Four successful eCommerce strategies in 2022
Since 2020, the world has been changing at a rapid pace. Consumers’ behaviours and attitudes have been revolutionised by the pandemic and all resulting restrictions on our lives.
For online stores, the trends have been in your favour. People haven’t been able to get to the High Street or the shopping mall, so they have been driven online for purchases. While this means more customers, it has also meant more eCommerce businesses. Therefore, although there are opportunities for success in 2022, it will be a highly competitive business.
In this article we explore four of the key eCommerce strategies you need to employ in 2022.
1) Make it easy to convert
The cost of living has shot up, which means people have become scared of spending money. Petrol prices and utility bills are ascending significantly, and people feel their pay packets stretched. Consequently, getting to the point of completing the sale at the basket stage is harder. You must make this as smooth and rapid as possible.
First, make the postage costs transparent. Having chosen an item that is just within a budget and then seeing the price go up several pounds is often enough to result in an abandoned cart. If at all possible, make these postage costs free. This is especially problematic for customers in the advent of Brexit, so making clear your policy on postage from the opening screen will serve you well.
Second, offer multiple ways to pay. When on the phone, having ApplePay available means a shopper only has to tap once and authenticate before the purchase goes through. Compare this to the time it takes to type in the 16-digit number, security number and expiry date.
Finally, the subscription model is an excellent way to increase your customer lifetime value. Food companies such as Hello Fresh and Gusto have led in this space, offering food ingredients for a week of meals. Yet, of all the brands that have been most successful, Huel are worth a look. They have created a model that allows subscribers to replace their complete diet with easy to use meals in a pack. The regular payment without having to continually make a sale increases the chances that your eCommerce company can survive these competitive times.
2) Research your consumer’s goals, needs, and targets
Consumer psychology has always been important in sales. Understanding what drives your consumers allows you to provide the inventory and messaging that makes you relevant. Sustainable values are significant in the consumer space now, and you may want to publicise clearly your credentials for helping to protect the environment.
You may have known your consumer inside out two years ago, but much has changed in the minds of buyers since the pandemic. Consequently, committing to significant research into your consumer in 2022 will pay dividends, as it helps you to shape a messaging campaign that resonates right now with your buyer.
3) Adapt to the seasons
Another way to stay relevant in your buyer’s mind is to adapt to the seasons. Keeping the same inventory and a stable landing page might be tempting, but there is little here to tempt the returning customer. To be successful, you need to increase the lifetime value of each customer.
One way to keep the customer coming back is to change with the seasons, starting with having a summer and winter range of products. Alternatively, it might mean that you promote certain products on your landing page, depending on the time of year.
Even better than working to seasons is appealing to the holidays through the year. While Christmas is a given, how much thought do you give to changing your store for Easter, Valentine’s Day, or Halloween? Remember how Starbucks drove us crazy with the pumpkin latte in October, increasing their brand visibility in our minds.
4) Stand out from the crowd
2022 will be a year where you need to push to the front of the line in your consumer’s mind. Yes, people are heading online more, but there is more choice when they arrive. It is essential that you are first on a search list and that your storefront is stellar.
SEO has always been a popular strategy for increasing your position on the search engine results page, and this strategy will continue to be essential for eCommerce stores.
User experience is also a vital component in standing out. If your store loads slowly, you will lose customers. A person’s tolerance for a loading page is less than 2 seconds. Optimising your loading times could make a difference to your conversion rates. Equally, once there, the customer gives you 8 seconds of their time to decide if there will be a secondary action within your site. The first click onto your store is relatively easy to gain; the second is very difficult. Make the experience so desirable that the second click is inevitable.
A good way to capture the attention of your market is with samples. A sample will take the risk out of the sale and ease the consumers way to the buying button.
Becoming more in a competitive landscape
Generally, 2022 is a good news story for online stores. More and more people are buying this way. However, it is becoming an increasingly competitive landscape, and you will need to work hard to stand out in the crowd.
Laura McLoughlin is a Digital PR based in Armagh, Northern Ireland. She has previous experience as a website editor and journalist, and currently works with Chorus Commerce.
