Consumers are increasingly moving towards online shopping propelled by the pandemic. The demand for increased simplicity and convenience of the shopping experience has forced many ecommerce businesses were forced to think of new ways of doing business in the last one and a half years or so. In fact, more than 30% of B2B technology buyers already make their initial purchases through digital channels last year. As we look to 2022, we can expect to see e-commerce continue to build on the accelerated growth experienced in 2021.
There are some areas of consideration for e-commerce players next year, with tax compliance burden will take center stage, disruptions in supply chain to continue and omni-channel buying to accelerate, and more. In a recent interaction, George Trantas, senior director, global marketplaces at Avalara highlights the key ecommerce trends for 2022 and what ecommerce players should prioritize.
- The tax compliance burden will take center stage. Retailers that went online or expanded their ecommerce operations during the pandemic, as well as those selling omni-channel will face a mounting tax compliance burden if they haven’t already. Retailers should expect tax authorities to refocus on enforcement of compliance as the economy and consumer behavior begin to normalize.
- The supply chain will continue to cause major disruptions. Retailers will have to prioritize and rethink how they managed their inventory, as well as set expectations with customers to prevent poor experiences due to continued delays.
- Inflation will drive adjustments to pricing for retailers to remain competitive.Across brick-and-mortar, ecommerce, and marketplaces, sellers will face higher costs due to inflation and will have to adjust pricing in the buy box to convert and keep customers.
- Small businesses will be disproportionately impacted by supply chain issues and inflation. Supply chain challenges and inflation will create higher costs for all retailers, but small businesses with smaller budgets and teams will be more heavily impacted.
- Ecommerce growth will normalize; Omnichannel will soar. With COVID-19 cases on the downslide, we should expect ecommerce growth to normalize as consumers head back into stores. On the other hand, we will continue to see the adoption and expansion of omnichannel commerce to grow in 2022 as consumers look for convenient, hybrid shopping experiences across in-person and online channels.
- Ecommerce-first retailers will seek alternative channels for distribution. With the rise of omnichannel commerce and continued supply chain woes, ecommerce-only sellers will look to other channels with robust distribution channels to offset the impact.
