eCommerce has evolved a lot over the past couple of years as a result of the pandemic and shifting customer behaviours, with customers now expecting more from their favourite brands.

In this article we’ve compiled four eCommerce trends that are shaping the way businesses sell and customers buy online in 2022. Read on to discover what they are (and how your business can adopt them into your approach).

Top eCommerce trends in 2022

Deep diving into customer data

Offering customers personalised, tailored experiences has become increasingly important for businesses operating in the online space. But with it becoming harder to learn about customers due to privacy and efforts to hold this information tightly by platforms such as Facebook, businesses will need to make a conscious effort to acquire information directly from their customer base.¹

One way to gain valuable customer insights is by leveraging zero-party data solutions. These types of solutions are designed to gather data that a customer intentionally and proactively shares with your brand, including shopping preferences, purchase intentions, pain points, and how they want to be recognised by your business – through things like quizzes and feedback forms. All of these details can ultimately inform your marketing efforts and help you connect with your customers on a personal level.

As a retail business operating in 2022, it’s important to put measures in place to gather and interpret data so that you can effectively foster and grow your customer base so it’s worth looking into a data solution that will allow you to connect more effectively.

Live shopping experiences

Another one of the eCommerce trends taking off in 2022 is livestreaming shopping experiences, such as product demonstrations, which are designed to engage customers in a more interactive way. This can be beneficial for customers who are unable to shop in store or don’t have a shop near them, as they can get a closer look at the product and ask questions in the comments just as they would with a store associate.²

Integrating live shopping experiences into your content plan, in a way that makes sense for your business, is a great way to elevate the customer consideration process by giving them the information they need to make a purchase.

Augmented reality (AR) commerce

This next trend is similar to the above, in the sense that it’s designed to help customers make their mind up on a purchase. Arguably one of the more innovative trends of online shopping, AR involves using 3D mapping to help customers try on products or preview experiences before placing an order. Some examples of AR commerce in action include virtual try-ons for glasses frames and makeup products, or seeing how a piece of furniture looks in a room.²

By giving customers the opportunity to see how a product may look on them or in their home prior to making a purchase, AR commerce ultimately allows customers to ‘try before they buy’. The bonus of this, besides swaying customers to the checkout, is reducing the likelihood of refunds, because when a customer is more informed when ordering, they’re less likely to return the item.²

AR commerce offers a unique opportunity to move a customer from the deliberation stage to the purchase stage, and get them over the shopping cart line.

Show that you take sustainability seriously

With customers becoming more discerning when it comes to what they buy and where they buy from, it’s wise that you show customers your business’ sustainability efforts. Customers are increasingly wanting to see every step of the supply chain, including where products are made, who makes them, how they’re delivered, and even how returns are handled.¹

Some ways to clearly and honestly communicate the measures you have in place to protect the environment, and the positive changes you’re continuing to make, include: sharing sustainability statements; explaining what goes into producing each product; how you’ll offset carbon emissions from the customer’s purchase; and releasing social conscience reports to share your sustainability progress.

If you’re taking sustainability seriously, it’s important to let your customers know so they can feel confident doing business with you by understanding the efforts you’re making.

Tyro eCommerce

Need an eCommerce solution to stay on top of these trends? Tyro eCommerce has a bunch of features that make offering a superior online shopping easier^3.

Tyro eCommerce allows you to:

• combine both online and in-store performance in one simple settlement⁴, keeping you informed and making reporting a breeze
• stay up to date with payments as they happen, wherever you are, thanks to the Tyro App and Tyro Portal
• let your customers pay the way they want; Tyro eCommerce accepts many payment types, including Visa, Mastercard®, American Express, and JCB
• securely save card details for your convenience through secure invoicing
• accept, manage, or refund a card payment from a device wherever there is internet access through Virtual Terminal
• Link a plan to customers with Subscription payments

Conclusion

Whether your business sells purely online or you have a mix of in-store and online shopping, harnessing these 2022 eCommerce trends is a great way to stay on top this year and beyond.

Ready to unlock Tyro’s eCommerce tools? Get in touch!

_{1 Shopify. (2022). The Future of Commerce Trend Report 2022.}

_{https://enterprise.plus.shopify.com/rs/932-KRM-548/images/FOC_PDF_FA.pdf}

_{2 The Harris Poll, on behalf of Sprout Social – ‘The Future of Social Media: New Data for 2021 & Beyond’ & eMarketer ‘US Virtual and Augmented Reality Users 2021’ as referenced in; Ecommerce trends you need to know for 2022.}

_{3 eCommerce transactions are riskier than card-present (in-store) transactions and are more likely to result in a chargeback or fraud.  In the event of a chargeback, it is the merchant’s responsibility to prove that the actual cardholder authorized the transaction.  For further information about eCommerce transactions refer to Tyro’s Chargebacks and Disputes Guide at  www.tyro.com/blog/chargebacks-disputes-guide/ and Tyro’s terms and conditions at www.tyro.com/terms-and-conditions/.}

_{4 Single settlement applies for all EFTPOS and eCommerce Tyro-settled transactions, including Alipay for EFTPOS. Excludes HealthPoint and Alipay which are not available on eCommerce, and funds settled directly by Afterpay, American Express, JCB, and Diners Club.}

_{Terms and conditions apply.}