In 2022, more and more merchants are entering the e-commerce market. That’s why online store owners must keep a pulse on technologies: use trending tools that allow them to remain competitive and attract more customers. This article will look at the top 15 trends that will help retailers boost sales to the moon.
Key Points:
- Mass digitization and the rapid growth of social media have affected the e-commerce industry.
- The primary trend for all ages is the speed and simplicity of the payment experience.
- Crypto payments remain the dominant trend and are gradually becoming mainstream.
Emerging trends in e-commerce
- Narrowing the niche
Retailers realize the advantages of specialization in a specific niche. Soon, more and more online stores will become niche. Modern consumers visit online stores not just for a specific product but for knowledge, information about the possibilities of new products, and choice.
The sales funnel should include stages of familiarization of consumers with products. And this means that you need to know your assortment thoroughly. Of course, it is easier to become an expert within one niche. In addition, it is easier for the owners of niche online stores to maintain the quality of the assortment, carefully study the target audience, compete and provide a good customer experience.
- Mobile commerce
Customers are increasingly making purchases from smartphones or tablets. Oberlo predicts an increase in the volume of purchases from mobile devices to $3.79 trillion. As trust in online purchases increases, so does confidence in mobile commerce.
Mobile commerce is also developing due to an increase in the number of young consumers. Mobile devices are used to study products and reviews, even if users plan to purchase from a stationary device.
Don’t forget to work out the UX for the adaptive version of the site. For example, from the client analytics data report, it is clear that despite a significant share of mobile traffic, the ARPU of mobile users is much inferior to the desktop and tablets. Therefore, make sure that the online store is optimized for smartphones and conduct usability testing.
- Automation of B2B sales
The volume of B2B sales will reach 1.8 trillion by 2023, according to Forrester. In 2020, due to the pandemic, there were many more B2B orders in online stores. After the restrictions were lifted, many wholesale-oriented customers did not return to the old ways of purchasing.
The share of millennials among B2B buyers is also growing, and they are used to closing needs without talking to sellers, doing unnecessary paperwork, and wasting time.
At the same time, more and more manufacturers and suppliers are digitizing communications with customers, reducing the costs of collecting and processing orders. They are implementing B2B personal accounts to fully automate all interactions with the client to focus on the service and establish long-term relationships.
- Social commerce
Social commerce will significantly contribute to e-commerce. And not only because users will be redirected from social networks to an online store. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok will be used for sales — customers want to make orders as simple and fast as possible, for example, by clicking on the product while watching a video.
Brands are looking for new ways to sell products. To date, merchants can already use Facebook Shops and WhatsApp Store features. Moreover:
- YouTube plans to become a trading platform;
- TikTok is testing the function of adding links to products in profiles and videos (shoppable-video), launches integration with Shopify for direct sales in the future;
- Facebook and Instagram also want to use Shopify for real-time purchases during live broadcasts.
- Partnership with influencers
Many brands are already using opinion leaders to attract customers from their audience. It will become more difficult for brands to create a sufficient amount of content, so they will increasingly turn to influencers on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn and invest in advertising such content to track their reach and audience.
Today, brands mostly cooperate with influencers from Instagram, but in the near future, a huge increase in influence marketing in TikTok is expected. Interestingly, the fewer subscribers an influencer has, the more engagement its content shows — perhaps the audience’s trust in major bloggers is decreasing. It is worth thinking about cooperation with micro-influencers.
- Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence in the online store replaces the sales consultant, offering customers individual recommendations based on purchase history and behavior. Previously, product recommendations were selected manually and were often irrelevant.
Now recommendations are made automatically and are as relevant as possible to the client’s preferences (brands, color, budget, and other factors). This benefits everyone — it’s easier for buyers to find what they want, and retailers get more sales. In addition to recommendations, modern tools can predict new customers’ desires based on similar users’ preferences. To keep up with the competition, start working with personalization services — for example, RetailRocket, Mindbox, or Criteo.
- Dynamic pricing
It is important to set the right price for the product. Otherwise, you will not provide the necessary volume of sales. The right price is the one for which you are ready to buy. At the same time, it should bring the maximum possible profit.
Dynamic pricing programs (uXprice, Competera, AllRival) help determine the best price for goods, attract customers and remain competitive. Real-time tools provide information about the market, competitors, demand, and the estimated ideal value of the product. You must also consider the season, time of day, and other factors important for the project.
- Voice commerce
Voice search and voice assistants are gaining more and more popularity. It is predicted that by 2023, the turnover of purchases using smart speakers will reach 80 billion. The main “fans” of voice commerce are people aged 18-29 who use it to search for goods, purchases, and order tracking.
The popularity of voice assistants (Amazon Echo, Alexa, Google Home) is growing — by 2023, about 8 billion devices equipped with them will be released. Gradually, assistants become personal shopping assistants.
- Targeting the younger generation
After the pandemic, more consumers began to buy more online. The main contributor to this trend is the younger generation (18-34 years old). Therefore, to boost sales, focus on the younger generation when optimizing the online store. Direct your efforts to social media marketing.
Use new channels for communication — messengers and chatbots. Chatbots can be implemented not only in social networks and messengers but also in an application or website. It is predicted that by 2025, the chatbot market will grow by $1.25 billion, with an average annual growth rate of 24.3%. They will become more and more “human” and functional.
- Eco-friendliness
The share of those who expect environmental protection from brands is increasing — consumers claim that the environmental aspect affects the purchase decision. At the same time, most consumers want to buy products from brands that support the protection of nature and are willing to pay more for eco-friendly products.
Millennials feel responsible for the planet and expect the same from brands. Buyers prefer products made of environmentally friendly and biodegradable materials, they want to reduce waste, so they choose eco-packaging. They are also impressed by brands with rational environmental management and recycling technologies.
- Augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) improves the shopping experience, increases the convenience of shopping, and reduces the number of refunds. And all because buyers can make a more informed decision by trying on the product in a virtual fitting room.
Refunds are a real headache for retailers. According to forecasts, by 2023, the amount of annual loss will be $348 billion. In the future, the use of augmented reality will become the standard in certain segments of e-commerce. In the meantime, such technologies are not widely used, so their implementation will definitely set you apart from competitors, help increase conversion and reduce charge-backs.
- Payment diversity
If the buyer does not find a convenient payment method, it is highly likely that he will not make a purchase. The simplicity of payments and the availability of an optimal way to pay for goods can become one of the determining factors in choosing an online store.
Therefore, a variety of payment options is a strong competitive advantage, a way to increase conversion and reduce the percentage of abandoned baskets. Of course, payment diversity remains an e-commerce trend. It is important to provide the opportunity to pay for goods using digital wallets — Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, pay for goods with cryptocurrency, pay using a QR code, provide an opportunity to get a loan quickly, or buy now and pay later (under the BNPL agreement).
- Crypto payment plugins
Since 2020, the number of crypto payments has been growing, thanks to low fees and the speed of transfers. There are several ways to accept crypto payments. However, for owners of stores located on CMS solutions, a crypto payment method can be introduced on 1-2-3.
There are many crypto payment gateways that are fighting for the title of an industry leader and providing various tools for their users. NOWPayments is a non-custodial crypto payment provider that allows online store owners to integrate crypto payments into major CMS solutions like WooCommerce, Ecwid, Shopware, Shopify, PrestaShop, Magento 2, Zen Cart, OpenCart, and WHMCS. In addition, thanks to NOWPayments, merchants can accept more than 100 cryptocurrencies, providing consumers with a long-awaited payment variety.
- Subscriptions
The founders of the subscription shopping trend were Amazon and Netflix. The popularity of mechanics is growing and will continue to grow because a person is freed from the need to repeatedly place orders for goods of constant demand, and bonuses or discounts are usually offered for a subscription.
Retailers also benefit from subscription purchases — after all, they receive regular customers and can predict income in this category of buyers. While standard subscriptions do not surprise anyone, by the end of 2022, a new trend is emerging — crypto subscriptions. With NOWPayments, you can easily set up the acceptance of crypto subscriptions in 100+ coins. In addition, by developing the B2B sales automation trend, business owners can organize crypto billing to their international partners in cryptocurrency.
- Crypto payment links
Crypto invoices are a convenient payment tool that can be seamlessly integrated into any online store. The convenience of the payment process remains the trend of all time, and invoices are the most advantageous option in this regard. The invoice is a small box that combines the amount, a small description, and the type of currency. Invoices are user-friendly for all kinds of consumers. Consumers who are used to shopping on a computer can easily copy the necessary payment information and pay for goods. At the same time, consumers who choose to shop using a smartphone can pay for purchases in a matter of seconds simply by scanning a QR code. In addition, the invoice can be placed on any website and used in social media commerce — just place the link on your YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, etc. page and accept fast borderless crypto payments.
How to accept crypto payments?
NOWPayments is a user-friendly crypto payment gateway that provides many integration tools. For online store owners, the most effective ways to accept payments in cryptocurrency are:
- Plugins. They are easy-to-integrate payment tools. NOWPayments provides plugins for all leading CMS solutions. Just install the plugin and start making a profit in cryptocurrency.
- Crypto subscriptions. They allow you to accept regular payments in cryptocurrency. Just create a subscription group, select the frequency with which NOWPayments will send email reminders, and accept payments from your customers and business partners.
- Invoices (or payment links). Invoices include all the necessary payment details and can be posted on the website as well as sent as a link directly to your audience. In addition, by creating one payment link for a specific item, it can be used multiple times by different users. And the process of creating an invoice takes several minutes:
- Register your NOWPayments account.
- In the “Settings Store” section, enter your page address and generate an API key.
- Navigate to the “Invoices” section and click the “Create payment link” button.
- Enter a brief description of your service or product and provide the Order ID.
- Specify the item’s price and the currency you want to be paid with.
- Send the Invoice as a link directly to your customers or place it on your website.
Conclusion
In this article, we have reviewed the main e-commerce trends that will help store owners overtake competitors, attract customers, and boost sales. Crypto payments are a dominant trend, and their acceptance can be greatly facilitated with the help of NOWPayments.