With the year almost wrapping up, let us take a look at what innovations took the e-commerce world by storm this 2022.

Augmented reality

AR (Augmented Reality) has been a game changer for the e-commerce space as it allows shoppers a completely new way of seeing the products they purchase. This is extremely beneficial to the fashion and home decor industries because customers can get a better feel for the item without seeing it in person. AR allows shoppers to not only see a 3D model of the product but also to see what it would look like when they put it on, 22% of people say that they would stop visiting brick-and-mortar stores if they were able to virtually try on clothes. We've seen many big companies already put this technology to work and you can expect to see more and more smaller-scale companies utilise this powerful tool shortly.

AI

The continuous improvement of AI has made it possible for B2C and B2B platforms to offer a more personalised shopping experience for their users. The information gathered by AI is what makes it possible for users to get personalised recommendations. In 2022 we saw more and more implementation of AI in E-Commerce stores as it was an easy way to achieve upwards of a 10% increase in revenue.

Short video

Stores and brands have begun leveraging the power of short video content. Short videos have a lot of power as they are entertaining, have significant reach and are very engaging with the user. This is why formats like Tik toks, Instagram stories and Youtube shorts have been used to market products.

“The importance of videos can’t be understated. Videos can help you explain and showcase your products better than images ever can. You should consider adding videos of your products in your e-commerce store.” - Shane Barker

Subscription Based Services

We see more and more companies start to offer monthly subscriptions of sorts. Small monthly payments are attractive to consumers as they feel as if it is within their budget. For the company, subscriptions offer a method to retain customers as they have already hooked the customers with the subscription.

New Financing Methods

Conventional financing methods such as taking a loan from the bank have taken a backseat as more companies opt for new models like RBF (Revenue-Based Financing). Why? This is because bank loans require a lot of time and paperwork, most E-Commerce startups don't have cars or property to put down as collateral and the monthly instalments of the bank loan can put pressure on the cash flow of the business. Whereas an RBF agreement is easier to get, and the payments are paid with a percentage of the revenue until the debt has been fully repaid, an RBF requires that your company needs to have a steady stream of revenue.

It can be concluded that 2022 was quite an expansive year for E-Commerce and we are all very excited to anticipate what innovations will occur in this rapidly growing space.

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