The previous few years have been completely unpredictable for the eCommerce industry. 2020 showcased record sales being up 45% from 2019. However, a large amount of this is due to the partial or entire closure of brick-and-mortar sales channels.

However, as the concerns surrounding the pandemic relaxed and the traditional retail stores reopened, eCommerce sales began to settle back towards a more realistic growth rate of 17% year-over-year. Furthermore, it is predicted that by 2025, online purchases are expected to continue growing, reaching almost 24% of total retail sales. Therefore, there has never been a better time to partner with a Magento eCommerce specialist agency such as AdLab, to prepare for the upcoming growth and ensure your website is prepared.

The centre of the eCommerce universe currently is Amazon. Being the default channel for many consumers, with JingleScout finding that 74% of consumers claim that when searching for a product they begin their search on Amazon, no wonder it is the leading online marketplace by number of visits and is also predicted to overtake UPS and FedEx as the largest delivery service in the United States.

This variety of factors showcases a tremendous opportunity for merchants. However, eCommerce seems to be continuously treated as a second focus for many retailers, in favour of traditional physical channels. This however will change in 2022 if eCommerce continues at the same level of growth. Ethan McAfee, CEO and founder of Amify outlines where they believe the market is heading and how sellers can and should capitalize on the eCommerce opportunity.

Supply chains will normalise, but brands need to adopt online selling channels.

At the moment, supply chain issues are a concern for all merchants in the eCommerce space as all consumers expect goods to be available and to receive them quickly after purchase. But moving beyond a frustrated customer, there is the possibility of fallout with a company’s online channel partner. Amazon views the inability to fulfil an order as unreliability and lowers ranking in search listings as a result, and thus means lower sales as a product takes longer to find organically.

However, McAfee outlines ways around this predicament, distancing a brand away from imported goods and onshoring their supply chain until the supply chain crisis normalises. There is also an option of utilising an alternative fulfilment method such as Amazon’s FBM option (fulfilled by merchant) and prioritising shipments of high demand product goods directly from their warehouse. Brands also need to ensure that they know their obligation as an online seller and identify and address compliance issues on their eCommerce channels.

Competition is fierce: brands must align their advertising strategy to win in eCommerce.

The current terrain is fiercely competitive and brands are needing to commit to significant advertising resources, skills and effort to ensure they are continuing to succeed. However, the majority of brands view eCommerce and online marketplaces as being a large cost rather than viewing the possibility for revenue when done correctly and therefore fail to make strategic investments to win on these critical channels.

The managing of eCommerce in an online storefront and through third-party marketplaces such as Amazon both require a large level of skill and ad spend but are generally placed together, therefore the focus usually goes to the online storefront out of the belief that it will succeed, more than the marketplace alternative and thus a company is failing to reach consumers on Amazon by rejecting their algorithm and attempting to forge their own path.

Brands need to attempt to play into Amazon and other online marketplaces’ algorithms. Marketplaces promote listings that will convert visitors into sales and boost the brand while also taking competitive pricing into account. What many allow themselves to fall behind on is the prioritisation of brands that deliver quickly and have good reviews. Marketplaces are more focused on brands that can ensure purchases and delivery of orders, faster than brands that place marketplaces, as a non-important factor of a company.

Online storefronts must bring their “A” game.

The belief that simply offering a product that people want will equate to sales has caused the downfall of many retailers. Brands need to optimise their online storefronts and product listings to ensure they are getting their share of online spending. McAfee states that the online storefront is the face of the brand, unprofessional product images, incomplete or uncompelling content or even limited product reviews can deter the online shoppers from purchasing. AdLab as a website design agency, we understand this belief and attempt to ensure all our client’s websites are more than prepared to do just this.

Brand marketers are instead encouraged to develop strategies that incorporate the most important areas, such as high content and design standards that tell the brand’s story, are optimised for mobile, are rich with positive reviews and are delivering the best possible customer experience. Despite shopping online, customers are still expecting a full brand experience and lose interest if it is not delivered.

In 2022, the explosion of eCommerce is far too large and valuable of a channel for sellers to leave as an afterthought, or to pay no attention to. Building a strategy that positions a brand uniquely amongst its competition is tough and to accomplish this it must be central to the brands’ overall sales goals. While this can be a huge commitment and investment for a company, you can trust that Ad Lab will aid your company in capitalising on the continuous growth of eCommerce.