Digital Economy Blog

 3 eCommerce trends that are currently dominating the sector

The importance and scale of eCommerce is increasing significantly. Global eCommerce sales are expected to reach $4.9 trillion by 2022, jumping from just $1.3 trillion six years ago. The sectors incredible 265% growth rate is what has led to its increasing relevance to the economy as a whole. The eCommerce industry is still very innovative despite these macro trends. New patterns, sources of income, and chances for creativity open the door to newcomers.

Social + eCommerce = Social Commerce

Social Commerce is a relatively new eCommerce trend which has been avidly embraced in a number of sectors. Users who avail of social commerce can buy goods or services directly from a social media platform, without exiting to a separate online store. Consumers benefit from a better shopping experience thanks to social commerce. Due to the captive audience and the simplified customer experience, it also offers potentially greater conversion rates than traditional eCommerce. Although Facebook Marketplace and Instagram Shoppable posts have introduced social commerce to a western audience, it is the WeChat platform in China where the greatest potential has been discovered. 18% of applications on the platform are eCommerce related. Over 1 billion users can be targeted with the WeChat Pay function allowing the seamless completion of purchases. When it's done right, social commerce has the potential to boost sales and drastically reduce costs associated with digital marketing.

Voice Search

According to predictions, 75% of US households will own a smart speaker by 2025. The need for eCommerce businesses to ensure that their products are accessible via voice search is highlighted by this projection. It is anticipated that consumers will start using voice commands to make purchases rather than interacting with desktop or mobile devices. Amazon reports that, as of 2022, there are "hundreds of millions of Alexa-enabled devices out there", which indicates a doubling of Alexa's reach in just a single year. When compared to Googles voice assistant, which has been equipped on an estimated one billion devices, Alexa, on the other hand, means that users actively choose to buy the voice search technology rather than having it pre-installed on their devices. This dramatic increase signals a change in consumer perceptions of smart speakers and the start of a trend towards almost universal adoption.

User-Generated Content

Over 50% of consumers say they would like to create and share their own content, yet only 16% of brands actively support this. Toy and gaming companies like Lego has benefited immensely from this marketing technique and have demonstrated its efficacy. For example, hobbyist Lego builders can submit their own designs and plans on how to build them on the Lego website thanks to their campaign, Lego ideas. When properly pitched, user-generated content advertisements can achieve four times higher click-through rates than conventional advertisements and cost up to 50% less cost-per-click.

Moving with the latest eCommerce trends in 2022 should not be looked at as a choice by businesses, but a necessity.