Your Guide to Global Retail Trends witnessed in 2021 and what to expect in 2022

Talking about 2022, Covid has reduced substantial impact, and therefore now is the time to grab the most from online and in-store sales during the festive season. But are you ready and have got sufficient insights about the consumer trends coming from 2021? Do you know the global trends and shortcomings that must be checked now to avoid friction in the customer journey? If not, this blog is all about bringing a thumbnail sketch of the pros and cons of the 2021 global retail trends and what lessons and sales strategies you can build out of it.

Global Retail Trends 2021 – Rise in brick & mortar stores, early festive shopping, loyalty programs, and demand for BOPIS, etc.

2021 global retail witnessed many unprecedented trends that show the inclination of consumers toward in-person shopping experiences. Countries with higher digital and online shopping consumer bases saw huge pre-festive sales leading to supply chain concerns for over a period of time. Read below to get better details:

70% of People agreed to In-store Shopping

With the reduction in COVID cases and the situation in control, 70% of people agreed on exposing themselves to in-store shopping which was a 2.4x increase from 2020. The shopping choices primarily touched on categories of traveling, dining, entertainment, sports, and fitness. A considerable rise in BOPIS and Curb-side pick-up was also seen with 63% and 59% of Millennials and Gen Z showing the highest interest.

Online retail is expected to jump 50% in the next 4 year

As per Statista, the total online retail sales of 2021 amounted to $4.9 trillion. It is expected to rise by 50% in the next 4 years giving ample opportunity for online retailers worldwide. What is more fascinating here is that mobile shopping alone brought $3.56 trillion in sales. Thus, investing in improving mobile and social commerce can be a smart way to get more sales during festive seasons.

Personalized Customer Experience led to 62% of sales decision

Right from showing relevant product categories to making shipping, delivery, and website experience just suitable for customers as per their needs and choices, Personalized customer experience has become the ultimate key to fighting economic recession, winning the trust, and making a loyal customer base. As per Shopify, 62% of customers, said that their festive sales decision was influenced by personalized EX. That’s the reason 85% of brands now claim to invest in personalized customer experience as a key to future growth.

Transparency+ Vision with Cause+ Sustainable Approach = 50% sales opportunity

Here is one major holiday prediction for 2022. As many as 50% of consumers look to shop from a store that shows transparency, has a cause for their existence, and is suitable for a sustainable future. Millennials and Gen Z constitute the highest number of consumers base all over the world and on every platform, well informed about what sustainability and the environment mean for our future and therefore, show heavy interest in promoting stores and businesses selling organic, sustainable products with transparent business models.

Shipping and Delivery – Faster the better

Consumers are in no mood to wait for longer for getting their orders and deliveries, and that too when it’s the festive season. Marketplace giants like Amazon with Buy with Prime have raised the standards for rivals and other SMEs to pull and push their shipping and delivery strategies. Free shipping and other delivery options are other aspects to aggressively deal with for a survey clearly state that 68% of US consumers did not purchase a second time from a store that did not provide Free shipping to them.

Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram – together counted for 4.62 billion users

Your business got to be here! Facebook is the leading platform with one billion monthly global users and 250 million Shops. The competition is fierce, but your ads and promotion strategies will chuckle out a way. Followed by YouTube which holds an average of 23.7 hours from each user a week. Each of these platforms has shown a potential market for different categories and demographics.
Did you know that you can reach up to 808.4 million persons just by LinkedIn ads?

Shopify topped the list of eCommerce platform

That’s serious news! With so many eCommerce platforms around the world, Shopify tops the list with the highest cap of 182.1 billion dollars as of June 2021. Undoubtedly, Shopify is known for its beginner-friendly store-building platform. Only Amazon and Alibaba could surpass Shopify in the Technology industry.

What if you combine the force of two -Shopify and Amazon? CedCommerce has built an all-inclusive integration channel that helps you create, establish and kick-start your online business on Shopify and Amazon – all from a centralized dashboard with powerful automated features!

Loyalty Programs meant More memberships & More Sales

Loyalty programs are new ways to make prospects into customers, customers into premium customers, and premium customers into members! 68% of consumers buy from brands they were members of and 61% bought from loyalty programs that offered discounts and expedited shipping. And not even just that, Loyalty programs also must include return policies that are easy and customer friendly.

Other global retail trends of 2021 included pre-festive purchases. Consumers often fearing stock-outs and shipping delays, made early purchases from brands with the best omnichannel presence. Thanksgiving and Black Friday being the major festivals of sales, saw a 1.9% sales decrease compared to 2020. The top marketplaces from 2021 and specifically in Q3 of 2022 list Amazon.com followed by Walmart in-store, Walmart.com, and eBay.com.

That’s a Wrap – Holiday Survival Tips for 2022

To conclude, we are summarizing the major pointers here

• Go omnichannel. Consumers are keen on exploring stores online and offline to make the best of their shopping experience and limited finance. Give them a way to reach you.
• Prepare well for early sales. Make sure that you are ready to ship, deliver, make returns, and above all understand what personalized customer experience is.
• Speak about your Vision clearly. Let consumers know why your business exists. Make your website speak about your USP, sustainable approach, and transparent business model.
• Integrate your store with leading eCommerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, etc to streamline and automate all your online business activities with automated features. You can do it by looking for a perfect solution partner.

Last but not the least, what do you have to say about 2021 festive trends? Do not hesitate to put your comments below. Also, let us know what was the turning trends for your business in 2021.