Commerce Trends in 2022

Consumers are growing more dissatisfied with impersonal experiences and are gravitating more towards innovations designed, seemingly, just for them alone. Buyers want access to their retailer and their purchased goods right away. They are increasingly interacting with chatbots and prefer to patronize retailers who offer quick shipping. Anticipated 2022 commerce trends are all about innovations in perfecting consumer conveniences with an added personal touch while reaching for sustainability. 

Social Commerce

Social commerce has been on the rise in recent years. This increasing trend will continue through 2022. As per Deutch, "these platforms make it easier to connect with eCommerce offerings, and retailers that put real thought into their social selling strategy may experience increased revenue.". Not only do customers learn of new products and sales through their social media connections, but some also prefer buying products directly from social media websites, as witnessed through the increasing trend of omnichannel experiences. By customizing their messages, retailers will have new and innovative ways to reach diverse audiences and drive new sales in 2022. 

Sustainability

The push to become more sustainable as a business and offer more sustainable products has been an increasing trend over the last few years. It is anticipated to grow in size during 2022. During the holiday season of 2021, many consumers indicated that they were ditching traditional gift wrapping out of concern for the environment. Kumar (2021) says that "searches on Etsy for eco-friendly, sustainable or biodegradable gifts are up 48 percent in the past six months compared with the same time in 2020.". Additionally, the push for sustainability is evident in retailers everywhere, with increases in recycled products and even trendy large-scale second-hand digital clothing stores. 

Research has shown that younger generations have higher expectations pertaining to both environmental and social responsibilities when it comes to retailers and other vendors. Among one of the newest trends in popular stores and brand names is reselling products. Not only are consumers pushing for more sustainable offerings, but they have their eyes on wasteful packaging tactics. Even fulfillment and delivery practices are gravitating towards sustainability in an environmental sense. Bringoz highlights the importance of this trend in that “retailers that are perceived as being behind-the-times will quickly lose shoppers.”. 

Automation

As the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, so did labor shortages in retail, both online and in brick-and-mortar establishments. With rising deficits came consumer intolerances for delays. Automating certain aspects of e-commerce has been one way to deal with staff shortages and increase the customers' experiences. Automations run the gamut of anywhere from scheduling services to online chatbots. Automation can significantly aid in methods that directly and indirectly impact customer experiences such as order tracking, customer loyalty programs, communications with customers, inventory management, and more. As per Morgan, “through the first nine months of 2021, North American companies ordered a record 29,000 robots, many of which perform front-line tasks traditionally done by humans.". Trends in finding new and creative ways to appease and retain consumers and tap into a new consumer profile will continue to increase in popularity in 2022. For instance, customers typically expect a response from an online vendor within five minutes or less. Geyser says that using chatbots is one-way personalized experiences are on the rise and that “estimates say that 91 percent of internet users interact with a chatbot daily.". These are just a few ways digital retailers are expanding their automation to keep up with consumer expectations. 

Payment Innovations

As per Baird (2021), "buy now, pay later (BNPL) was a hot trend in 2021 and will continue to be a top retail priority in 2022.". While not exactly a new concept, BNPL is growing in demand and being increasingly offered by the big digital retailers making them perfectly suited to attract a new set of customers. Remaining flexible during the payment process provides a clear competitive advantage as more customers flock to this alternative payment system. This is a terrific option for customers who do not have credit cards. However, companies must be aware that when they offer this alternative form of payment, their cash flow and customer experience could be temporarily impacted if not implemented correctly – BNPL should be on the radar for every company. 

Read more on Forbes.com: “Three Digital Retail Experience Trends To Watch Out For In 2022”

Baird, N. (2021). Five Retail Predictions for 2022. Chain Store Age. 

https://chainstoreage.com/five-retail-predictions-2022

Bringoz. (2021). 4 Retail Trends That Will Impact 2022. https://www.bringoz.com/4-retail-

trends-that-will-impact-2022/ 

Deutch, K. (2021). Top 8 Retail Trends in 2022. Square. Retrieved December 26, 2021, from 

https://squareup.com/us/en/townsquare/retail-trends?country_redirection=true

Morgan, B. (2021). Top 5 Customer Experience Trends For 2022. Forbes. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2021/12/08/top-5-customer-experience-trends-for-2022/