Small Business Trends To Watch In 2022
It’s an understatement to say that items have altered lately. Some companies are finding themselves more victorious than ever, while some are continuously rotating from the harm the pandemic has brought.
So as a small business owner, it’s correctly natural for you to do your analysis, keep up on news and trends, and prepare yourself for what your destiny might carry.
And you’re in luck. We’ve searched through the current analysis, so you don’t have to do all the legwork. In this article, we will look at seven of the most important trends for you to hold on your radar in 2022 and beyond.
Seven small business trends for 2022
Offer buy now, pay later options.
Over the past few years, buy now, pay later (BNPL) has moved from a payment option only delivered by extensive vendors to a familiar sight at checkouts of many companies worldwide. For example, affirm, a US-based BNPL company reported that the numeral of active merchants on its platform expanded from 6,500 to 102,000 from July to September of 2021. Correspondingly, BNPL providers in other nations conveyed a radical evolution in user volume.
The rapid-fire adoption of the BNPL trend reaches the market for small businesses to seduce more youthful customers and boost provocation purchases. According to eMarketer, 44% of Gen Z and 37% of millennials are expected to create a BNPL payment in 2022. It’s a payment type that offers comfort to customers while increasing revenue, with many businesses offering BNPL reportedly witnessing advancement in sales and competitive standing.
If you want to let consumers buy now and pay later, you can do so with solutions like Shop Pay. An accelerated checkout for Shopify stores, Shop Pay, offers your consumers the chance to pay in whole or separate their investment into four equal interest-free payments. As a result, there are no jaw-dropper expenses or even late fees passed on to consumers.
Prioritize online sales—including marketplaces
Small business trends indicate that online sales are essential for operating earnings and enterprise growth, even for those with a brick-and-mortar company.
In Shopify’s 2022 Future of Commerce news, researchers noted data that 54% of businesses acknowledged the significance of concentrating on online income for fulfilling their preferences. Going more serious, 49% of businesses noted they intend to invest more in their company-owned online store. So, have they got an online store of your own? Consider its design to see if any areas could be improved with a small cash injection.
Industries also recognized the significance of online marketplaces, with 56% stating they plan to expand their investment in such platforms. It can be positively helpful from a sales standpoint, as 55% of customers said they buy from online marketplaces weekly or monthly. If you choose to finance in eCommerce marketplaces, believe in creating your company across multiple top marketplace websites.
Clutch live commerce
One of the most captivating small business trends is founders supporting their offerings on an interactive Livestream that allows customers to shop for products in real-time. It’s gained a cool name: live commerce. And it’s launched to develop an assessed $25 billion in US sales by 2023.
Live commerce was first carried off about five years ago in China. Now, it’s paving the way for companies in other countries to provide exceptional consumer occurrences. One obvious thing? Still of the location, live commerce produces more increased engagement and more increased transformation rates than other forms of electronic selling.
Look at the benchmark of Canadian shoe merchant Aldo, which registered 17,000 page views and gained a 308% engagement rate on its site in the first five days after hosting a live shopping event last year. According to McKinsey, organizations executing live commerce saw close to 30% conversion rates while also visiting a modest growth in their share of more youthful audiences—especially millennials and Gen Z.
Want to utilize live commerce to your advantage? Sign up on a Livestream shopping platform like TalkShopLive and showcase your products to obtain sales going. If you have a Shopify store, establishing one of these apps will allow you to deliver an interactive real-time shopping occurrence to patrons.
The growth average overestimates by showing free shipping
Amid a shipping landscape profoundly varied by Amazon’s fast, free delivery, customers are increasingly expecting cost savings when they opt to obtain their buys delivered.
According to Jungle Scout’s Q1 2022 Consumer Trends Report, shipping costs are critical in online consumers’ purchasing decisions, even more than the product price. Researchers also placed free shipping as an essential element in improving average order value and basket size. In the report, they say 58% of customers make sure to expend sufficient money to authorize free shipping for online orders.
Free shipping is a verified tactic for improving order values and modification, but increasing delivery costs drive it hard for small businesses to maintain. If you choose to offer free shipping, make sure to set a threshold that protects your standard shipping costs, customs duties, the cost of the products, and your profit margin.
Optimize your business for multinational shoppers
Online commerce has allowed businesses to get buyers around the world, and enticing customers means being able to provide a stellar shipping occurrence. Cross-border eCommerce is projected to make up 22% of eCommerce shipments of physical items in 2022.
Shipping is still a cause of concern, though, as indicated in Shopify’s 2022 Future of Commerce news. Forty-three percent of shoppers said they don’t want to spend additional for international orders. Plus, they are anxious about participating in higher overall shipping prices or more extended delivery wait times.
Fortunately, carrying a few steps can assist relieve most problems around international shipping. Shopify has tools to help you enhance the cross-border shopping occurrence, including price adjustments for additional needs and setting transparent multinational shipping rates.
We also suggest being upfront about any supplemental fees, so there are no surprises for shoppers. Also, retain appropriate customs documentation to avoid problems on arrival. These documents tell customs officers at the destination location what is in the package, how much it costs, and whether it is a commercial thing or a gift.
Invest in cracking supply chain issues
The pandemic has genuinely demonstrated how supply chain glitches can affect even small businesses.
Shopify’s 2022 Future of Commerce report revealed that 40% of founders said global supply chain delays would somewhat impact them, and 28% said they’d be strongly impacted. For shoppers, extra shipping hesitations and expenses completed the list of problems, followed by hesitations in product manufacturing.
But rather than slashing prices to navigate these challenges, founders are supporting solutions for addressing them. Forty-five percent plan to invest in manufacturing capacity, 44% plan to increase the speed of their supply chain, and 44% plan to invest in improving collaboration with 3PL partners.
Adopt bearable business traditions
Both businesses and buyers are increasingly conscious of commerce’s impact on our world. So, it’s no wonder that companies are preparing their operations with sustainability in the back of their minds.
According to Shopify’s 2022 Future of Commerce Report, 46% of businesses prepare to authorize patrons to smoothly recycle products, 39% strategy to invest in utilizing natural, recycled, or renewable materials, and 39% want to improve the efficiency of their display procedure.
Funding for sustainability is a valuable decision. However, you can begin with small steps as you desire to create a positive environmental effect, like neutralizing carbon emissions, discovering sustainable shipping partners, and utilizing social media to drive campaigns about sustainability.
Save your small business with knowledge
Unfortunately, we can’t expect the future (bummer, we know). But we can look to the pros to gain a more practical interpretation of what’s going on right now and how it might play out as more time passes.
Hopefully, with this minor business trend breakdown, you’re handling a sense of confidence or even replacement—or, at the very smallest, now have a more reasonable understanding of the game strategy you must to assist make sure your business prospers in the coming weeks, months, and years.
Just remember: as long as you’re continually discovering, adapting, and optimizing, you’re in the most acceptable position possible.
Born Techies –Digital Commerce agency offers Shopify, Shopware, Magento, and Bigcommerce development with the latest technologies.
Do you want to receive a free consultation about how to optimize your store and generate more sales? Reach us out at [email protected] or contact us, and we will be more than happy to help you out.