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Many business owners assume that eCommerce trends will only continue to grow as the years go on, but that doesn’t always prove to be the case. In fact, business owners should look at these predictions of eCommerce trends in 2022 before making any decisions about their business strategy, like where they might want to focus their energy and how much time they should invest in developing their website or app. Here are some of the most notable predictions for what eCommerce trends will be in 2022, based on the insights of industry experts and entrepreneurs who are now successful thanks to their early investments in online shopping tools and platforms.
Better Artificial Intelligence
In recent years, we’ve seen artificial intelligence evolve rapidly. AI will continue to improve, becoming more advanced and developing its own personality. With these developments comes improved customer service: customers will have a direct line of communication with businesses via their AI agent. Customers won’t have to wait on hold to speak with an employee or contact customer service for help.
Mobile First
The importance of being mobile-friendly is a given at this point—even people with poor internet connections use their phones to browse e-commerce sites. So do yourself a favor and make sure you optimize your site for mobile before launching, or partner with an e-commerce development company that does. After all, it’s expected that online shopping will account for more than 50% of retail sales by 2020.
Virtual Reality
There’s a reason Facebook paid $2 billion for Oculus VR: Virtual reality is about to become a major platform. The first commercial, go-to-market device, Oculus Rift, will ship early next year and is set to be one of 2016’s biggest tech hits. Ecommerce leaders would do well to pay attention now; virtual reality is coming faster than you think, and it’ll likely have an enormous impact on how we shop online. In fact, Forrester Research predicts that by 2017, more than 25% of online retail sales will involve some sort of VR interaction. This isn’t science fiction—it’s already happening now with 3D product simulations; soon enough we’ll see it with live shopping environments (not unlike those used by cosmetics companies like Sephora) and even simulated retail stores that allow customers to walk through products before purchase. And as consumer expectations continue to evolve, so too must our approach to ecommerce development.
Social Media Integration
Most social media platforms allow you to create custom links, so there’s no reason not to put them on your site—at least from a customer-service perspective. For example, if you post a unique Instagram coupon code or deal on Twitter, use your company’s account to tweet it out and make sure that link is easy to find. That way, you can track which deals really resonate with your audience via click-throughs and plan your content more effectively. Don’t just rely on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter; think about where else people might share a code or deal, including blogs or even some of your own email correspondence. This will help spread around your promotion much further than typical channels alone.
Faster Payments
As technology advances, consumers will expect to be able to purchase from merchants just as quickly as they can from a retailer. To combat the sluggishness of most payments systems, top-rated eCommerce development companies predict an increase in real-time transactions and instant payments. These transactions will likely rely on blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
3D Printing
A few years ago, 3D printing was all talk. Today, it’s a very real industry with actual products on shelves. However, by 2020—and likely before then—it will be an industry that is as commonplace as clothing stores and cell phones. Top ecommerce development companies have already begun investing in 3D printers to integrate into their supply chains, since they allow customers to personalize everything from phone cases to clothing. Additionally, we can expect more niche services (like custom furniture) to become available, making it possible for people who may not otherwise be able to afford their favorite designer’s furniture line to own items straight off of store shelves.
Big Data Analytics
If you do choose to go down a data-focused path, ecommerce development company will help you make sense of it all. You could develop an app that lets users record their shopping habits and how they affect their moods or health, then sends them coupons based on those trends. Or if there’s a specific product category that sells well for your business, you could pinpoint what about that category makes it so popular and try to recreate it with another product. Whatever approach you take, be sure to keep user behavior front and center when making any decisions. In order for new trends in ecommerce development companies to become ubiquitous, shoppers need buy-in—or at least not find anything horribly annoying about them!
According to research from Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Indexes (GCRIs), 20 percent of households worldwide have purchased some sort of item online—and growth is expected to continue into 2022 as both digital natives and offline shoppers increasingly use connected devices like smartphones or smart televisions (the numbers stand at 39 percent vs 23 percent today). At present, however, less than 1 percent of total retail sales come from pure play online retailers. This number is expected to increase significantly over time.
Collaborative Robots and Automation
Over half of all warehouse positions will be filled by autonomous, collaborative robots. These machines, which can lift and transport heavy items without damaging them, will change our jobs—and our entire economy. No longer will there be a need to hire workers to drive forklifts or move boxes around. Instead, we’ll need fewer people to perform these repetitive tasks that don’t require much skill and tend to pay low wages.
Human Emotions Tracking
It’s difficult to predict how humans will react to a given event or product; however, it can be helpful to know what emotions might result. One way e-commerce development companies can predict human behavior is by using emotion tracking, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to gauge customers’ emotional responses and their level of engagement with a site. For example, if a customer seems particularly frustrated on her third visit to your site—and has put something in her cart but doesn’t buy—it may indicate that you need better guidance as she navigates your e-commerce platform. In such cases, smart assistants powered by emotion tracking could step in and give more targeted suggestions based on past experiences (i.e., when another customer was equally frustrated). This type of technology could also help reduce abandoned shopping carts and increase conversions among visitors who do complete purchases. According to research from Gartner, emotion tracking will become part of about 20 percent of Web sites by 2020.
Blockchain Adoption
eCommerce is one of many industries that blockchain technology could have a major impact on over time. The sharing economy has already been massively disrupted by blockchain and cryptocurrency. In 2019, we’ll see more companies adopt smart contracts and digital currency as part of their business models. By 2021, we’ll be seeing more retailers accepting payments in crypto as well as working with decentralized networks to deliver their services. More than likely, there will also be startups using blockchain technology to create new products and business models; many of these will disrupt traditional retail channels. For example, peer-to-peer fashion trading or innovative new advertising methods like blockchain billboards—in which advertisers pay users based on how long they look at ads—may become mainstream by 2020.
Conclusion
By 2020, annual sales will grow to nearly $4 trillion dollars and a massive 70% of consumers worldwide will be shopping online on a regular basis. As more people shop online, trends and tech developments will continue to shape and influence businesses strategies within each segment. With increasing online competition, businesses who fail to adapt may find themselves being pushed out of their markets by new startups or established players that are more nimble and better able to embrace these changes as they happen. PixelCrayons is that firm where clients can avail the best and most skilled professional Indian eCommerce developers‘ services at a reliable price. They solve your query within an hour and give you the correct direction to gain more.
