Despite record market volatility that’s shaking many household names this time of year, Shopify remains a solid platform for eCommerce. Amidst a slight market slowdown in the eCommerce sector, it’s still a good idea to partner with a Shopify developer in Pittsburgh as we approach Q2 of 2022 to prepare for a better year.
Shopify’s most recent enhancements position the company to capitalize on the burgeoning cross-border eCommerce sector.
In September 2021, the company launched Shopify Markets, a global eCommerce center for merchants. Shopify also expanded the B2B capabilities of its premium platform Shopify Plus.
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A Shopify Developer in Pittsburgh Can Help You Scale Locally and Internationally
Merchants seeking to maintain the eCommerce boom seen in 2020 are looking to international markets and cross-border trade, and platforms such as Shopify are attempting to accommodate their needs. The PRC is by far the fastest-growing market for cross-border commerce in 2020. A professional Shopify website developer can help you scale and optimize a site for cross-border transactions in 2022.
However, outside of China, the cross-border eCommerce market is predicted to rise significantly in 2022.
According to research, Shopify sales in Western Europe and Scandinavia will climb 51% to €220 billion ($251 billion) in 2022.
Shopify is well-positioned to leverage businesses’ desire to expand internationally, given its high number of US-based merchants and developing foreign traffic. 50% of Shopify’s merchants are situated in the United States. Traffic from outside the United States accounted for 27% of shop traffic.
The platform’s new cross-border commerce features aim to relieve some of the merchants’ challenges when conducting business across borders, including language obstacles and local legislation speedbumps. In addition, professional Shopify development services should be able to help you address similar issues with your current Shopify storefront.
Shopify Markets promises to alleviate retailers’ burdens associated with launching international stores by handling currency conversion, localization, and even localized SEO.
Shopify’s drive into foreign commerce also hints that the platform’s goals have shifted away from smaller merchants and more prominent, international clients. Shopify gained popularity during the pandemic because of its marketing that it could assist local mom-and-pop businesses in opening storefronts. However, its cross-border commerce effort is aimed at larger companies that want to fulfill growing demand from overseas buyers or expand their B2B sales internationally.
The State of Shopify and eCommerce Amidst Increased Ad Spend and Competition
There have never been as many prospects or rivalries in the eCommerce market. In addition, the declining return on advertising expenditure is compelling brands to place a premium on customer lifetime value and brand loyalty.
With more businesses going online, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to attract new clients. Due to the ease of marketing and doing business in the digital space, customer acquisition costs are undoubtedly increasing. Paid advertisements are becoming prohibitively expensive. Let’s not forget the arrival of Apple iOS 14.
Trust is the primary currency of eCommerce’s future.
Brands must be honest, authentic, and easily accessible to their customers, particularly on the platform where most online consumers spend most of their time: social media. With brands investing in video and live shopping, social commerce is at the heart of online purchasing for tomorrow’s consumers.
Additionally, direct-to-consumer (DTC) corporations are investing in online communities to humanize their brands, enhance client retention, and mitigate the effects of soaring advertising expenses. However, sustaining a competitive edge in this new eCommerce world will take uncommon vision and execution.
Competition in the direct-to-consumer market is intensifying.
While brick-and-mortar stores have reopened, eCommerce sales continue to grow, resulting in an inflow of direct-to-consumer firms competing for client attention.
The expense of advertising is soaring across all channels.
Digital advertising expenses eat away at marketing budgets, jeopardizing performance-based customer acquisition methods.
Branding enables businesses to attract and keep customers.
Businesses are overcoming competition through brand development, which raises client lifetime value, increases conversion rates in the short term, and draws out-of-market consumers for the long haul.
Reduced entry barriers increase internet retailers.
Advances in technology and the proliferation of digital marketplaces have made buying and selling online more accessible than ever. As a result, between 2021 and 2025, the eCommerce market is predicted to increase by about $11 trillion.
As businesses went digital in response to COVID-19, the global trend toward digitalization accelerated. Even when regions reopen, eCommerce sales continue to grow. Global eCommerce revenue is forecast to reach $5 trillion in 2022 and $6 trillion in 2024.
Merchants continue to follow consumer demand online, with record numbers of merchants migrating to eCommerce.
New online stores are being launched daily, with an estimated 12–24 million eCommerce sites worldwide. Naturally, this increases the number of brands competing for clients. As a result, digital advertising is now more expensive and less profitable than before.
Merchants are increasing their expenditures while decreasing their profits.
Competition is the primary impediment to growth in 2022. With privacy regulations limiting marketers’ capacity to target ads and consumers getting more adept at preventing ad interruptions, generating a reasonable return on advertising expenditure is becoming more complex. Between the second and third quarters of 2021, the cost per click for sponsored search advertisements climbed by 15%.
Instagram’s advertising reach has decreased by 15%–20% in Europe.
Tens of millions of impressions were lost because of various legislation and modifications to Apple’s policy.
Despite the changing digital advertising environment, 41% of brands want to raise their spending in paid and organic search. Many advertisers expect that developments in hyper-segmentation will increase the effectiveness of their advertising efforts by targeting people who are ready to buy. However, segmentation of audiences is not as accurate as merchants believe.
The Harvard Business Review conducted a study to determine the accuracy of the digital profiles sold by data brokers, and the results were discouraging. For example, age tiers were correctly identified in only 23% of cases, while gender was correctly identified in far fewer than half of the time.
As advertising channels become more competitive, firms that lack consumer familiarity and trust will become further embroiled in a direct-marketing fight to offer customers the best deal.
Even when enormous upfront advertising costs and granular targeting result in short-term successes, they are not profitable in the long run. To establish a sustainable client base, brands must increase awareness and confidence among consumers who are not yet ready to buy or are not even in the market.
Brands that rely heavily on short-term performance marketing will have the most difficulty competing in an increasingly saturated commerce sector. So it’s unsurprising that the world’s leading corporations will prioritize brand creation in their marketing plans in 2022.
Get ready for demand for mobile experiences that will never go away.
Mobile has surpassed desktop as the preferred user experience for e-commerce this year. As technology becomes more available to the public, we’re witnessing a significant increase in buying on smartphones and tablets.
Shopify is also aware of this. It has already begun making its platform more mobile-friendly by reworking several of its primary user interfaces to be compatible with various device types. This is fantastic news since it means your clients may shop from any location without feeling alone or annoyed. Another significant trend for 2021 was the continued growth of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, Google, and Instagram.
Read also: Why Hire a Shopify Developer in Pittsburgh in 2022?
