In recent years, there has been an acceleration in the rise of online shopping and eCommerce sales, which has benefited from changing consumer behaviors brought on by the pandemic. With a focus on digital transformation, many online retailers have pivoted out of necessity to compete in this new era of digital shopping.
Early findings from Digital Commerce 360 suggest growth may normalize at a more sustainable pace, with an estimated increase of 14% in year-over-year sales. According to Adobe estimates, 2022 is expected to be the first trillion-dollar year for online sales.
With the anticipation of record-setting profits in the new year, the future of eCommerce remains bright. Here are 4 trends websites should be aware of in 2022 and beyond to capitalize on this growth.
Optimizing websites to maximize conversion rates
Only a few years ago, a brick-and-mortar store having a website and online presence was enough. In today’s competitive digital world, a more optimized website is essential to capture greater conversions and higher revenue. To achieve this, Marketing and Digital Teams may benefit from A/B Testing, which is the deployment of two versions of a website to measure performance. By testing what works best and identifying areas for improvement, teams can continually optimize every aspect of their website.
For example, this could include layout, navigation, and the impact that page load speed has on revenue. Blue Triangle has observed that most websites are losing 5% to 15% of online business due to slow pages. Are you leaving millions of dollars on the table?
Providing a frictionless customer journey
A flexible, simple, and convenient shopping experience is one of the most important elements in ensuring online sales. It has been reported that more than two-thirds of companies are competing primarily based on customer experience. For many websites, the customer journey has overtaken both price and product as a key brand differentiator.
Do you know your site’s highest converting paths, or where customers are falling out of the funnel? Listening to the customer’s voice is critical in addressing these questions.
Leveraging real-time analytics and site monitoring
Instant analytics and insights into live results are crucial in understanding how customers are interacting with your site. Leveraging this actionable data, you can better understand where potential sales are lost, minimize bounce rates and cart abandonment, or with the right tools in place, even identify new opportunities for increased sales.
Managing consumer privacy preferences and data security
From Ransomware attacks to phishing attempts and everything in between, data breaches in 2021 exceeded the previous year. The consequences may be more than just financial, including damaging a brand’s reputation and customer trust. Implementing a robust Content Security Policy Manager can help mitigate and protect your site from these nefarious attacks.
It is also important to remain on the right side of evolving online privacy laws. Do you monitor your website for any questionable content or regulatory infringements that may affect your ability to compete in the global market?
The Bottom Line
In 2021, successful eCommerce websites adopted more digital strategies and invested in technologies to fuel sales growth. In order to remain competitive in the new year, trends highlight the need for businesses to differentiate themselves and prioritize frictionless shopping experiences.
While delighting customers may be priceless, Blue Triangle uniquely and accurately predicts the revenue impact of improving website performance. Learn more to create great digital experiences for your customers and quantify revenue opportunity improvements.
