In 2022, ecommerce will be defined by efforts to promote environmental sustainability, reduce fraud, and open new growth channels.
In the last few years, the growth of ecommerce has exploded. Global ecommerce sales are predicted to reach $5.5 trillion in 2022, and that trend is expected to continue.
We expect this expansion to be fuelled by the growing acceptance of digital commerce by consumers that we’ve seen over the last 18 months. Electronic payment systems will play an increasingly important role in new business models being developed by ecommerce companies in the coming year.
Over 1,000 European ecommerce businesses and 8,500 consumers were surveyed in order to better understand the opportunities and challenges of 2022. Here are the five most important trends we found that will have a significant impact on e-commerce and payments in the coming year.
1. The importance of sustainability for businesses and consumers cannot be overstated.
Sustainability in commerce will be standard practise by the year 2022, based on current trends. According to our findings, 41% of retailers plan to prioritise environmental sustainability and ethical supply chains by 2022.
More and more people are concerned about their impact on the environment, and they prefer to buy from brands that are environmentally friendly. Additionally, businesses realise that climate change poses an enormous threat to their bottom line. Climate risks, such as a fire or flooding, are on the minds of a fifth of businesses in 2022.
2. Creating new ways of doing business
Consumers are increasingly exploring new ways to engage with their favourite brands, especially through social media platforms. 40% of businesses plan to invest in improving their social commerce offerings in 2022 to meet this demand, according to our research.
Despite the enormous potential for social commerce, our research shows that brands must be taken into account when developing their strategy. There is growing consumer scepticism and concern about the use of their data by social platforms, according to the findings of the study.
3. The best payment performance in the industry.
Every e-commerce strategy should begin and end with a focus on payment optimization. However, in the past, they’ve often been overlooked. Is it still like this? According to our study, 68% of business owners are actively investing in new and improved payment technologies.
A growing understanding of how an optimised payment flow increases sales at the point of sale while also safeguarding the bottom line from fraud and chargebacks is driving this investment. Businesses also tell us that they understand the importance of payments when it comes to entering new markets and expanding their operations there.
4. Combating fraud is a top priority.
Fraud and cyber risk were named as the most pressing concerns of our respondents for the year 2022. Rightly so, in my opinion. There has been a dramatic rise in the number of cases of fraud since the beginning of the pandemic.
In addition, criminals are becoming ever more sophisticated in their attacks on businesses and consumers, employing a wide range of new malicious tactics. However, businesses have a wide range of tools at their disposal to combat fraudsters. As a result, in 2022, businesses will need to deploy the right tools to protect their bottom line and their customers.
5. Competing successfully in the market
As of 2021, the top 100 global marketplace platforms had a combined revenue of $2,000,000,000,000. A majority of digital commerce is expected to occur through marketplace platforms by the year 2025. For ecommerce businesses, what does this imply?
Our findings paint a complicated picture. For one thing, companies are wary of the rise of marketplaces because they fear losing market share to them. Third-party marketplaces can provide new customers and increase sales, but only a small percentage of businesses see this as a viable option. In 2022, many ecommerce companies will be looking to build a strategy that takes advantage of the threats and opportunities in the marketplace.
Prepare for the year 2022.
You can find out more about the important trends at play and what your company can gain by putting digital payments at the centre of operations.
