There are several trends that are reshaping the e-commerce retail landscape, many of which are here for the long-haul, so strap in.
Live stream shopping
We’ll start off with the one that is going to ultimately change the future of e-commerce.
You might more famously associate live streaming to watching your favourite influencers live on Instagram. However, it’s time retail brands start following China’s footsteps by incorporating this tool into their e-commerce strategy.
We all know that China is the leading example of innovation, especially when it comes to retail. Live e-commerce should be no exception.
Why is this trend here to stay? Well, unlike other online shopping experiences, live commerce allows consumers to virtually “touch” products while shopping. This has a controversial downfall to other methods of e-commerce shopping for not allowing tangible interactions with products. Now however, live streaming provides this experience digitally. A knowledgeable host or sales member in charge of the live video can interact with a product in the same way that a consumer might as they walk through a shop. As a result, the consumer gets a near real-life experience.
Social Commerce
Similarly to Live stream commerce, social commerce is also taking over in 2022.
What is social commerce? It’s simply the buying and selling of goods directly within a social media platform. This can be through a post, through a story, or as we mentioned before, through a live stream.
With Gen Z and millennials spending an average of 4.5 hours a day and 3.8 hours a day on social media, respectively, there’s no wonder this demographic is most easily reachable on social platforms.
The difference between social commerce and e-commerce is that consumers can purchase a product they like directly from Instagram or Tik Tok without being sent to the retailer’s site. This allows for a seamless customer experience, free from disruptions and other barriers to sale. By incorporating social commerce in their strategy, brands and retailers alike can expect a rise in revenue from younger consumers.
Purpose-driven brands
Consumers are looking for brands to be more socially responsible, environmentally friendly, and give back to their communities. Modern consumers are more meticulous than ever at spotting corporate greenwashing — inauthentic claims to being environmentally friendly.
Brands therefore have to step it up and replace their existing model of brand purpose. The existing one being the one that is driven by an individual company’s mission centred around business activity. The replacement could be a more generally defined goal of equitably improving the well-being of all stakeholders.
Davidkhanian, Insider Intelligence’s principal analyst claims “it’s really critical for brands to think about how they exhibit being socially driven, environmentally friendly and that also includes DE&I initiatives”. She gives the example of Old Navy, who recently announced that they are not only doing one merchandised place for all the sizes, but also price parity.
E-commerce became ‘the’ go-to during the pandemic, with trends being shifted into overdrive. With COVID protocols lifting alongside vaccines and boosters turning life slowly to normal, 2022 will be a critical but exciting year for the e-commerce world.