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Since the COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce has grown significantly. With multiple lockdowns, remote work, and other COVID-19 impacts, everyone across the globe turned online to spend their money. E-commerce sites and on-demand services have grown rapidly, and it is expected that these services will become even more popular in 2022.
In this blog, we will take a closer look at e-commerce growth, as Black Friday evidence shows that e-commerce growth is slowing down.
Companies like Shopify have made hefty profits over the past year. Shares for Shopify hovered between $350 and $420 last March. Today, the company is worth more than $1,500 per share. Other players in the online market also saw their value increase. For example, DoorDash went public due to the high demand for their services, and grocery delivery businesses skyrocketed.
Although some sectors were allowed to benefit from the COVID-19 pandemic, others suffered significant losses. Moreover, the green numbers that the e-commerce sector has posted for five quarters straight may not be enough to prevent the market from slowing down.
Early Black Friday Warning Signs
Not everyone is fond of holidays that revolve around shopping, such as Black Friday. Still, such days can provide valuable data and information for retailers worldwide. It will not surprise you that Black Friday was not a big success in physical stores this year due to the COVID-19.
In addition, online shopping traffic was also lower compared to Black Friday 2020. Sales dropped from $9.0 billion last year to $8.9 billion this year.
That sales were down from last year should not have been a surprise. After all, plenty of warning signs could have told us in advance that consumer buying behavior is changing.
For example, the overall figures from the third quarter of 2021 were disappointing. Shopify, for example, posted a loss of over $1.12 billion. Growth of nearly 46% offset this compared to 2020. Gross merchandise volume and earnings per share also missed analyst guesses.
Consumer behavior is once again changing. To ensure that Black Friday in 2022 will be successful, you must prepare well and keep a close eye on the latest marketing trends. This will help you understand your customer better and make it easier to display effective content, ads, etc.
Keep an eye on marketing trends of 2022
To compete in one of the most competitive industries out there, it's crucial that you pull out all the stops to create the ultimate shopping experience. Personalization is an excellent opportunity for that. More than 90 percent of consumers say they prefer a personalized shopping experience. But how do you personalize the shopping experience for your customer?
This can be done in many ways. First, it is imperative that you know your target audience well. When you know whom you want to reach, you can personalize all kinds of things to them, such as your product offerings, ads, and other content. It is also vital that you are well informed about consumers' most critical interaction moments with your brand or store.
