E-commerce innovations to look out for this year

E-commerce has always been a fast-growing and ever-changing industry, but never more so than over the past couple of years. In 2020 alone, UK consumer spend online shot up a massive 34.7%¹ as digital transformation switched from buzzword to necessity.

Propelled by tech-focussed innovation, this growth - even with shops now open - shows little signs of slowing. Last year saw the rise of augmented and virtual realities, voice shopping, and murmurs of the metaverse, just to name a few. So as 2022 begins, what trends and innovations will define e-commerce over the coming 12 months?

Mobile commerce

Royal Mail has delivered for BAM Bamboo Clothing for many years.

Managing Director Ryan Shannon admits that their switch to a mobile-first approach seems like “a subtle change, but has impacted a lot.” Why have they decided to adopt this approach? “I don’t see the growth in mobile commerce going away,” says Shannon.

And all the evidence points to this being correct. In 2019, retail sales via mobile devices were £50.36 billion. It is forecast that in 2024, the revenue from m-commerce will go up to £105.28 billion². As a result, it’s likely that brands will look to better their mobile commerce proposition in 2022.

With 73% of UK consumers saying they prefer to shop through mobile devices³, m-commerce investment looks like a very shrewd move.

Personalised discovery

Selfridges’ shopping app offers personalised style inspiration; suggesting new ranges from brands that users have previously bought from, rather than individual items.⁴

Personalisation is a popular tool amongst e-commerce retailers already. This year, however, it’s changing - with ‘personalised discovery’ likely to become more popular.

Netflix and Spotify have been using personalised discovery to improve their user experience for years. These platforms suggest genres rather than specific films/songs, allowing audiences to ‘discover’ new favourites.

Push notifications inform Selfridges’ customers about new designers, sales, and special promotions. These are based on what they’ve previously bought, with suggestions separated into categories and moods. Shoppers can search through these products easily - swiping right to add them to their wishlist.⁵

Personalised discovery aims to recreate the ‘thrill of the hunt’ of physical shopping; trying to capture the magic ingredient that, for many, can feel absent from the online buying experience.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Hotter Shoes have retained their title as the UK’s largest shoe manufacturer partly due to their focus on digital transformation. This includes an investment in artificial intelligence that has really elevated the user experience of their app.

On the Hotter App, shoppers can select shoes and see how they look on their feet using the camera on their mobile and, of course, some neat AI technology. “We have to move with the times, and technology like this is doing that” says Betts.

For retailers that have the capacity to do so, utilising AI can be a great way to improve online customer experience.

For these reasons, it’s set to become an even larger part of the e-commerce industry in 2022. 54% of retail marketers are using AI-driven personalisation across channels to drive growth in their business.⁶ New Look, for example, has a ‘style match outfit’ function on their app that works similarly to Hotters’ AI. Users can take a photo of an item and the app will find a match for it.

Like personalised discovery, there’s a sense these AI innovations will recreate a lot of the benefits of physical shopping; product recommendations and ‘Try Before You Buy’ capabilities.

The delivery experience

As shoppers flocked online amidst the pandemic, demands for a better delivery and returns experience increased. With reports that the e-commerce boom is firmly here to stay, these demands will only heighten in 2022.

Convenient delivery options encourage shoppers while 92% of customers make repeat purchases after receiving a good returns experience.⁷

Royal Mail offers a comprehensive range of options to cater to these shoppers, including a guaranteed next day delivery and doorstep collection of returns; both with convenient customer notifications to help retailers offer a better delivery experience. More than that, though, we have some tech-focussed innovations of our own.

New capabilities to the Royal Mail app put customers in control of their deliveries, whether they’re at home or out and about. These include the ability to book a home collection, send items, track their items, receive notifications, change where a parcel is delivered to, find a drop off location, and view photos of a Safeplace delivery. The Augmented Reality Parcel Sizer also helps customers find the size and format of their parcels.

Click on the video below to hear more from Hotel Chocolat, Hotter Shoes, and BAM Bamboo Clothing…