OK Google, Shopify eCommerce Trends in 2022

The article was initially published in WebMeridian blog

This article will examine the year’s top Shopify eCommerce trends. We’ll look at what these trends imply for your business, how they can help you increase sales and income, and how they can help you optimise your eCommerce strategy.

There have never been more prospects or as much rivalry in the ecommerce market. As the return on ad spending falls, businesses are being pushed to focus on customer lifetime value and encourage brand loyalty.

The fundamental currency of the future of eCommerce is trust. Brands must be honest, authentic, and easily accessible to their customers, particularly on social media, where online consumers spend the majority of their time. With firms investing in video and live shopping, social commerce is at the heart of online buying for tomorrow’s consumers.

Let’s dive deeper into Shopify eCommerce trends in 2022.

Future of B2B eCommerce

Concentrate on online revenue, particularly marketplaces, that is the future of B2B eCommerce. Small company statistics suggest that online sales continue to be the most crucial driver of development, even for those with a physical location.

According to the Shopify survey, 54 per cent of organisations indicated their commerce team must focus on online sales in order to meet their 2022 goals.

One approach to do so is to assess your store’s design. Is it aesthetically pleasing? Is it usable on mobile devices? Here’s a collection of fantastically designed stores to get you started.

Sell Everywhere Your Customers Are

One of the hottest Shopify trends 2022 is community building. You can develop a community around your brand with Shopify by leveraging different distribution methods to create a natural feedback loop with consumers about your products, services, or stories.

Shopify’s linked platform allows you to manage and analyse all of your channels in one location. 73 per cent of customers polled utilize numerous channels before making a purchase.

With the Online Store sales channel, you can create a remarkable brand experience that shows your unique differentiators and values. It comes with easy-to-use layouts and drag-and-drop technologies that need little to no programming to bring your concept to life.

Bring your goods to digital life with engagement and digital experience from augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and 3D media to provide a consistent online and offline purchasing experience.

Add NFTs to Your Shopify Store

Non-fungible tokens represent an intriguing potential for businesses to reward loyal supporters while also creating demand for their brand. Shopify Plus merchants that meet certain criteria can now sell NFTs online.

Both Etherum and Flow are currently available to approved merchants as part of the NFT beta. Merchants will be able to pick whatever blockchain they wish to sell on in the future based on their products and consumer base.

Catch the wave of Shopify development trends and participate in the NFT beta test.

The Elimination of Third-Party Cookies Compels Companies to Reconsider Personalisation

Chrome will replace third-party cookies with browser-based tools and techniques aimed at balancing personalisation and privacy.

There is a new course towards a more privacy-friendly web.

So, how can brands and online retailers prepare for this?

1. The need for true end-user consent to process personal data will persist long after third party cookies and the technologies replacing them.
2. Re-strategise the whole outlook on customers experience and online ads based on a back-to-basics approach.
3. Try to better understand your customers’ behaviour and their shopping habits via Google Analytics & Search Console.
4. Carry out testing of your website’s user in order to get direct feedback and use it to improve user experience.
5. Focus on customer retention in your marketing strategy.
6. Analyse conversion rates to optimise your store.

To avoid having trouble with the tech part of the optimisation of your eCommerce site or implementing the hottest Shopify development trends, consider the full-stack services we offer.

Communities, openness, and shared values help online businesses rehumanize their brands.

1. Personalisation is something that customers want. Consumers continue to expect tailored shopping experiences, even as restrictions make data monitoring more difficult and the major players phase out third-party cookie support.
2. Personalisation is not a panacea for increasing consumer engagement. Brands innovate with first-party data, but personalisation isn’t enough to foster long-term consumer connections.
3. Customer loyalty is being built through brand communities. Brand communities are becoming increasingly important in terms of increasing trust and brand equity, as well as promoting customer retention.

Tell the Story About Your Brand

Tip #1. At every customer touchpoint, emphasize your distinct points of difference and values. Examine your brand’s story and differentiators again. What is the purpose of your brand? What is your backstory? What are your company’s core values? What and who are the needs that your brand satisfies? These essential questions set you apart from your competition, fuel your brand identity, and should serve as the cornerstone for every brand-building activity.

Tip #2. Demonstrate to your consumers that you share their beliefs. 52 per cent of buyers Shopify polled are more inclined to buy from a company that shares their beliefs, and 53 per cent of brands wants to create items that fit with their values by 2022. Maintain consistency. If you take an ethic of care on environmental or social concerns, show how those beliefs are reflected in your brand, out from top-down to your customer service staff. Patagonia, a firm that actively works for environmental problems, instils its ideals in every aspect of the business: its “Worn Wear” program encourages consumers to buy and sell used products, and its “Drive-Less” initiative awards staff for lowering emissions on their drive to work.

Tip #3. Consider your staff to be a target audience for your brand. As your firm expands, it’s possible for the purpose of your brand to become forgotten farther downstream. However, your workers (including in-store retail staff and customer care teams) have an important role in how customers perceive your brand at every touchpoint. Consider your staff as a brand audience, and implement marketing programs to assist educate them on your brand’s purpose, experience, and message. This will increase the consistency and quality with which your employees express your brand value to consumers.

Create Content to Improve Customer Loyalty & Retention

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses are also spending on online communities in order to humanize their brands, enhance client loyalty, and offset rising marketing expenses.

Brand communities are becoming increasingly important in terms of establishing trust and brand equity, as well as increasing consumer loyalty and retention.

Using the community, you may generate consumer loyalty and statistics.

When access to client data is so reliant on trust, it’s no surprise that businesses will spend more in customer loyalty and connection over the next year than practically any other customer acquisition and retaining approach.

As businesses seek to deepen consumer ties, several have turned to building a community. Brand communities have grown in popularity in recent years, and for good reason: they enhance customer retention and brand exposure while decreasing customer care expenses.

Explore more about effective customer retention strategies in the Nike’s success story.

Invest in Your Brand to Stay Ahead of the Competition

Increased competitiveness is one of the concerns of venturing into online marketplaces. It’s a frequent concern — 40 per cent of firms believe growing competition would make it difficult for their commerce team to meet its objectives.

Marketers that demand rapid, measurable outcomes sometimes underestimate the importance of a brand, which is a longer-term investment.

While conversion rates are crucial, most customers have a brand in mind by the time they’re ready to buy. According to Google, more than 80% of shoppers perform their research online before making a purchase choice. A strong brand is required for a company to acquire a presence in the minds of consumers.

A strong brand not only improves the effectiveness of performance marketing in the near future but also serves as the foundation for long-term success. Strong brands attract more organic acquisitions, keep more consumers, and have the ability to raise prices — the most powerful profit-increasing lever. Brand identification and brand recognition will become even more important as the digital arena grows more cluttered.

However, we also know how to persuade people to select your brand over another. Customers informed us what they consider a “major” or “very substantial” effect on their choice to purchase from a given company in a Shopify poll.

Increase Client Confidence by Making Shipment Faster and More Transparent

When purchasing online, it’s becoming common to discover free and fast shipping with estimated arrival date. Customers now demand this openness from marketplaces like Amazon, but it can be a challenging standard for small firms to satisfy.

Businesses highlighted three areas where they will invest in shipping in 2022: lowering shipping costs through free and flat-rate shipping, enhancing the flexibility of shipment and return policies, and modifying shipping methods to mitigate the effect of global shipping delays.

Free delivery is a tried-and-true way for improving conversion and order quantities, and some easy maths will help you determine if it’s worthwhile to give this to your clients.

Shipping clarity, defined as the ability to demonstrate clearly predicted arrival timeframes, is critical for both businesses and customers. 49% of firms want to invest in shipping transparency, while 46% of customers stated they search for it when buying.

Online commerce has enabled people to shop from anywhere on the globe, and staying competitive requires being able to ship everywhere. In fact, cross-border transactions accounted for 15% of all Black Friday Cyber Monday 2021 purchases.

Summary

You understand this better than anybody else that being in business requires ongoing adaptation, reevaluation, and fine tweaking. These Shopify eCommerce trends for 2022 might help you decide where to focus your attention and invest in the future year.

Take this information and use it to make 2022 your finest year ever.