As US inflation reached a new 40-year high of 9.1% in June and as the risk of a recession is taking center stage, a vast majority of Amazon sellers are wondering how the eCommerce industry will be impacted and what strategies they will need to craft in order to stay competitive.
Luckily, we are now in the so-called “big data era” that allows us to have real-time trend insights to help us shape our future eCommerce strategies. In fact, Semrush -the platform used for keyword research and online ranking data- performed a profound report on the global and regional state of eCommerce in 2022 that highlights the overarching eCommerce trends they predict might stick for the long haul.
If you want to create an insight-driven digital marketing strategy for your eCommerce business, keep reading! This article will disclose the most crucial eCommerce trends in 2022.
Although the pandemic fueled the tendency of people buying through online shopping platforms, traffic data shows it might be cooling off. Overall traffic growth in 2022 was at 23% however, in 2021 growth stood at 29% whereas in 2022 we’ve only seen a 9% increase in traffic. Though the holiday shopping season might increase this number, with today’s economic crisis, the expected rise isn’t exactly high.
What does this mean for your business strategy?
As the rate of market growth is dropping, you can no longer rely on market expansion as your only game plan to grow your business. Now, more than ever, winning more market share is a must.
Calculate Your Market Share
What Building Market Share Will Do for Your Business
With a higher market share also comes a higher scale of operations and profitability. In simpler words, a sharp competitive edge!
When you own the biggest part of that “slice of the pie” it means you have built brand-loyal customers who keep buying from you. A good reputation, in turn, helps boost sales and broaden the customer base.
With an increase in market share, you’ll increase your dominance over the industry you operate in. Not only will you be able to afford to set a high price -because customers prefer buying your products- but you will also exercise certain powers such as greater bargaining power. You will be able to negotiate with suppliers and distribution channel members with terms that best suit your business objectives.
Mobile Traffic Is Dominating
Even though the pandemic induced a slowdown in regards to people using mobile devices when shopping online, today’s mobile traffic accounts for 70% of all traffic in comparison to 30% of desktop traffic.
What does this mean for your business strategy?
Without a doubt, mobile made a strong, striking comeback. Thus, building a user-mobile-friendly design and a mobile-optimized Store experience for shoppers on Amazon should be your top priority.
2.1 Take advantage of the Store Builder
With this feature, you can easily create a mobile or desktop view of your Store, and a version of your Store will automatically get created for the other device. You can also switch between device views to see the progress of your design in real-time.
2.2 Upload a separate image for mobile
Although Stores will automatically adjust images for different screen sizes, it doesn’t ensure every element will be legible on your mobile device. Sometimes a title design might be legible on a desktop but not on a mobile device.
That’s why we recommend you upload a separate image for your mobile device that’s optimized in terms of font size and layout.
To do so, toggle the mobile version and upload the mobile image on the right panel of the Store Builder as shown in the examples below:
2.3 Test On A Mobile Device
Discover errors that can affect your shoppers’ experience by testing your Store on a mobile device.
1.Click Preview > Share Preview in the Store builder
2.Copy the preview link
3.Paste the preview link in an email or anywhere where you can access it from your phone.
4. through your Store on your mobile device as if you were a shopper, and take notes on what needs to be improved, making sure content appears in the right order.
Ask yourself:
- Is it easy to navigate?
- Can you find the products or information that you’re looking for?
- How do your images look on a mobile device?
According to eCommerce industry traffic trends, direct visits make up more than 82% of all U.S. eCommerce traffic. Certainly, this is a tendency that has continued to grow after the pandemic and that will continue to increment.
What does this mean for your business strategy?
If you haven’t paid too much attention to building brand awareness, now is the time to do so. It’s the most powerful tool in any eCommerce marketer’s toolbox nowadays. Brand awareness increases customers’ knowledge and understanding of your products, making them familiar with your brand as well as giving you a competitive advantage over your competitors.
Start Building Brand Awareness
- Take Leverage of Sponsored Brands
Sponsored Brands help you reach your target audience with creative ads, custom headlines, videos, and images as they browse and discover different products on Amazon.
This is a very effective way to help potential customers know your brand and drive traffic to your brand Store. Once customers click on products or categories in the ads, they’re taken to your product page or custom landing page where you can showcase your brand products further.
This is the page where you showcase all of your products, either on a single homepage or through the use of many different tabs and search functions, that serve as an excellent tool to raise brand awareness.
Building a sharp Amazon Store for your brand helps drive conversions by creating a space that helps potential customers learn more about your product’s benefits and the brand’s history. Just make sure you create a consistent message across every revenue stream.
A solid product listing consists not only of images and videos but also has strong SEO-infused bullet points and quality A+ Content.
When used correctly, the A+ Content feature enables brand owners to establish a strong brand presence by adding enhanced content that best describes their products in a more creative and complex way, increasing conversion rates and overall traffic.
Bottom Line
With today’s economic shifts and recession knocking on the door, building an insight-driven marketing strategy to secure the success of your business is something you should be focusing on right now.