4 E-Commerce Strategies for Retailers in 2022

In the fast-paced, highly competitive e-commerce world, delighting shoppers, boosting conversions and driving average order value (AOV) are critical metrics. However, in the wake of the pandemic, during which we saw a surge in online shopping, retailers are facing multiple disruptions, forcing them to take action on many fronts to stay competitive. Here’s a look at four strategies retailers should adopt in the new year:

1. Look local for inventory-based merchandising.

The supply chain problems will continue into 2022, as evidenced by a severe bottleneck with shipping containers, clogged ports, and a lack of truck drivers. Retailers will need to double-down on what they can control and turn to merchandisers who can help improve the customer experience by offering location-based filtering. Vendors with local stores for delivery and local supply chains as well as merchants that are vertically integrated locally will have an edge in 2022 because they will have more control over delivery timelines.

2. Focus on the whole delivery value chain.

Given the supply chain bottlenecks, the best way for merchants to communicate with customers about inventory status is honestly and transparently. Many merchants are now using pre-orders or sharing pre-order collections on high-demand items with long lead inventory times. It’s better to let shoppers know what's available and what's on backorder than to pretend to have stock they cannot deliver or must reverse sales charges. Tag products appropriately as out of stock, coming soon or on backorder. By setting expectations and being transparent, merchants can ensure a good customer experience.

3. Bring in technology.

The e-commerce industry offers a variety of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for merchants of all sizes to offer more innovative and personalized shopping journeys, including matching social media experiences and inspirations. This frees staff to focus on other valuable tasks, like creative merchandising and more personalized and responsive support.

4. Boost headless commerce skills.

Funding for headless commerce platform companies has been roaring in from venture capitalists. At the simplest level, headless commerce separates front-end platforms from back-end platforms and promises platform independence, user interface and speed. While it's a great value proposition, the bottleneck will be the lack of skilled developers. It will take time to gain more skilled developers or a new no-code/low-code headless commerce solution for merchants.

The past two years have reshaped online shopping, and new challenges will always be testing retailers’ resilience. There's no one panacea. To succeed,  retailers must continually adjust business strategies to adapt to new norms and meet the ever-growing demands of a digital economy.

Zohar Gilad is an experienced technology entrepreneur and executive. In 2013, he co-founded Fast Simon (formerly InstantSearch+), leveraging his experience to bring state-of-the-art site search to millions of publishers and e-tailers at an affordable cost.