A blend of digital marketing and ecommerce strategies, digital commerce has seen a huge spike in demand since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as selling online has become more and more popular. With so much competition, brands are under increasing pressure to deliver higher levels of quality, premium experiences to attract prospective customers.
As more and more brands up their game, here are just some of the digital commerce trends to expect throughout 2022.
Livestreaming & Video
With local and national lockdowns and on-going social distancing measures impacting physical stores throughout the pandemic, many businesses turned to online platforms such as livestreaming and video calls to showcase their products.
Many customers enjoy being able to physically see and touch a product to assess things like quality and fit, so livestreaming acts as a happy medium. It allows brands to showcase products and show them in use, demonstrating features much as they would in a store. And it allows customers to ask questions and get an immediate response, bringing a more personal experience to a digital platform.
Of course, some customers may have decided that they don’t miss the in-person shopping experience at all and much prefer shopping online. The pandemic may have changed customer behaviour forever. So, it is important to consider how to ensure shoppers aren’t missing out. You need to be able to offer a complete experience.
Service First
Brand loyalty is wavering, as more and more customers are prioritising customer service and positive experiences above brand equity. With so much reliance on online shopping, customers are more likely to choose a brand who can deliver their order quickly and conveniently over a brand they were once loyal to.
Think of your relationship with your customers as a partnership. As soon as it becomes one-sided, you lose the bigger picture and risk alienating potential customers. You need to ensure you’re not just there when you want customers to buy something. Put service above sales – be there when customers need you, whether that’s for advice or help or recommendations.
Loyalty Schemes
With so much choice when it comes to grocery shopping, whether shoppers are picking up some cleaning essentials or on the lookout for the latest tech, more and more are incentivised by loyalty schemes.
It’s a sure but simple way to offer shoppers a reason for choosing you over your competitor and can help you maintain your current customer base as well as attracting new customers. So, if you don’t yet have a loyalty scheme, now’s the perfect time to consider starting one. Put yourself in the shoes of a customer. Why should they shop with you? What’s the benefit?
But if you do already have a scheme, it could be time for a refresh. There’s a lot of competition in the marketplace. So, to be sure your scheme is as attractive as it needs to be, ask yourself these simple questions. What do your customers gain from signing up and would you sign up yourself?
This is just tip of the iceberg – there are so many other trends out there, from using AI to improve grocery recommendations to using voice search to send product samples. So, feel free to reach out to the experts at SMP if you’d like a run down of personalised recommendations to suit your brand. Contact us at hello@wearesmp.com