Let's be honest; e-commerce trends change as we speak because hardly anyone can predict the global economy. If you think that having a product and website will help you make a profit, think again. In the last couple of years, e-commerce has gone through an incredible transformation.

Even though they experienced steady growth, e-commerce businesses are more than ever focused on fulfilling the needs of their customers. According to some estimates, the sales are expected to pass $6.388 billion by 2024.

Now, let's take a closer look at trends that will dominate 2022.

The use of AI

E-commerce businesses tend to use machine learning and AI more than ever. With these new tools, companies can create a personalized shopping experience for their customers using predictive research and smart product recommendations.

Thanks to artificial intelligence, companies will be able to earn close to $7.3 billion in 2022 only. At the same time, artificial intelligence spending in the retail market will reach $19.9 billion by 2027.

We have to agree that AI is one of the best solutions invented so far, mainly because it tends to the needs of individual customers. Some of the examples are chatbots, designed to facilitate customers' experience from the moment they log on right through to checkout.

Chatbots are available 24/7 to assist your needs and fulfill your requirements.

3D e-commerce

The metaverse market is measured in trillions, more precisely, $8 trillion. Customers are hungry for a 3D e-commerce world, and they want a new and improved shopping experience. Shopify platform claims that products sold online with the help of AR and 3D technology have a 94% higher conversion rate.

Nowadays, plenty of AR technologies assist brands, mostly in the luxury sector, in presenting their products. The metaverse is rapidly popularizing 3D retail. We have examples in the fashion industry that experienced the metaverse's benefits. Brands like Ralph Lauren, Balenciaga, and Gucci have offered digital collections for purchase, mainly on online social platforms or video games.

Even though we are still contemplating and working through numerous benefits of the metaverse, there will be a while before this trend comes to life entirely. So far, it has shown an amazing potential, but keep in mind that developing this kind of technology requires extensive knowledge and expertise.

Social media

There are nearly 3.8 billion active daily users, and almost 54% of them are using social media to look for new products. Therefore, this is an incredible groundswell for smaller businesses and companies to tap into social commerce. You can purchase products and services directly from social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok.

Ever since Instagram introduced its checkout option, it has been leading the charge in this regard. However, competitors are also taking advantage. Customers don't have to visit a brand's or company's website to purchase a product; they can do it directly through social media. This makes things much more accessible and saves a lot of time. For example, if you are selling hip and joint supplements for dogs, this could be an excellent market to explore.

No one will beat chatbots

We briefly mentioned chatbots in one of the previous sections, and with all these innovations, they will become more powerful than ever. Their primary function is to replace humans with repetitive tasks. For example, chatbots can jump in when customers ask service or product-related questions.

Chatbots are expected to reach an annual growth rate of 24.9%. We now see that more companies have adopted the use of chatbots, and there is no sign of slowing down in 2022 because of the following factors:

They sound like humans – due to various improvements, chatbots tend to sound and act like humans. This is great for many companies because chatbots can deal with legal work before purchasing.

They are voice activated – remember Alexa and Siri? Well, they are more popular than ever because you can easily manipulate your smartphone device using only voice. We expect that chatbots will provide answers to more complex questions in the future.

They provide virtual assistance: we use smartphones every day, and this has become some sort of a routine. Chatbots now combine various apps to conduct customer service and business tasks.

Fast checkouts process

When you need to pay for some stuff online, you usually have to go through several confirmation pages to reach the checkout. That's why many companies want to make this process as simple as possible.

Also, many customers tend to abandon checkout, saying this process is too complicated for them. In fact, the number of abandonments has increased to nearly 70%. To improve the checkout process, many companies have resorted to:

One page: instead of using three pages, companies now use only one. They include only necessary information, while everything else is optional. By having only one checkout page, they reduce hassle while minimizing cart abandonment.

Auto-complete field: you must have seen these on numerous websites. With digital wallets like PayPal, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, you no longer have to input your data. Everything will be automatically stored when you choose your paying method.

No one will push you for registration: one of the many turn-offs is when companies force you to register before buying a product. Many people will visit a particular website once and never again; so why ask them to register?

Now that you know some of the e-commerce trends, you can organize your business according to them. It's essential to establish a connection with your buyers and trends will only support you on your way towards success.