3 e-Commerce Trends for 2022

What will be the focus of the e-commerce industry next year? In this post, we highlight 3 e-commerce trends for 2022.

1. Social Commerce

What the Facebook outage of early October 2021 showed is that you shouldn’t be completely dependent on the tech giants. While social media was previously only used as a communication channel, nowadays it is increasingly becoming an e-commerce environment. Think of Pinterest Shop the look, the webshop options in Facebook and Instagram, or the link between Shopify and TikTok. While we are now trying to move visitors from social media to the website, in the future it will no longer be necessary to leave the app.

2. Cross-border

We indicated earlier that cross-border sales, excluding travel expenses, are up by 35% compared to the previous year. Despite the fact that since the 1st of July 2021, new EU rules on cross-border e-commerce that make cross-border shopping more expensive are in place. In short, the EU wants to establish a fairer environment and ensure that VAT is paid where the consumption takes place. Online shoppers are buying cross-border and this will continue in 2022. Based on a research of Mastercard, price is often the reason to buy cross-border. But on the other hand, cross-border shopping is associated with the frustration caused by long shipping times.

3. Green Ecommerce

The climate summit has just ended and it is now clear that something really needs to be done. Think, for example, of shipping methods where you can also opt for delivery at a service point. Or that you can compensate for the CO2 used. There is also a lot of attention being paid to how the ‘last mile’ can best be used. It appears that more than 50% of the trucks in Europe drive around partially or completely empty. In addition, various start-ups are working on an algorithm that supports route planning as efficiently as possible. Or think of a company like Budbee that goes even further. It allows consumers to choose a time slot so that there is a good chance that the package will actually be delivered. Not to mention bicycle couriers who even make delivery by bicycle possible.

Another example is the second-hand market for fashion where Zalando has jumped in. But also think of the amount of energy that your hosting package costs. Or look at the shipping boxes. How much ‘air’ is there in a shipping box? The e-commerce sector has to join forces to make the sector greener.

Wouter Maatman

Digital Marketing Manager at Icecat N.V.