce world, and they’re only going to become more critical as we move into 2023 and beyond.
With so many aspects of ecommerce being automated, personalized interactions have become one of the ways that retailers can stand out from their competition.
The most effective way to do this is through personalization – by creating a seamless experience for customers that allows them to purchase goods with little friction or difficulty while offering an engaging environment where they feel like part of a fun community rather than just another number on your list.
7 – Dipping into the Eco-Friendly Space
You might be wondering, what does “eco-friendly” mean? It’s a broad term that can cover many different types of initiatives, from reducing your carbon footprint to buying recycled materials. In the context of ecommerce stores, it means making sure that customers know about the environmental impact of their products. Eco-friendly space is skyrocketing in ecommerce trends of 2022 and is expected to boom in years to come because more people are getting educated about sustainable development and eco-friendly products for better future.
If you’re an eco-minded brand, this is important for two reasons:
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- Ethical shoppers are likelier to buy from brands that make efforts towards sustainability.
- Everyone else will shop with eco-friendly companies because they lean towards more trustworthy and transparent branding than other businesses.
8 – Creating Video Content
Video is a great way to engage with your audience. It’s easy to communicate your message visually and deliver information in an engaging way. Video can also help you increase sales, build trust and drive traffic, making it one of the best ways to market products online.
When creating video content for ecommerce businesses, you must remember that video is more than entertainment – it can also be used as a tool for education or entertainment purposes.
This is also a fantastic method to create content for other platforms beyond your ecommerce online store.
9 – Focusing on Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising is a great way to reach customers, and it’s also more effective than traditional ads. This has been a trend ever since the beginning of the ecommerce boom. There is no better way to get close to your customers, with possibly the only exception being email.
For example, Facebook and Instagram ads can target very specific audiences. You can also use them to drive traffic to your website by including a link in the ad. This can be a great way to improve your conversion rate if you’re running an ecommerce business with incredibly low spending.
Technology will Continue to Drive Ecommerce Innovation
The focus of ecommerce will be on the customer. The trend is toward more personalized experiences, higher expectations, and better service. This means that companies need to be able to react quickly to meet their customers’ needs and wants. Companies will also think about how they can make their websites mobile-friendly to reach as many customers as possible.
Technology will continue to drive ecommerce innovation by making it easier for customers (and businesses) to find what they want conveniently. In addition, technology can help businesses create new opportunities and better serve their customers by providing tools that allow them greater access and convenience when shopping or making purchases online.
The future of ecommerce will rely on these technologies to grow. If you want to remain competitive in one of the fastest-growing markets, you need to integrate tech tools like our plugins from OPMC. We have been in the ecommerce space for years, with most of our plugins being developed to meet the modern challenges of this consumer-driven market.
With a little A/B testing upfront and reading the feedback from your customers, you’ll be able to leverage the current ecommerce trends of 2022 well into 2023 and beyond.
