By Dom Mernock, director at digital agency Engage

Becoming successful at e-commerce can give brands plenty of opportunities to make a significant profit and attract new customers. But with massive businesses like Amazon triumphing in the space, SMEs need to think outside the box.

With global ecommerce exceeding £3.4 trillion in 2021¹, effective strategy and planning has never been more critical for success online, growing revenue and market share.  Goliaths like Amazon continue to invest heavily to keep customers within their funnels and on their platforms, so competition is fiercer now than ever. If brands are to succeed they need to consider the whole journey across multiple touchpoints, and really get under the skin of their customers needs, wants, and feelings.

Understanding and being aware of upcoming trends will also ensure that brands can triumph in such a competitive market.

The rebirth of the ‘brand’ 

Like many marketing trends, a ‘performance only’ approach to e-commerce is nearing the end of its life. Performance marketing is more important than ever, however it’s no longer enough to rely solely on a performance strategy to drive profitable growth.

Building a brand is the missing piece and is a huge topic in itself, but in 2022 we’re going to see brands starting to act more traditionally in their marketing and communications strategies. This is likely to involve building loyalty and awareness through more digital channels.

Collect more first party data

We’ve not yet landed in a fully cookie-less world, however we’re starting to see tighter rules around banners thanks to GDPR come into play, leading to a huge drop in the ability to optimise performance and track consumer behaviour.

Finding new ways to leverage and grow first party data will be more of a focus than ever before, and brands should ensure this is considered as part of a wider e-commerce strategy moving into 2022.

A shift towards headless platforms

It’s no longer about sprawling e-commerce websites. 2022 will see a greater focus on how quickly and easily businesses can sell to their consumers across a myriad of platforms.

From native shopping with third party apps, for example social media platforms, to headless e-commerce websites which make transitions super slick and speedy across any platform, there are multiple opportunities for brands.

Where possible, brands will continue to look for opportunities to sell direct to consumer, therefore slimming down on the margins involved in more traditional channels. The more a brand can move to a headless solution, the more possibilities there’ll be to integrate across an evolving list of new sales opportunities.

Product diversification

We’ll see continued diversification from brands as they look to build loyalty and ultimately offer ‘more’ for their consumers when coming directly. Brands need to tap into what drives consumer behaviour and deliver an offering over and above this.

This can appear as anything from unique products and wider ranges, to collaborations with ‘wheelhouse’ brands.

Ranges need to be increased and brands need to drive ‘want’ and ‘need’ from what they’re selling online, otherwise consumers will have no reason to purchase.

Live shopping

Thanks to advancements in technology with social media and being able to shop from the comfort of home, live shopping is one mobile commerce trend which is likely to see an increase in 2022. Combining entertainment, product discovery and purchase with a real-time feedback loop, consumers can read reviews, get recommendations and ask questions 24/7.

With Instagram and Facebook both having their own live streaming features which enable brands to link directly to the products they’re talking about, this trend is only set to grow as brands look to cater for both the shopper and retailer.

Brands with a purpose

The rise of B-Corps, indie businesses with a core purpose, and major events like COP26 has caused consumers to turn away from global brands like Amazon. This has started with Gen Z where 65% of individuals will spend 48% more on an average for products from a purpose-driven business², but over the next few years we’ll see older generations begin to consider more ethically minded brands. This will ultimately shape consumer behaviour and the e-commerce world.

AR / VR and the metaverse 

We’ve seen significant developments here over the past 12 months, with forced tech advancements and adoption due to Covid-19.

Businesses and brands are finding ways for consumers to experience and understand their products ‘virtually’, which will eventually move to augmented reality (AR) outfitters.

Although it’s early days, we will see the metaverse become a commerce platform. Facebook is currently leading the charge, however there are already metaverses out there, from buying ‘packs’ on Xbox as basic versions of NFTs. Digital assets have value and if brands can adapt and prepare for changes in this emerging technology, there’ll be significant opportunities to open up even more digital sales avenues.

Author Bio:

Dom Mernock, a director at digital agency Engage, discusses the trends he sees as being prevalent in the e-commerce world in 2022 and what we might need to expect.