The online shopping industry has been evolving at a healthy rate, with a steady growth of 4.5% annually since 1990. However, when the COVID-19 crisis happened, people turned more to online shopping as they were forced to stay indoors due to government lockdown and isolation policies. As they engaged in e-commerce to fulfill their shopping needs, a sudden, unexpected boom occurred within the industry, resulting in various supply chain problems.
This explosion came as a surprise at first, but as business and manufacturers adjusted to the new normal, supply chains eased and businesses were able to keep up with consumer demands. This resulted in harmonious e-commerce transactions, which paved the way for its growth. However, as e-commerce grew at an incredible rate, so did its challenges.
Below are some of the major challenges to e-commerce in 2022 and how they can be addressed:
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Data Security and Protection
Data security breaches have always been the problem when it comes to online transactions. In 2019, more than 15 billion data have even been exposed, which prompted Google to block more than 18 million malware and phishing emails per day in 2020. With the load of personal information and data involved in its transactions, businesses engaged in e-commerce are likely to be exposed in these breaches. When not timely addressed, they remain a prey to data loss, exposing their clients to dangerous cybercrimes.
To alleviate this problem, online businesses should build unshakeable security measures to protect their customers’ data. They should invest in technologies which provide effective verification processes, and take steps to verify their client’s information, like sending verification links upon signing up and automating the validation of delivery addresses and phone numbers.
Vast Competition
Competition has been and always will be a factor in business operations. Engaging in e-commerce will not separate businesses from this. Since e-commerce offers a wider platform and, thus, a higher potential for exposure, more retailers are engaging therein, resulting in tighter competition. Day by day, retailers that offer similar products and services dominate ads sections and search engines. As more businesses continue to engage in e-commerce, the more difficult it becomes for them to stand out.
To this end, thorough competitor and market analysis must be regularly conducted. Knowing the key product features as well as the pitfalls of competitors is an effective way to develop a strategy that will establish a business’ presence online. Moreover, this will allow the creation of a unique brand image across sales channels and social media platforms, different from that of other brands.
Aside from this, engaging the services of brand distributors like Kingpin is also ideal. Through this, businesses will have additional exposure channels which can introduce them to more customers, making their products known.
Ever-increasing Customer Demands
Without a doubt, e-commerce transactions became the trend in 2020 and 2021. The crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic pushed people to discover new shopping methods that are more convenient and effective for them, boosting online shopping transactions which are seen to continue growing at a good speed.
However, as customers are exposed to wider sources of product information, they are now becoming increasingly demanding. In fact, studies have found that online shopping dominated global customer complaints with over a quarter of a million cases in 2021. However, this does not mean that online experiences of customers become worse as time goes by; this only demonstrates that as the number of buyers increase, the more there is a need to improve products and services.
To keep up with the increasing customer demands in 2022, businesses must find ways to adapt to the constantly changing buying expectations, such as doing both direct and indirect research. Significantly, when they engage the services of brand distributors like Kingpin, businesses can have a one-click access to relevant data, such as customer reviews, that will enable them to conduct their research easily.
