What are the emerging retail trends for 2022?

With the penetration of online shopping and digital marketing, businesses have become more internet and digitally driven in order to curb the emerging retail trends for 2022. This change has also seen the traditional brick-and-mortar stores adopt features of the online shopping experience to encourage us to keep visiting them.

Conventional stores have also realized the benefits that in-person services can offer, like a personalized shopping experience. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic arrival in 2020, the world has witnessed significant changes across various retail industries.

Despite all challenges, as always, New Year brings with it new changes, especially in the world of e-commerce and retail. Ranging from new marketing channels to innovative technologies, this post presents the emerging retail trends for 2022 you need to know.

 The emerging retail trends for 2022

1. Social commerce

The rise of online shopping witnessed this year is here to stay, more so with the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, like the closure of physical stores.

According to a study by marketing week, up to 41% of people said they are currently shopping more online for things they used to buy from physical stores.

Social media marketing-a native shopping practice on social sites provides a more flawless shopping experience. Rather than going through third-party sites, customers can complete their purchase process from their social media platforms or sites.

Social commerce is rising and proving to be among the leading emerging retail trends across the industries. For instance, in 2020 only, the world saw a partnership between Shopify and Tik Tok and the emergence of Facebook Shops by Facebook.

Shops are the traditional storefronts of business on social sites like Facebook and Instagram. Companies can feature their product collections and customize the image of their stores with banners, colors, photos, and buttons.

Additionally, shops are optimized for many sites, and the same Shop can be accessed on both Facebook and Instagram. Therefore, businesses can reach a broader audience on the two channels after it is fully set up.

As we get into the New Year, social commerce is expected to become the most integral among the emerging retail trends in 2021 for shoppers and sellers alike.

2. A new perspective towards influence marketing

Over the past years, influencer marketing has been about carefully crafted captions, selfies, and over-edited product photos. However, in 2020, we have witnessed a major change in how influencers and brands work together in promoting products and services.

Influencer marketing strategies have progressively shifted to a mainstream product promotion medium. And it is among the expected emerging retail trends in 2022.

In addition, retailers have increasingly encouraged influencers and bloggers to earn commission through affiliate programs and advertise through product placement. This way, brands are able to reduce middle man and promote the trend of buying directly from producers through influencers.

The trend began with superstars like Kim Kardashians and has evolved industries served by micro-influencers. It has been mainly enabled by the tech-driven innovations in the supply chain, which allows for “drop-shipping.”

Major brands like Body Shop have also co-opted the direct sales system, developing a network of micro-influencer who often sells to friends and families.

Also, in a bid to remove the middle man of the brick-and-mortar stores, there have been several experiments with shoppable TV. This strategy rolled out by NBC allows users to get notifications whenever the product they see on TV is ready for direct delivery.

With its success, customers will be able to interact and complete purchases direct from TV. This trend also targets entertainment TV and sports coverage as retailers scout for new mediums of engaging with digital audiences.

Overall, as one of the emerging retail trends for 2022, businesses need to have authentic and quality video content. It willensure their influencer campaigns are compelling enough.

3. Presence of online stores in physical set-ups

This is a major trend that involves integrations of digital innovations like extended reality, including virtual and augmented reality,  AI and Robotics.

Integrating these technologies has allowed retailers to feature the online shopping convenience in offline space and the interactive techniques in the online space.

While the shift is majorly towards having an online presence for the traditional store, we have witnessed giant online retailers setting up their physical presence.

For instance, Amazon’s and Walmart’s cashier-less which enables customers to pick goods and pay in-store and have them delivered to their homes.

Moving into 2021, we will undoubtedly see small, and established retailers continue setting their physical presence with a touch of technology and the convenience of online shopping.

4. Improved brand identity on Amazon

Even though new business channels are emerging rapidly, Amazon remains unbeatable when talking of the most prominent online marketplace.

For businesses running on Amazon, creating brand equity can be difficult; however, a robust brand identity is essential in reaching out to customers and building trust.

And, as a bonus, Amazon has added more tools for businesses to create unique brand identities. These tools include Amazon posts, brand descriptions, Amazon OTT, and Video in sponsored brands.

Being among the critical emerging retail trends for 2022, it is expected that Amazon keeps supporting brands to build creative adverts moving forward.

5. Rise in autonomous delivery

This trend has been eminent for some time now, but with the pandemic changes, it is gaining rise steadily. We are about to see innovative ideas like drone delivery and self-driven deliveries coming to life.

Autonomous deliveries and fulfillment reduce the risks of contracting the virus and possible hygiene concerns at the packaging places. This is the drive behind this factor featuring among the emerging retail trends for 2021.

Getting into 2021, this trend will likely be aiming at the last miles solution like adopting drones and self-driven vehicles for trips from fulfillment centers to customers’ homes.

Again, it will need to integrate various technological trends such as AI to manage routing and transportation and blockchain for transparent and secure transactions.

6. Rise of same-day delivery

Customers’ expectations of delivery turnaround are only getting faster with the rise of most products being ordered online. The other day, it was 2-day through Amazon Prime, and currently, we have same-day delivery.

After the sales from Amazon rose due to introduction of the same-day delivery, big names are struggling to follow suit. For example, Walmart has expanded its two-hour express delivery, and Target Corporation is developing its Shipt services.

Since we live in gratification era, customers expect their orders to be delivered ASAP. This has seen increased traction to same-day by brands and customers alike.

Though the trend is not new, 51% of e-store retailers had offered same-day delivery services; we are yet to see it gain rise in 2021.

7. Increased use of live chat and chatbots

Since the pandemic has limited face-to-face interactions, and store also reduce physical customer services. To offer customer support to clients irrespective of the distance, most of the brands are adopting live chat and virtual assistance services.

With social distancing being the new normal, we are likely to see more industry heavyweights embracing these tools to engage clients in real-time. Despite the benefits of in-person interactions, live chat and chatbots give more advantages like quick response and 24 hours presence.

To further give credits to live chat, it can create in-person experiences. It can add fun during your chat sessions, which is a new experience to the online retail space.

8. Increased attention on personal health and self-care

Besides transforming major consumer businesses, the pandemic has also changed the products online buyers prefer to purchase. Most customers are buying personal health and self-care products while reducing on the non-essential items.

With the increase of lockdown across the world, brands witnessed a rise and focus on customers’ health and well-being. Online grocery recommends to note the rise and devise a way to enhance the healthy lifestyle for shoppers, consumers, and their employees.

As dictated by the pandemic control measures, customers are changing their general habits like frequent handwashing and more surface cleaning. Changes expected to continue even beyond the pandemic.

Therefore, brands need to capture the opportunity presented with these changes and include hygiene products in their business portfolios. Digital tools like mediation apps and anything directed towards improving personal care and mental health are excellent avenue for sales.

Conclusion 

The year 2020 was certainly one of the challenging years the whole world has ever witnessed. However, people geared to start 2022 on a recovery step.

Despite the setbacks witnessed in 2020, the retail industry recreated and innovated new ways of running their business. Regardless of whether the pandemic will continue or not, there are various emerging retail trends people should get ready for.

Social commerce and online presence expected to increase usability of live chats. Additionally, there will be a rise in autonomous and same-day delivery to satisfy the millennials’ expectations of instant gratifications.