Shopify has released a comprehensive report considering the trends for 2022, which are dominated by building long-term relationships with customers.
The massive growth of the eCommerce industry as a result of the pandemic has translated into both an abundance of opportunities in the eCommerce space and a fair amount of competition. This, in turn, the report says, has made it a priority for companies to nurture customer lifetime value and build brand loyalty.
Top 3 eCommerce trends in 2022
Rising acquisition costs
The pandemic has caused many companies to replace offline sales with online stores, also consumers through the lockdown period have become very familiar with online shopping, getting used to it. This, in turn, has projected ever-expanding competition and increasing costs associated with acquiring new customers. Rising costs and Apple’s iOS 14 update making it harder to track performance in ad spend have made it increasingly difficult to acquire customers using performance marketing. There is also an increased awareness among consumers who value the authenticity of the companies whose products or services they use. This, in turn, generates the need to place greater emphasis on building brand awareness and customer relationships based on trust. This doesn’t mean abandoning paid forms of advertising altogether, but that performance marketing should intersect with brand marketing. Shopify suggests aiming for a 60/40 split between brand awareness and short-term performance marketing
Opting out of third-party cookies
The change here significantly complicates personalization, and growing consumer awareness means shoppers want to know how a company is using their data. Brands are relying on their own data collected directly from customers with their consent to fill in the blanks of third-party cookies. A study by Shopify found that by 2022, as many as 42% of brands plan to offer personalized product recommendations to consumers through tools such as quizzes, custom mobile apps and their own or third-party behavioral data. At the same time, the report found that consumers are more than three times more likely to abandon brands that over-personalize. This is because including too much personal data in personalized communications may even be perceived by potential customers as harassment. However, research also indicates that consumers are more likely to share personal information with companies that align with their identity and represent values that are important to them. This, in turn, directly links to the first 2022 trend of building trust at the customer-brand level
Social commerce
The largest social media platforms are offering newer and newer commerce opportunities. ECommerce, so to speak, is moving to SM platforms, which are rapidly developing features that provide unique shopping experiences, increasing consumer engagement. It is assumed that sales through social media platforms will almost triple globally by 2025. Research conducted by Shopify found that 46% of consumers want to learn about a product through a video demonstrating both the product itself and its capabilities before making a purchase. Live chat is equally important, with 58% of those surveyed for the Shopify report admitting that the customer service experience is a factor that directly influences their purchase decisions in the future, 54% confirmed that easily reaching customer service through their chosen channel is of paramount importance to them. Consumers will therefore expect to interact with brands on the same basis as they communicate with friends, i.e. through social media apps.
Building brand awareness, trust at the brand-customer level, diversifying advertising and sales channels to reduce activation costs, highlighting unique values and features that distinguish the company from others at every stage of contact with consumers, creating live shopping experiences – these are the main objectives that should be adopted in 2022 by any brand wishing to attract and retain customers, increasing the conversion rate. This can be achieved, among other things, by relying on the opportunities provided by the Shopify Plus platform – the enterprise version for eCommerce. A detailed article prepared by Shopify with access to the report is available here. If you have any questions about the platform and its functionality, please contact us – as a Shopify Agency, we will provide you with all the necessary information.
