With many people exploring e-commerce for the first time properly during the global pandemic, it has reached its highest peak in 2022 and is continuing to maintain its popularity even as stores begin to reopen.
The last decade as a whole saw a gradual and fastening shift away from physical stores into the online world. It has been said that there is a 23% year-on-year growth of e-commerce.
People are now able to buy from brands and businesses, ranging from clothes to cleaning products, all over the world just from the click of a button. This is truer than ever in 2022 and e-commerce is at its most popular it has ever been, with companies from cleaning wholesalers to nutrition supplement companies and even coffee roasters, all turning in a big way towards e-commerce.
Here are some of the reasons why e-commerce is so popular and is here to stay for a long time.
Mobile Adaptivity
More so than ever, web traffic is coming through our smartphones and mobile devices. They are a constant part of nearly everyone’s life and that includes when they are looking to buy something.
On the train, in the car or just lying in your bed, the ease of access to e-commerce sites from your phone makes it an extremely popular and easy option.
E-commerce sites make sure that their websites are mobile adaptable and this enhances user experience and drives more sales. In the USA mobile shopping has gone from $3 billion to $31 billion in the last few years alone.
Smartphones also have location devices that allow for a better understanding of customers and a more personal experience, which this guide will come onto later.
Convenience
The convenience of e-commerce compared to physical stores is incomparable. E-commerce sites allow you 24/7 access to their site and the ability to purchase goods anywhere at any time from any place.
There is no downtime for public holidays, delays because of bad weather or closing times and long queues that customers have to deal with.
E-commerce is quick and hassle free and its convenience makes it a much better and bigger option in 2022 than physical stores.
Customers can read reviews online and compare offers and sales at the click of a few buttons without having to walk from shop to shop. Their shopping can be done in their free time easily and conveniently and that is why e-commerce remains so popular.
Individualised Products
In recent years, sophisticated algorithms have been created that track and understand customer patterns when it comes to e-commerce.
This allows companies and advertisers to target their chosen audience, people who they know are likely to buy their product.
Customers can get recommendations based on their individual preferences and this encourages customers to purchase items that seem completely necessary because they are so aligned with their personal preferences.
This is also true in the case of tailored products for employees. For example, companies are increasingly conducting employment medicals amongst staff to ensure they are fit and healthy enough to do their job. If there is something of note, staff may be referred a particular product to purchase to mitigate any risks; this too has switched to an e-commerce model.
Rather than directing the employees to a shop or outlet, they can be given a code or website and make the purchase there, often within their company via an internal e-commerce process.
Multiple Channels For Retailing
E-commerce has created in the last few years a world which means that brands and companies can have multiple channels for retailers to purchase their goods through.
Businesses interact with their customers through their website, email, social media and more and that is just online.
Multiple channels of purchase, receipt and exchange means that customers are more likely to use e-commerce rather than physical shops because it suits them to do so.
The integrated experience of retail through various different channels provides customers with another reason to use e-commerce and explains its popularity in 2022.