Overview of 10 e-commerce forecasts for 2022

Published in

amasty

6 min readJan 19, 2022

E-commerce is evolving at breakneck speed. It’s vital to be aware of the latest market trends to stay ahead of the competition. We’ve saved you time and compiled the most interesting e-commerce forecasts for 2022. Here we go!

1. Mobile Commerce

Smartphones and tablets are growing in popularity (which is not new), as is the popularity of shopping via mobile phones. Mobile commerce accounts for 53.9% of e-commerce in the United States.

Here’s more evidence that mobile commerce is one of the leading trends in the e-commerce market right now:

82% of U.S. Internet users have used mobile devices to shop online.

93% of millennials have compared online deals using a mobile device.

79% of smartphone users have made online purchases using a mobile device in the past 6 months.

40% of all online purchases made during the holiday season are made using a smartphone.

2. Omnichannel customer experience

E-commerce sales statistics show a staggering 73% of buyers report using multiple channels during their shopping process.

Marketers using three or more channels in any one campaign earned a 287% higher purchase rate than those using a single-channel campaign.

Companies with omnichannel customer engagement strategies retain an average of 89% of their customers, compared to a customer retention rate of 33% for companies with weak omnichannel customer engagement.

3. AI is coming

80% of retail executives expect their retail companies to adopt AI-powered intelligent automation by 2027.

51% of e-commerce players have implemented automation technologies across sales, marketing, and customer service teams to ensure a seamless user experience for customers.

When asked which technologies most improve customer experience, 34% of sales and marketing leaders believe AI is the biggest game-changer.

E-commerce giant Amazon.com reports that upselling and cross-selling are responsible for 35% of its total annual revenue. Amazon’s AI-powered real-time product recommendation engine is the key.

4. Free shipping is essential

Free shipping is the most important factor for consumers when deciding which seller to buy from. The second most important factor is the ease of shipping returns, followed by the cost of returns.

49% of online shoppers abandon their shopping carts due to unexpected extra costs.

46.5% of small to mid-sized businesses say that offering free shipping increases their profits.

A lack of free shipping options prevents up to 45% of customers from buying either “most of the time” or “all the time.”

85% of consumers prefer free shipping over fast shipping.

Competitive prices and free shipping are the two most important factors for online shoppers when choosing a retailer during the holidays.

5. Branding

Brands that rely most heavily on short-term, influencer-driven marketing will face the greatest challenges in an increasingly saturated commercial space. In 2022, the world’s leading companies will put the brand building at the core of their marketing strategy.

41% of brands plan to increase investment in their paid and organic search.

Around 59% of shoppers prefer to buy new products from brands familiar to them.

21% say they purchased a new product because it was from a brand they like.

38% of people have recommended a brand they “Like” or follow on a social network.

54% of respondents would open an email simply because they trusted the brand.

4 out of 10 Americans boycotted a brand last year because of its irresponsible behavior.

6. Social commerce

Most platforms are evolving to facilitate social commerce so their users can buy products from third-party retailers without leaving the app.

Over 90% of social media users access their favorite platforms using a mobile device and 54% use social media to research products.

Online stores with a social media presence have an average of 32% more sales than those that don’t.

74% of consumers rely on their social networks to make purchasing decisions.

75% of Instagram users have taken an action, such as visiting a website, after looking at an Instagram advertising post.

33% of online shoppers find shopping inspiration on social media.

7. Digital wallets and BNPL

Digital wallet gains in e-commerce came largely at the expense of credit cards, bank transfers, and cash on delivery (COD).

Worldpay expects digital wallets to account for 51.7% of e-commerce payment volumes by 2024 with slight declines in credit cards (to 20.8%) and debit cards (to 12%).

By 2024, digital wallets, credit and debit cards will account for 84.5% of e-commerce spending.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) continues to earn market share, expecting to double from 2.1% in 2020 to 4.2% by 2024.

The promotion of digital wallets and BNPL will come at the expense of more traditional payment methods: the share of charge cards, cash on delivery, and prepaid services will steadily decline until 2024.

8. Personalization

Consumers want help finding the products they want and value a more personalized experience. As a result of poor product recommendations, online shoppers are more likely to avoid certain sites altogether.

80% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a company that offers personalized content and promotions — this usually results in a 20% higher conversion rate for site users who are shown personalized content.

80% of those who classify themselves as frequent shoppers say they only shop with brands who personalize their experience.

One in five consumers who would like to try personalized products or services are willing to pay a 20% premium.

22% of consumers are happy to share some data in return for a more personalized customer product or service.

71% of consumers feel frustrated when a shopping experience is impersonal.

9. DTC e-commerce growth

In the first quarter of 2020, Nike’s bet on DTC paid off: Its e-commerce sales soared 82%. Millennials drive DTC cross-border e-commerce growth as pandemic prompts 52% to buy online directly from international brands.

This exclusively encompasses a brand’s e-commerce platform, providing a direct-to-consumer (DTC) approach for a brand and enabling a direct line to customers.

While the monthly keyword volume for DTC was 880 in November 2017, that volume has quadrupled to 4,400 words in November 2021.

10. Crypto is here

In 2021, the top three companies in the crypto industry more than tripled the amount of traffic. The growth of cryptocurrency is already affecting all kinds of markets. Blockchain, the technology on which cryptocurrencies are based, has several advantages in e-commerce. For example, transactions made through the blockchain are recorded constantly and invariably, demonstrating the path of goods through the supply chain and thus providing more trust to buyers.

For those involved in e-commerce, familiarity with blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies is a must to stay ahead of the curve as these technologies become more pervasive.

Have a great year and good luck on your e-commerce journey!