6 ecommerce marketing trends for 2022

What would the world look like today without ecommerce? It has been a game-changer for many over the last few years, with companies having to pivot their company to become ecommerce centric. Nowadays, absolutely anything can be purchased online. 

By 2040, the Nasdaq predicted 95% of purchases will happen online — and  this was published before the pandemic. So, we can only assume this timeline will naturally accelerate. 

As ecomm has become a constantly evolving and growing space, there’s an increased need for retailers to stay competitive, and be kept up to date with Ecommerce Marketing Trends. That’s where we come in.

To help you keep your finger on the pulse, we spoke to some online retailers and experts in their fields to hear their insights on trends in Ecommerce Marketing for 2022.  

Expand your payment method options

According to Eloise Tobler of Wisetek, ecommerce retailers need to look at integrating more payment methods on their online store.

“Consumers want to pay using their preferred method, be this credit or debit cards, bitcoin or other cryptos. It’s important to offer this platform. Why? Because by diversifying this aspect of your business you’re encouraging consumers to spend which will reduce cart abandonment rates.”  

Adding to the choice of payment, are the ever-popular Pay As You Go (PAYG). Statista reported a compound global growth rate of 6.2% annually. This will reach close to $16 billion in 2030 in the United States alone.

The days of a single payment service are long gone, making it a must-have to incorporate other payment methods as part of the checkout process. 

Eloise Tobler also added, “It’s also imperative to introduce a one-click payment option, this is a trend that is continuing to grow in popularity as it appeals to the more flexible shopper.”  

In a society where speed, efficiency and choice are demanded by consumers, expanding payment methods is set to dominate 2022 ecommerce marketing trends.

Provide a personalized experience

If we’ve said it once we’ve said it 100 times, personalization works! 

53% of consumers believe that retailers who personalize the shopping experience provide a valuable service. This individualization then leads to an increase in sales, customer engagement and even customer loyalty. 

Ecommerce personalization has evolved from email marketing into personalized product recommendations, content and social media ads. All to enhance the multichannel shopping experience of your customer — and ensure what you’re sharing is truly relevant for the end consumer.

Rosalin Siv, the Founder of The Evercake in New York, believes this increase in personalized marketing and products will be here to stay. 

“Personalization means more than just saying “Hello, [firstname]!” to every customer that logs on to your website. Customers expect a seamless experience, and that requires personalization. With smart website features and online tracking technologies, we can give every customer a highly customized and individualized experience to boost sales.”

If you’re looking to boost personalization within your own ecommerce store, Ortto can make every journey personal for your customer. By using conditions and filters to change their journey based on demographics, and behavior. You can send every message with context. 

Know your customers’ lifetime value 

“LTV will be queen in 2022,” according to Colleen Wachob, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of mindbodygreen, a wellness company that expanded into ecomm with mbgsupplements+.  

Lifetime Value, abbreviated to LTV, is the total revenue generated from an individual customers’ lifecycle. Companies who focus on building a high LTV, will have stronger long-term relationships, as they attract the ideal customer to their product. 

“In the past few years, Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) was too focused on the lowest CPA at all costs without a maniacal focus on attracting the right type of customers, who are ultimately going to engage with the brand and product, be an evangelist to their friends and family and over-index on LTV.“

Speaking specifically about mbg's own customers, Wachob shared, “We know that our best customers drive 5x the LTV of our average customers. We are tripling down on understanding and better serving our best customers, not just what channel they come from and core demographics, but knowing their wellness pain points and how we can best support them in their wellness journey.”

“For us, well-being is more of a psychographic than a demographic and we want to deeply understand their attitudes on health and well-being.”

Optimize for voice shopping

This is also known as ‘conversational shopping’, where online customers use their voice to explore and purchase products. Just like speaking to a sales clerk in store, however, it's all done remotely.  Siteefy state that voice-driven shopping is looking to hit $40 billion in 2022, making it a priority in your ecommerce marketing strategy.

Marcus Anwar, CEO of a classifieds website called OhMy.ca believes this “trend is going to have a huge impact on websites that are not currently optimized for voice search.” 

“Because we predict this trend will play a massive role in user experience, we are in the process of adapting our e-commerce strategy accordingly so that people will be able to use voice commands to make their purchases more convenient and user-friendly, especially on mobile devices.”

For retailers looking to integrate voice shopping into their strategy, remember to optimize your content for voice in order to rank well in searches.

Integrating voice shopping into your ecomm marketing plan will remove some of the friction felt from traditional websites and apps. It will allow you to answer all your customers' questions plus facilitate the purchase of the product without leaving the platform. This provides a more individualized experience. 

A Focus on Social Commerce 

Lisa Odenweller, the founder and CEO of Kroma Wellness, a lifestyle nutrition and next generation superfood company, is a firm believer of social media selling. 

“People will likely spend even more time on social media. As it becomes more convenient to do everything there: shop, connect, browse, learn, and have fun. This will absolutely impact how we think about our digital strategy.”

“We want to meet consumers where they are so that more people can find us and benefit from what we do.”

There are many ways to sell on social media, to name a few;
- Create an end-to-end retail shopping experiences through your Instagram feed
- Set up your Facebook & Instagram Shop
- Customer updates on product availability 
- Sell products through livestream
- TikTok Shopping Account (when it launches #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt) 

Over the past month, 59% of customers who bought online, made a purchase directly from social media. Plus they averaged a total of 7 items in their basket. Now you can see, it’s a no-brainer to include Social Commerce in our ecommerce marketing trends.

Green consumerism

This ecomm marketing trend was gaining momentum in 2021, with no signs of slowing down in 2022.

How will green consumerism impact ecommerce? Consumers are looking to companies to embrace this new way of consumerism as part of their business strategy. It can vary from making deliveries more efficient, to only using sustainable products and ethical manufacturers.

Online shoppers are wanting companies who are actively accounting for their own ethical responsibility. They are even more willing to invest their time and money into these. 

Stewart McGrenary, Director at Freedom Mobiles, has seen the increase of green consumerism across all age groups. Stating that, “even the older generations are not far behind their younger counterparts for saying they care about the environment.” 

“Both customers and businesses alike are recognizing the importance of a sustainable environment. Now we are finding that customers are willing to pay the extra costs if they feel they are helping the planet.”

The final word

If you’re looking to take your ecommerce marketing plan to the next level, then switch on Ortto. Our customer data platform combines all of your customer, transactional and behavioral activity to build you a single view of the customer. 

With all of your data in a single place, you'll know exactly who you should be targeting and when across the entire customer lifecycle. Try Ortto today, with your free 14-day trial 

Unleash all of your ecommerce data with a revolutionary customer data platform.