Top eCommerce Advertising Trends in 2022

eCommerce has enjoyed a boom in popularity over the past half-decade, and is now projected to account for more than 20 percent of all global retail sales by the end of 2022.

This growth is the result of many different factors. An explosion of eCommerce retailers is creating more competition within this retail space, while improvements to shipping and other eCommerce infrastructure is addressing some of the pain points that sometimes discourage shoppers from buying online.

And while the pandemic certainly highlighted the convenience of shopping online versus in-person, eCommerce purchasing volume has remained relatively stable even as in-person shopping restrictions have waned. To stand out in a saturated market, though, eCommerce businesses of all sizes must invest in cost-effective advertising strategies that can connect with an engaged audience while supporting strategic expansion of their eCommerce brand.

Looking for tips on how to build a winning eCommerce advertising strategy in today’s competitive landscape? Here are some of the top trends your business should be watching.

1. Concentrate Advertising Efforts on Specific Geographic Territories

eCommerce allows any business to break down geographic barriers that may otherwise limit where, and to what customers, your retail business is able to sell. But even as your business benefits from this vast reach, your advertising and marketing strategy will likely benefit from targeting strategies that focus your efforts on specific geographic areas.

For example, your business may have noticed a disproportionate percentage of eCommerce sales coming from a particular city or region. Targeted advertising to this region could help your business build market share among these consumers, supporting a strategic growth plan that is focused on cost-effective brand expansion into new eCommerce markets.

In other cases, your business may simply have a working list of the top cities and markets it wants to prioritize through eCommerce expansion. Targeted ads can help you build a branded presence in these markets while your eCommerce operations fulfills orders and delivers a rewarding customer experience.

As McKinsey has pointed out in the past, product popularity and consumer preferences vary from one market to the next. By taking a strategic approach to entering strategic markets, you’ll lay a foundation for more rapid success while gaining useful insights to guide future entries into untapped markets.

2. Experiment With Social Commerce Opportunities

If your eCommerce business isn’t selling via social media, it’s time to start. Social commerce already accounts for roughly 10 percent of all eCommerce sales, but as social platforms improve their selling products—and as consumers become more comfortable making purchases via social ads—social commerce is expected to become a mainstream source of eCommerce revenue within the next few years.

By 2025, the social commerce market is expected to triple in value, to nearly half a trillion dollars in annual sales. Social commerce offers a number of benefits to local businesses, from powerful targeting capabilities to product carousels that drive engagement. Additionally, leading social commerce platforms like Facebook are developing new products and solutions to better serve local businesses eager to expand their eCommerce operations.

The earlier your business invests in developing a social commerce strategy, the faster you’ll be able to leverage this eCommerce channel for greater engagement and ROI in the future.

3. Adapt Messaging for Segmented Audiences and Locations

The broad reach enabled by an eCommerce operation gives your business more powerful audience targeting and segmentation than what you could experience as a brick-and-mortar retailer. With such a large national and global audience to target, your advertising and marketing can be filtered down to niche audiences that represent the most relevant and valuable prospective customers.

Through regular testing and optimization, eCommerce brands can improve the performance of their advertising and marketing campaigns while also learning more about their target audience—including how that audience varies from one geographic area to the next. Over time, your customers can be segmented not only by their location, their product preferences and even the messaging pain points that drive the strongest response.

By investing time into creating more diverse, targeted campaigns aimed at smaller audiences, you can refine your campaign performance while making it easier to scale your advertising strategy as your eCommerce business grows.

4. Partner With Local Micro Influencers to Drive Local Engagement

Local micro influencers—some with social followings of just 1,000 people—can be cost-effective advertising tools to help build brand visibility among a select audience.

Micro influencers can be particularly useful for eCommerce brands looking to expand into new geographic markets. Local celebrities or influencers with a strong local following—which can include local TV personalities, current or former sports stars, real estate agents and local business owners, to name a few examples—have a longstanding track record of familiarity and trust with their online following, which your business can leverage through a paid promotion.

One simple way to track the performance of these influencer campaigns is to give each influencer a custom promotional code to share with their followers, such as a 10 percent off discount, a free shipping promo, or a similar incentive. This simple strategy can help jump-start sales and brand engagement within a new market, accelerating your eCommerce growth.

Ready to invest in an advertising strategy that incorporates today’s best practices and takes advantage of emerging trends and opportunities? A digital advertising partner can bolster your eCommerce advertising strategy with cutting-edge capabilities and insights delivered by a team of leading experts.

Cox Media’s experts can help your company create an advertising strategy that is aligned with your business goals. Contact us today to learn more.