An Ecommerce Q&A: The Industry's Best Share Their Strategies for 2022

Looking to the future, there’s nary denying ecommerce volition play a large relation successful business. Beginning successful 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated an already increasing ecommerce marketplace by driving shoppers online. But arsenic we set to a caller satellite with covid, galore questions remain. 

Will online income proceed to emergence astatine a important rate? Looking forward, however overmuch should businesses absorption connected ecommerce? And however volition selling alteration successful airy of shifting marketplaces? 

Our caller report, Shaping Your Ecommerce Strategy successful 2022: Key Industry Trends, provides immoderate answers to these questions. Though ecommerce maturation rates person slowed by 2% implicit the past 2 years, the worth of the manufacture globally, it appears ecommerce is present to stay. 

Looking forward, businesses request to strategize to conscionable the demands of a analyzable market. A single-pronged strategy focused solely connected brick-and-mortar income oregon solely connected ecommerce won’t beryllium capable moving into the future. To recognize their maximum potential, astir businesses request a nuanced strategy. 

In looking toward 2022 and beyond, we reached retired to immoderate of the ecommerce industry's apical thought leaders. In this article, you’ll perceive from 5 ecommerce experts from astir the globe: 

• Kevin Indig–Director of SEO astatine Shopify 
• Himani Kankaria–Founder of Missive Digital 
• Kunle Campbell–Co-Founder of Octillion Capital Partners
• Aleyda Solís–International SEO Consultant & Founder astatine Orainti
• Guido Pedrelli–Multichannel Marketing Manager astatine Walmart Marketplace

Our wide ranging conversations led to a bounty of insights and strategies related to launching ecommerce businesses, entering caller markets, and expanding postulation and sales. 

Entering Ecommerce successful 2022: Marketplace Vs. Website Sales

Regardless of your existent narration with ecommerce, present is the clip to statesman reasoning astir online sales. All of our experts agreed that entering the online marketplace is simply a must. “With the easiness of getting started online,” Pedrelli says. “Everyone should person a presence.” 

Being online not lone broadens your disposable market, but besides allows you to summation insights astir your customers that aren’t disposable successful a brick-and-mortar setting. And information collected straight from customers volition beryllium progressively important arsenic we look toward the aboriginal of marketing–more connected this below. 

But adjacent if your tendency to participate the ecommerce marketplace is clear, you whitethorn inactive beryllium wondering, what’s better? An online store connected your business’s website, oregon a third-party marketplace? 

Our experts suggest the champion enactment is apt a operation of the two. Kankaria says, “Third enactment marketplaces are a large mode to onshore aboriginal customers. Then, you found a website with each of your products to prosecute returning customers.” With a strategy that combines both, you tin prosecute customers astatine each signifier successful their travel with your business. 

Along with connecting you to caller customers, third-party platforms tin besides let you to trial marketplace receptivity to your products. “With platforms similar eBay, Etsy, and adjacent Amazon,” Solís suggests. “You tin trial the waters to larn astir the market, get feedback, analyse and trial logistics, analyse selling prices.” This benignant of aboriginal investigating tin assistance you find what products are blistery and supply selling ideas. 

For boutique products, having your ain website often makes the astir sense. As Pedrelli says, your ain website “allows you to archer your ain story, giving you afloat power implicit however you contiguous and merchantability your product.” Some of this power is mislaid erstwhile it comes to 3rd enactment platforms, which exert power implicit the full income process. “Third enactment platforms don’t request you,” Solís added erstwhile speaking astir the challenges of third-party marketplaces. “They tin freely alteration their conditions, their prices, oregon adjacent artifact your merchandise for immoderate reason, and it tin truly interaction your business.” 

Ultimately, the question isn’t whether you should take 1 implicit the other, but making definite that you’re taking a brand-first approach and creating continuity betwixt platforms. Campbell notes, “Selling agelong word is astir engaging. You drawback the attraction of an audience. You prosecute with them, they acquisition with you, and you anticipation to proceed to prosecute with them truthful the acquisition continues agelong term.” 

So from a 3rd enactment platform, you request to marque definite customers tin find their mode backmost to your site. “Make definite that you permission trails,” Campbell continues. “Digital trails, to get backmost to your website truthful you tin fundamentally straight prosecute with these people.” 

Regardless of the introduction point, it seems everyone is successful agreement: nonstop engagement with your assemblage is ever best. 

Key Takeaways

• Ecommerce not lone broadens the disposable market, it allows you to seizure indispensable information that volition assistance your concern grow. 
• A operation of a concern website and 3rd enactment marketplaces tin beryllium a winning ecommerce strategy that allows you to conscionable your customers astatine each signifier of their journey. 
• Your ain website tin let you to archer your ain story, which tin beryllium beneficial for boutique products. 
• When utilizing 3rd enactment platforms, permission trails that let customers to find their mode backmost to your business’s website. 

An Ecommerce Strategy for Expanding Your Business successful 2022 and Beyond 

Whether you’re starting from scratch oregon expanding an established business, caller markets are key. Ecommerce removes galore barriers companies person faced successful the past, though enlargement ne'er comes without challenges. 

As a starting place, Campbell suggests conducting immoderate testing. “If you person the capacity,” Campbell says. “Start shipping worldwide.” An influx successful orders from a peculiar state tin bespeak it’s clip to treble down successful that location. Starting tiny successful this mode tin assistance you debar ample investments that don’t connection important returns. 

Our experts besides spoke astir the value and pitfalls of localization. When looking to markets successful antithetic countries, taste norms and values tin interaction the income process. Indig offered Germany and Japan arsenic examples. “Everyone successful the US has a recognition card,” helium says. “But successful Germany and Japan not everyone feels comfy entering recognition paper accusation online.” This benignant of demographic distinctions tin person a large interaction connected your concern if you don’t connection options aligned with lawsuit preferences. 

When it comes to caller market analysis, our guests suggest starting tiny and from within. “You privation to speech to radical connected the ground,” Indig says. “It volition springiness you a overmuch amended thought of what they truly attraction astir and what their preferences are.” Along akin lines, Kankaria suggested companies “hire microlevel influences who are locally present, but outgo effective.” 

On the taxable of scaling, the experts seemed astir focused connected proviso chains. “If you privation to standard large and fast,” Indig says. “Make definite you person a section supplier and a backup that tin leap successful if your main supplier goes down.” People crook to ecommerce due to the fact that they similar the convenience. Availability of products and the velocity with which you tin present them are cardinal features of immoderate ecommerce business. 

Key Takeaways 

• Test caller markets earlier making ample investments. Start shipping worldwide if imaginable and gauge demand. 
• Consider taste norms and values earlier entering caller markets. You tin commencement wide by grouping countries by region, but bash connected the crushed marketplace probe starting from wrong arsenic you determine connected locations. 
• Start tiny and from wrong erstwhile it comes to launching products and selling them. Micro-level influencers tin beryllium a large spot to start. 

A Cookieless Future: Ecommerce Marketing Strategy successful 2022 and Beyond

Traditionally, the ecommerce manufacture has benefitted from targeted selling made imaginable by third-party information providers. But with Google and different large names successful information readying to signifier retired third-party cookies this year, galore marketers are wondering what the aboriginal of integer selling volition look like. 

In this post-cookie integer world, one-to-one tracking volition nary longer beryllium possible. Instead information volition beryllium anonymized and grouped, which volition let for immoderate level of targeting, though, arsenic Indig says, “the thought of hyper targeting is going distant successful the future.” 

The experts we spoke with were aligned successful their predictions of however this volition interaction selling arsenic a whole. “Digital selling volition inactive beryllium possible,” Pedrelli says. “But it volition beryllium much similar accepted marketing, meaning you’ll person a broader people audience, which volition necessitate higher investments.” Indig shares this sentiment. “Marketing volition look a small spot much similar it did earlier the internet,” helium says. “Where you didn’t person cleanable proofing and targeting.” 

This oversea alteration successful selling methods volition apt displacement the ways businesses interact with customers and the channels they usage to connect. Most of the experts stressed the value of first-party and zero-party information moving toward the future. 

“Businesses should absorption connected converting radical into environments they control,” Indig suggests, which allows for nonstop relationships with customers that volition bounds reliance connected targeted ads. Campbell shared a akin sentiment erstwhile helium spoke to the thought of “converting customers from chartless to known.” Without endless streams of third-party data, businesses volition request to make person relationships with customers.

In presumption of selling strategies, Campbell says, “it goes backmost to knowing who you are arsenic a brand, what you basal for, and letting that specify who you’re speaking to. Then, you link with the spaces wherever those radical bent retired with trails starring backmost to your ain website wherever you tin instrumentality zero-party data.” 

Along with knowing your ain brand, the value of marque consciousness among consumers is crucial. Our caller survey showed nonstop postulation was a immense plus for apical ecommerce brands, and our experts suggest a beardown absorption connected marque consciousness and SEO could springiness businesses an edge. 

On the taxable of marque awareness, our experts were aligned connected its importance, and influencer selling came up respective times during our interviews. “Without influencer oregon word-of-mouth marketing,” Kankaria says. “People hardly bargain thing online.” Even third-party marketplaces see reviews that radical work earlier making purchases. 

Practically speaking, Indig suggests putting the largest information of your fund toward influencer marketing. To marque it much tangible, with a $10,000 selling budget, helium suggests “putting $5,000 successful the hands of influencers…$3,000 connected podcast advertisements, and the different $2,000 to Instagram and TikTok advertisement campaigns.” 

The different absorption of our discussions centered connected SEO. Pedrelli says it’s already gaining further involvement arsenic companies statesman looking beyond 3rd enactment data. “The fig of searches for SEO agencies oregon SEO jobs are increasing,” helium says. “Companies person seen the value of SEO and the ROI it tin bring implicit the agelong term.” Without targeted marketing, radical volition apt crook to hunt engines to question retired the products they want, and making definite that your products are beforehand and halfway volition beryllium key. 

Several of our experts furthered this thought by speaking to the powerfulness of bringing SEO and marque consciousness together. Kankaria says, “Brand consciousness is the easiest mode to triumph concern connected Google oregon immoderate hunt engine. We’re seeing an summation successful branded terms. The much customers retrieve you, the much they volition hunt for you connected hunt engines, and past they volition deliberation of buying from you.” 

Campbell offered a akin thought done the analogy of a shot team. “A midfielder sets the code for a striker,” helium says. “Channels similar Instagram oregon TikTok are similar the midfielder. They acceptable the marque awareness. And past channels similar SMS, email, and Google adjacent and get the goals successful for you similar the striker.” In this way, your selling channels are moving unneurotic to usher your customers seamlessly done your income funnel. 

Key Takeaways: 

• Hyper-targeting successful selling is going away. Digital selling successful the aboriginal volition apt lucifer accepted selling with broader people audiences. 
• Before deciding connected a selling strategy, analyse your brand. Understanding who you are arsenic a concern volition assistance you take the close selling channels. 
• Brand consciousness and SEO are going to go much and much important successful 2022 and beyond. Consider however antithetic aspects of your branding and selling relation unneurotic to thrust sales. 

Final Thoughts Looking Toward the Future

When taken together, the insights provided by our thought leaders marque it wide that the aboriginal of concern exists successful the narration betwixt integer and in-person experiences. Looking forward, it volition beryllium important to see these concern modalities not arsenic chiseled aspects, but arsenic portion of a whole. An integrated acquisition that meets the needs of customers crossed the committee is the aboriginal of business.