Multichannel companies are at particular risk for fraud. Unlike pure-play ecommerce or physical retailers, omnichannel companies will be exposed to everything from sophisticated computer penetration to shoplifting, and will need strategies to counter them all. Here are five ecommerce fraud trends to watch in 2022.
From ongoing supply chain and port woes tying up production, distribution and fulfillment worldwide to an encouraging bounce on holiday sales, 2021 was an up-and-down affair in retail and ecommerce, but deep-pocket investors saw all kinds of potential as billions poured in and unicorns proliferated.
There was good news at the bottom of all those seasonal carts, both physical and digital, as holiday retail sales jumped a healthy 8.5% vs. 2020, while ecommerce sales gained 11% off a monster year, according to data from MasterCard SpendingPulse. Ecommerce represented 21% of sales, up from 20.6% in 2020 and 14.6% in 2019.
While current iterations of PIM are highly effective, the tech landscape is shifting to a broader, more powerful paradigm: The product experience. Brands must create emotion-stirring experiences tailored to a consumer’s personality and preferences. But personalization requires serious data management and deep customer insights.
Breaking up is hard to do, which department store stalwart Macy’s is discovering as it wrestles with how best to split up its store and online businesses, a bit trickier than the same move by Saks Fifth Avenue, according to a report in Reuters.
While it’s not surprising that online purchases have increased during the pandemic, 25% of shoppers made big-ticket purchases without ever entering a store. Mobile usage throughout the purchase journey is also up significantly, with 76% of consumers using mobile devices to research products and make purchases.
Boxed, a seller of subscription bulk CPG items through its automated facilities that competes with Costco, BJ’s Wholesale and Sam’s Club, is expanding into fresh, on-demand grocery delivery with the acquisition of New York-based MaxDelivery. The company plans to leverage MaxDelivery’s high AOV model into other markets in 2022.
Like its holiday twin Black Friday, Cyber Monday in the U.S. saw ecommerce sales reverse course for the first time in memory, according to Adobe Digital Insights, dropping 1.4% from 2020. Consumers en masse have heeded warnings about stock-outs on digital shelves amid supply chain-fueled inventory shortages by shopping earlier.
For the past decade, brands have scrambled to serve millennials, the first internet-obsessed generation that forced them to rethink ecommerce selling strategies. Now, they are reinventing as Gen Z gears up to enter the workforce and fast becomes a formidable force in the economy. Is your ecommerce platform ready?
Ecommerce sales on Black Friday dipped slightly this year, to $8.9 billion from $9 billion in 2020, reversing years of growth, according to data from Adobe Analytics, with larger retailers seeing 22% higher growth than small businesses while the latter saw higher average order value.