5 Trends that will be a Game Changer for the E-Commerce Industry in 2022
By Piyush Pathak, CEO and Founder, Commercecup
Where is the e-commerce industry headed in 2022? Some of the emerging trends in the e-commerce space that you should take note of to be ahead in the game.
There is an e-commerce revolution happening around the world as we speak. According to research, the worldwide retail and e-commerce industry is projected to grow to $6.5 trillion by 2025. The Indian E-commerce market is expected to grow to US$ 111.40 billion by 2025. From major advancements in technology, reinventing marketing to widespread challenges with supply chains, the pandemic has disrupted and brought new changes and innovation in the space.
As we move to 2022, here are some of the snapshots of what the ecommerce future might look like.
Omnichannel and Hyper-personalized Customer Experience: Omnichannel commerce is the multichannel approach to sales which is poised to grow. More and more e-commerce brands will sell their products via all the channels available taking into account both organic and paid traffic. From mobile commerce, social commerce search, marketplace, display and retargeting to brick and mortar retail, everything will be blended seamlessly and optimised to give the user a unique, personalised user journey. From discovering the brand, purchasing of products to delivery of the product, everything will become seamless via multiple channels.
Omnichannel approach to business or marketing provides the e-commerce platforms with crucial data and allows them to understand customer’s touch points and how and where their customers are interacting with their brand, making purchases and more. This data will be crucial. Based on the data, we will see a hyper-personalised and a seamless customer experience where the customer can expect online product catalogs, configurable products and promotions, cart, order management. And every place in the omnichannel will be optimised, where the selections, options, pre-filled windows, will be based on customer’s preferences, needs and desires.
Diversity of Payment Methods: Payment is one of the crucial aspects of a user journey. Today the consumer wants diverse payment options based on their needs and desires. While some prefer cash-on delivery, others prefer pre-payment options. Apart from payment by debit or credit card, internet banking, PayPal, and others, there is a rising demand to purchase in installments-in smart, low cost or zero EMIs, specially for higher end products like electronics and gadgets. . Digital and e-wallet will keep growing and more consumers will opt for them. Some other payment options poised to take off in the coming years are: 1 click order, faster check-out, support of international credit cards, pay now buy later model, subscription based model and buying directly on the product page and buying in installments.
Rise of the Purpose-driven brands: As the number of brands in the e-commerce space grows, mission and vision will not just be confined to the about page of the website. Today, customers are gravitating to purpose driven brands that stand for something, are solving a major problem, have a vision larger than themselves and that they felt connected with and shared their vision with. Since a large number of e-commerce brands are driven by marketing, conversation and word of mouth, a core purpose becomes crucial for brands today to not only stand out from the crowd but also to connect to customers better. Consumers want more from their brands than a great product today. In the future, we can expect more purpose driven brands in the e-commerce space to focus on sustainability, being socially responsible , supporting diversity, equality and inclusion and creating a positive impact on society .
Re-inventing Delivery: Over the past few years, there is a growth of home delivery service. From faster, flexible and personalised delivery, today consumers are driving the change. We can expect to see major innovation in supply chain management. From software assisted delivery, super-optimized supply chains, multilayer distribution, the rules of the game in home delivery are already changing, and will keep growing in 2022.
Multi Channel Customer Support: We live in an on-demand society. With the rise of e-commerce sales round the clock, today the expectation is for 24/7 access to customer service. As different customers prefer different modes of communication, the choice for the channels on which they receive support becomes crucial. To give the customers a great experience, e-commerce brands will adopt a multi channel customer support in the coming days. From phone, email, chatbots, social messaging, online self service to voice assistants, more companies will offer multi-channel customer support for an enhanced customer experience.
As we move into the future, there will be more changes in the way people interact with brands, make purchases and delivery of products. Technology and innovation will be the driver of the e-commerce revolution in India.
