eCommerce trends for 2022

At this time of year, it is inevitable (and necessary) to take a break and some perspective. We have been living turbulent and changing times in recent years. Therefore, anything that helps us stay one step ahead can be an interesting competitive advantage in the short term.

That is why we are taking a look at all the e-commerce trends that we think will prove decisive in the coming months.

Maybe the container crisis unleashed by the rigors of COVID and the China-US trade war is starting to lead to a change in the sourcing of suppliers for major vendors, both online and in retail.

It seems that the market has taught the hard way that we should not be overly reliant on manufacturers thousands of miles away (however beneficial to our margin). In a collapse like the one we are undergoing, we are too vulnerable and  sensitive to the fluctuations that occur.

In addition, opting for local manufacturers has the enormous advantage of being a sustainable decision. Transportation generates a much smaller CO2 footprint and we stimulate local economy. Good for the planet and good for our reputation in the eyes of the customer.

I think it is time to stop patronizing this network. It has long ceased to be a niche of "dancing children" to become, progressively, one of the most used networks.

We are also going to see how the possibilities for promotion, advertising and conversion will continue to grow within the framework of eCommerce.

It is worth considering the convenience of extending our strategy to this channel because it is about to become a standard and it would be better not to be caught off guard.

There are already more than 1 billion active users who connect to this network every month, or, in other words, a gigantic business opportunity.

We are not suggesting that the power of Amazon and AliExpress will come to an end, but sellers will begin to explore with more intensity other types of platforms where they have more control over the business (even giving up the enormous reach offered by horizontal portals).

It is worth adding into our channels, in parallel, other types of marketplaces that we have been talking about on our blog. Cases like Faire, Solostocks or even the professional use of Wallapop.

Sellers find multiple options for their strategy to become more sophisticated, deeper and with other segmentation possibilities.

It is always advisable to balance the sources of income of a business between different channels. But in a time as variable as the one we are living in, this is absolutely essential.

In addition to the political, economic and health circumstances we have already referred to, we face the digital idiosyncrasy itself. Platforms are becoming more and more aggressive, so we cannot be subject only to the designs/whims of Amazon or Google.

If all our turnover comes from the former, it is possible that we get a scare in the form of a new competitor that displaces us as the default option, or even that our product is produced and distributed by Amazon, leaving us with our noses to the grindstone trying to compete with them.

In the case of SEO... what can I tell you? It is still profitable to appear in the top positions, but between paid campaigns and the number of algorithm changes we go through every year, no one guarantees traffic.

Are we moving to physical commerce? In addition to the costs associated with it, we are still in a very delicate framework. Restrictions and changes that compromise your profitability can be imposed at any time.

That is why the smart thing to do is, looking ahead to 2022, to have several sources of revenue and not to neglect any of the channels. When the time comes, you may have to play with the percentage of prominence of each of them, and this is a way to always have a way out.

This trend is one of those that is going to take off most strongly in 2022, without a doubt.

We see how the Asian market has integrated the shopping experience into the streaming experience.

People with a high prescription capacity use the immediacy of video to sell in real time. This has led to a significant increase in impulse purchases and has resulted in higher sales.

This strategy suits brands like a glove, as they find a way to reduce the friction points from communication to conversion. The easier, the better.

It is a business model that is set to be a trend-setter in eCommerce in 2022. Basically, it is a compendium of several of the trends we have discussed here, because direct-to-consumer (DTC) eCommerce is upcoming, and it uses alternative channels (influencers and video streaming fit particularly well).

We believe that this year will see the emergence of a number of eCommerce businesses that operate outside the traditional models.

Of course, this is not the end of the line, of course. We are sure that next year we will continue to see growth in the use of Augmented and Virtual Reality, personalization of the shopping experience, screen-free shopping using voice assistants... We have an exciting twelve months of challenges ahead of us.