Livestream, Chat Shopping To Become Prevalent In 2022 – The shopping trends which will shape the global e-commerce market in 2022 include discovery commerce, livestream shopping, and social commerce.
Online retailers are likely to boost their investments in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) as the COVID-19 crisis continues to drive more visitors to e-commerce sites in 2022.
According to projections made by online buying platforms Bidorbuy and PayFlex, as well as research firm CB Insights, this would provide insights that would enable them to offer customization, ease, and flexibility while increasing consumer experience.
More businesses will make use of AI-based, automated, intelligent systems which can properly forecast customer preferences and assist them in finding exactly what they require.
AR is transforming the way people shop by giving online shoppers virtually engaging tools to explore and interact with things in the same way they would in a physical store.
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Social media selling has grown in popularity as an effective alternative to shopping on a retailer’s website for online purchases.
Despite the recent growth in online consumers, Anne-Marie Green, marketing manager of online auction and marketplace Bidorbuy, argues that South Africa’s e-commerce market is still relatively underdeveloped, but that researching worldwide trends can help the industry grow and shape its future.
Because of the size of the more mature e-commerce industry, they are more willing to try new things like social selling and chatbots to improve the online shopping experience.
Customers will be able to visualize how a product will look on them or in their home thanks to technological breakthroughs like augmented reality (AR), which will be a key distinction for e-commerce enterprises that introduce this technology to the local market first.
The 2022 e-commerce trends predicted by Bidorbuy, PayFlex and CB Insights are:
• Livestream Shopping
As additional channels develop, brands and merchants are resorting to live commerce to allow viewers to buy featured products instantaneously through immersive video. Customers can interact with stylists and hosts remotely on the shopping site, as well as get real-time product reviews and recommendations.
• Discovery Commerce
This trend is predicted to rewrite the laws of online buying engagement this year. Discovery commerce challenges the traditional marketing stereotypes by predicting customer requirements and pairing products with the people most likely to love them, using advanced algorithms to assess consumer demands.
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• Social Commerce
More firms will use social media beyond its conventional role, purchasing and selling services or goods directly to the client via social networking sites, as e-commerce and social media merge.
Chat Commerce
Previously, chatbots and messaging applications like WhatsApp were only used for customer care, but e-tailers and start-ups are now combining them with e-commerce on a single platform, allowing users to make payments as well.
Buy-Now-Pay-Later
The BNPL model allows customers to make large-ticket purchases right away while expanding out their payments – all while paying no interest. This year, BNPL will be more accessible and inclusive as a short-term funding solution, thanks to improved integration with consumer bank accounts and digital wallets.