Ecommerce marketing trends for 2022

The global pandemic brought forth unprecedented challenges, straining business and household budgets alike. Yet, optimistic observers like the World Economic Forum saw it as an opportunity; a potential accelerant for digital transformation. Two years in, and eCommerce offers some excellent confirmation of this as an industry that continues to thrive. Business is booming, competition is fierce, and eCommerce marketing trends for 2022 paint a bright future ahead. We at Digital Dot support this notion, so today let us explore said trends that will shape the industry.

Ecommerce post-pandemic

Individual businesses have no doubt struggled with the pandemic’s after-effects. Safety regulations have affected operations, customer behaviors have changed, and smaller marketing budgets have been strained further. One can certainly not outright claim these turbulent times have been pleasant or free of damages.

Yet, the eCommerce industry, on the whole, has enjoyed continued growth with few setbacks. To quantify this growth, initially consider Statista’s findings on unyielding revenue:

By the same token, WeAreSocial finds that weekly purchases remain high as of January 2022:

With more than half (58.4%) of all internet users aged 16 to 64 making at least one online purchase a week, it’s easy to explain what drives eCommerce growth.

Ecommerce marketing trends for 2022

What will continue to drive it is a different matter, however, so next we may delve into eCommerce marketing trends. In no particular order, consider the 7 that follow.

#1 Branding

Across all industries, branding has continued to shape customer perceptions and spearhead relation-building campaigns. From a brand’s logo to its outreach tone, relevance, and delivery channels, branding will continue to play a key role.

Industry juggernaut Shopify also believes this trend will continue to inform eCommerce, citing Kate Collinson:

“The brand is what separates businesses that are growing at a rapid rate from businesses that are just getting by.

Run a workshop with employees and really hone in on the brand identity and its values. Why does the brand exist? Who are they, what do they bring to the table, what do they look like to customers, and how are they going to be recognized in the market? What are their key differentiating factors?”

#2 Social commerce

Similarly, social commerce continues to dominate. Far from a passing trend, social commerce fuses eCommerce with social media marketing to enable purchases within social media platforms. This newfound convenience shortens customer journeys and resonates with busy, time-starved audiences as it enriches their feeds. Social media marketing NYC trends support this notion, as a third of all internet users already embrace social commerce.

For additional confirmation, Statista also forecasts that social commerce sales will nearly triple before 2026. Shopify also leverages this trend through integrations with such social media giants as TikTok:

#3 Hyper-personalization

Another persistent entry among eCommerce marketing trends remains personalization. From email marketing to paid remarketing, all industries continue to leverage personalization to entice their customers and enhance their experiences.

For many, this may seem like a self-evident need. Just to dispel any doubts, however, allow us to support it with statistics:

• “71% of customers are frustrated by impersonal shopping experiences”, according to Segment.
• Adobe finds that “42% of customers are similarly frustrated by impersonalized content”.
• “80% of consumers are more likely to buy from a company that provides a tailored experience”, according to Slideshare.
• SalesForce finds that for 70% of consumers, “how well a company understands their individual needs” through personalization “impacts their loyalty”.
• Smart Insights supports this notion further, finding that “63% of consumers won’t buy from brands that have poor personalization”.

For eCommerce specifically, personalization must continue to inform product recommendations, messaging tone and timing, and more. It won’t simply improve upselling and cross-selling revenue, but evidently also impact long-term customer loyalty.

#4 Direct to Consumer (D2C)

Perhaps in response to the above, D2C sales also continue to dominate the eCommerce discourse. This simple concept has businesses bypass resellers, intermediaries, and other third parties to sell directly to their customers. In doing so, they both refine their branding and marketing scopes and reduce needless costs and friction.

This trend sees brands leave eCommerce giants like eBay and Amazon entirely – assuming they have robust stores of their own. An example of this in recent years would be Nike, which successfully champions D2C. They’re not alone in this trend either, as SemRush finds the term’s search traffic has boomed in a few short years:

#5 Omnichannel marketing

Between personalization and D2C, personalization must of course span across the entirety of the customer journey. It’s thus omnichannel marketing that can best facilitate these eCommerce marketing trends – and PPC services New York agencies offer specifically cater to this.

This need arose years ago; in distant 2016, SproutSocial found that “most people have to see a product or service 2-4 times on social before they purchase it”. Today, with increasingly fragmented customer journeys, the new consumer requires even more touchpoints before making a purchase. Thus, eCommerce businesses may expand their marketing scope to include:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
• Pay Per Click (PPC) ads, remarketing, and retargeting
• Social media marketing and influencer marketing

Combined with social commerce, outlined above, there are never too many channels through which to court customers and outdo competitors.

#6 Sustainability and upcycling

A key reason why influencer marketing and cause marketing resonate with new audiences is, arguably, social consciousness. The Edelman Trust Barometer highlights continued consumer distrust in business, but also a burning desire to see substantive social change. Indeed, revisit the aforecited statistics; perceived ethical drivers and value alignment truly affect purchasing decisions.

In the case of eCommerce specifically, sustainability preoccupies the minds of customers. From greener delivery methods to sustainable packaging, customers truly value environmental consciousness – as Australian audiences attest to:

Similarly, upcycling has garnered attention and yielded growth, as IKEA’s second-hand sections and Apple’s refurbished product offerings both show. Customers have warmed up to such ideas, so eCommerce should likely heed this and adjust accordingly.

#7 The delivery revolution

Finally, between environmental concerns and the pandemic’s effects on demand, eCommerce marketing trends continue to favor the “delivery revolution”. Amazon has established new delivery standards that the industry now needs to meet; customers expect swift, transparent, and sustainable delivery methods.

This does of course clash with worldwide labor shortages, as demand exceeds supply. Still, the eCommerce industry seems adept at creative solutions, like embracing drones and forging partnerships with the thriving delivery industry. Ulta Beauty’s fruitful partnership with Doordash serves as an excellent example of this that other retailers may follow.

Finally, should you need to quantify the delivery industry’s growth to contextualize this trend, we may cite the maintained gains of Doordash, Ubereats, and Grubhub since 2020:

Conclusion

To summarize, eCommerce marketing trends outline continued growth for the industry – but also the need for innovation. It may have continued to thrive despite the pandemic, but digital acceleration has markedly changed the marketing landscape.

Modern customers expect expansive branding, personalized shopping experiences, and demonstrable sustainability efforts. To address these expectations, eCommerce retailers may amp up established practices like branding and omnichannel marketing. They may also embrace innovations and emerging trends like D2C, upcycling, and new delivery outlets. In a fiercely competitive environment, the old and tried must meet the new and bold to ensure success.