Six Consumer Trend Predictions for 2022

The global economy emerges from the pandemic, business owners and marketers around the world are rejoicing. More and more consumers feel confident enough to spend money, get out of their homes to enjoy some fresh air and, most importantly for us, buy more non-essential products and services.

According to the International Monetary Fund, global GDP will grow by 4.9% in 2022. Much of this growth will occur due to an increase in consumer spending and ecommerce transactions. In fact, in the US alone, ecommerce sales are expected to grow by over 16%, with brick-and-mortar making a strong comeback over the 2020 lows.

All things considered, 2022 should be a great year. Not only for the global consumer, but for business owners, advertisers, and marketers worldwide.

With an increase in consumer spending on the horizon, it’s important for us to understand key consumer trends for 2022 to help maximize return on ad spend. By understanding these trends, and properly jockeying marketing dollars to take advantage of them, 2022 should be your best year of the last three, easily.

Here’s our six consumer trend predictions for 2022:

1. Brick and mortar will make a strong comeback: As we said earlier, brick and mortar will make a strong comeback over the 2020 lows. With more folks able to venture outside, and there’s a huge pent-up demand to do so, brick and mortar establishments will see a large increase in traffic. From restaurants and bars to mom-and-pop retailers, business owners and marketers need to focus their digital efforts on directing this foot traffic into their and their clients’ establishments. Although brick-and-mortar is not technically “digital”, your efforts to grow a customer/client base certainly is. Make sure your local search marketing efforts are up to par.
2. Ecommerce sales will grow drastically: Ecommerce sales are expected to grow by over 16% in 2022. Even as more consumers venture out to brick-and-mortar establishments, the trend of in-home product purchasing is here to stay. However, just because ecommerce sales will reach nearly $1 trillion in the US alone, this does not mean that selling your products will be easy. In fact, it’s likely to be harder than ever. With a massive increase in competition and choices, business owners and marketers must direct their dollars towards proven, targeted consumers who are very likely to purchase their products. Utilizing artificial intelligence tools will greatly help identify these consumers. Use it.
3. Consumers will accept pre-order options for new products: Unfortunately, consumers have become accustomed to seeing their preferred purchase option being out-of-stock. With the supply chain issues of 2021, consumers have been forced to accept lesser options for their purchase. However, this has opened an opportunity for business owners and marketers to take advantage of pre-orders. In 2022, we’ll see a trend of product launches happening without the product. But because of the new psychology of the consumer, pre-order sales will hit new all-time highs. Be sure your sales copy is tuned into this new trend, and you’ll see a huge increase in pre-order sales.
4. Cart abandonment will continue to be a BIG problem: In 2020, it was estimated that between 55 and 85% of all shopping carts were abandoned before a purchase was made. This trend will continue, and perhaps get even worse. Consumers have been known to use shopping carts as “bookmarks” for items they want but aren’t convinced they need. Normally this presents a problem for businesses and marketers. However, with clever copywriting and remarketing of the exact product to the exact cart owner, we estimate up to half of these carts can be converted into sales. But your copy needs to turn that product from a “want” into a “need” for this to happen.
5. Next Day Deliver Will Make or Break a Small Business: It’s understandable why small businesses use ecommerce sites like Amazon as their primary storefront. Next day delivery options allow businesses and marketers to take advantage of the moment, eliminating time for buyers’ remorse. However, sites like Amazon charge between 8 and 15% of the sale as a fee, and that’s not including shipping which is charged to the seller. While a 15% cut to Amazon may be ok for some giant sellers, it’s a crushing blow for smaller sellers. Small businesses and their marketers must concentrate on getting traffic to the company site and they must offer quick shipping options. Ixnay Amazon and do direct sales, keeping that 15% cut in your own pocket.
6. In-Stock Items will be a huge seller: Like we said earlier, the supply chain has caused consumers to look for in-stock items as an alternative to items they may have preferred. While pre-selling of new items will be huge, so will pushing in-stock items to consumers who have been disappointed by the lack of available choice. Business owners and marketers should highlight the products they have and extoll the virtues of them. Creative copy can help turn a choice #2 into a choice #1, one that also happens to be available. Be sure your creative is capable of highlighting these points, and don’t be afraid to push out-of-favor items. Believe us, there’s a buyer for them.

2022 will be a great year for businesses of all types. By properly understanding these six trends for 2022, and your target audience, you’ll be fully prepared to take advantage of it. But, for your business, or agency to really succeed in 2022, you’ll need to partner with an expert in the space.

Virtua Brands works with both businesses and marketing agencies to help them reach their ROI goals. Our team of expert digital marketers and copywriters have show to help increase return on as spend (ROAS) drastically, as our Ai systems can pinpoint your exact buyers. For business owners this means more direct sales. For agencies, this means increased budgets from their clients.

Discover the full capabilities of Virtua Brands, and how we can boost your sales and budgets,