Pivotree Guide

Commerce
Trends In
2022
How to navigate emerging
trends across Supply Chain,
eCommerce, and Customer
Experience.

©Pivotree 2022. All rights reserved.

Pivotree Guide - 2022 Commerce Trends

What does 2022 hold

for your business?
Are you rethinking operations after two unpredictable years? FEATURING INSIGHTS FROM
Or are you finally ready to launch your next major initiative?

No matter where you stand, one thing is clear: commerce has

forever changed – and the pressure is on to adapt. James Urbati
SVP, GM Commerce, Pivotree
Here’s the good news: 2022 holds a unique opportunity to take
the lessons learned during the pandemic and accelerate your
business.

To help you navigate the year ahead, we brought together

several Pivotree experts to share their thoughts on 2022 James Brochu
trends across three critical areas: VP Operations, Bridge Solutions
Group - a Pivotree Company

Supply Chain

Vinny Maurici
Vice President of Strategy &
eCommerce Solutions, Codifyd - a Pivotree
Company

Customer Experience

Page 1 | 1-877-767-5577 | salesinfo@pivotree.com | pivotree.com

Pivotree Guide - 2022 Commerce Trends

LOOKING AHEAD:
The ability to effectively solve
SUPPLY CHAIN these supply chain issues will be a
significant differentiator in
2022 — in terms of cost
The pandemic kicked off a perfect storm for supply chain disruption. Factory closings, material shortages, savings, agility, and delivering
exploding consumer demand, and transportation bottlenecks have created chaos — often surfacing as
a frictionless experience.
hard-to-find products, soaring prices, and infamous images of displaced cargo ships lining the coast.

Predictions show that the crisis is far from over. Most estimates range from early this year to 2023. Even once
the major issues are ironed out, our experts predict that several trends will remain:

1 2
Staffing shortages extend to the
back end: We continue to see staffing
shortages across nearly every industry.
However, the issue that’s often hidden is
how shortages impact the back end. A
major challenge in 2022 will be overcoming
the challenge of putting people in warehouses
and delivery trucks, particularly during peak
times.
Rise of automation: The narrative
around automation is shifting. It’s no
longer about replacing jobs with
automation, but resolving gaps that exist
because there simply aren’t enough people
to fill open jobs. The interest in automation
as a solution to back-end staffing is predicted
to gain steam over the 1-3 years.
3
New approaches to piecemeal
logistics: Previously, with a reasonable
amount of planning, businesses could
rely on major carriers to get their shipments
from A to B to C. Now, because of logistics
shortages (i.e., not enough actual trucks and
ships), that’s no longer the case. For example,
if one carrier can accept only 80 percent of
your volume, how will you fulfill the other
20 percent? Aggregating and putting together
a list of mom-and-pop carriers is one solution,
as is a growing gig economy.

According to UPS, orders will

outstrip delivery capacity by about
5 million packages a day. 1

Page 2 | 1-877-767-5577 | salesinfo@pivotree.com | pivotree.com

Pivotree Guide - 2022 Commerce Trends

ECOMMERCE
When it comes to eCommerce, it helps to look
beyond the obvious continued growth – though
Look for the following trends to gain steam in specialty retailers a more appealing choice
2022: for buyers who want more control over their
shopping experience.
Assortment bloat will drive more
1
shoppers to specialty retailers:

we’d be remiss not to mention that 2022 is
expected to be the first trillion-dollar year for
U.S. online sales.2
When you dig deeper, a shift in diversification
stands out. We predict that eCommerce is
on the cusp of moving away from ‘one-stop-
shop’ marketplace giants to a more curated
approach.
One of the perceived advantages
of marketplace behemoths is that they offer
nearly any type of product. But shoppers
are starting to feel the strain of assortment
bloat – overwhelmed by off-brand SKUs and
uncertainty about the quality and origin of
goods. Because the selection experience is
critical to customer confidence, this causes
a major friction point. As a result, boutique
retailer websites and apps made up a
significant portion of digital channel sales,
which grew by 40% between 2019 and 2021,
according to a Salesforce report.3
3
B2B is continuing its growth in
digital prowess: Diversification will
happen for B2B, too. Driving much
of the B2B eCommerce success will be more
micro-sites specific to customers. Expect B2B
to drive eCommerce growth by listing specific
SKUs at contracted prices with effortless
checkout (and no need to pick up the phone to
the sales desk).

LOOKING AHEAD:
Everything from assortment
and selection to payments and
processing will continue to level
out the playing field. Consumers will
find new delight in shopping with
specialty retailers that can quickly
deliver a high-quality product at a
competitive price. Opportunity
awaits any online retailer that
can master their data, expand
SKU assortment, and provide a
frictionless commerce
experience.
2
Payment processing can increase
confidence: Perhaps the most
significant aspect driving digital
diversification is confidence in payment and
processing. In the early days, Amazon was one
of the only sites where consumers felt safe
sharing credit card information. Now, utilizing
trusted third- party providers like PayPal gives
customers confidence to shop across online
sites – even smaller retailers they’ve never
heard of before.
Similarly, flexible fulfillment is another area
where boutique sites can regain share.
For a long time, no one could beat two-day
shipping. But the rise of purchasing
options like Buy Online, Pick Up In Store
(BOPIS) and same-day delivery will make

Page 3 | 1-877-767-5577 | salesinfo@pivotree.com | pivotree.com

Pivotree Guide - 2022 Commerce Trends

LOOKING AHEAD:
The umbrella over these trends
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE is the continued increase both
in retail revenue and the number
of consumers who are willing
All the factors we’ve discussed so far converge into one underlying theme: customer to shop online. What does
experience. In 2022, customer loyalty will be as tenuous as it’s ever been. Consumers are trying this mean for 2022?
new things in droves – but their patience for suffering through friction points is fading fast.
If their experience feels hard at any point, they won’t hesitate to switch where they shop – Businesses will have the
and potentially never come back. opportunity to truly accelerate
and grow – but must also be
To win their loyalty, pay close attention to these trends in 2022: aware that consumers
will flex their power
of choice.
1 3
Digital influence can and will Delighting customers by tapping
impact everything: According to into undervalued areas: While
Forrester, 58 percent of U.S. retail the front-end customer experience
sales will be digitally impacted by 2023, continues to reign, the back-end experience
meaning those sales either will occur online is quickly catching up. If an order goes
or may occur in-store but be influenced by unfulfilled or arrives late, that customer is far
digital technologies.4 So, even when your less likely to be a repeat shopper. On the flip
customer shops in-store, they are researching side, the returns process is an underutilized
on their mobile phone or looking for a product area to boost customer loyalty. Many view
they saw online, via their favorite social the returns process as a loss of revenue
influencer, or advertised on any number of moment – but it should really be a moment
digital channels or Internet of Things (IoT) to re-engage with your customer. Returns
devices. are 100 percent part of the customer
journey, and you can either delight them or
drive them away. Spending ample time to
refine your delivery and returns processes
2
Consumers are now seeking out
a more interactive engagement: will continue to differentiate your business in
Conversational commerce and live 2022.
shopping will gain steam and break into the
U.S. market in a big way. To those who recall the
advent of televised home shopping, this trend
may feel like a step back. But for a generation
that embraces influencer content, unboxings,
try-on videos, and live selling events – it’s a
perfect fit with their lifestyle of constant social
engagement.

Page 4 | 1-877-767-5577 | salesinfo@pivotree.com | pivotree.com

Pivotree Guide - 2022 Commerce Trends

THE COMMON FACTOR: FRICTIONLESS COMMERCE

Across all areas — Supply Chain, eCommerce, Customer Experience, and beyond —
the one common factor of success is your ability to remove points of friction
(internally and externally) and deliver true end-to-end frictionless commerce.

According to an article in WIRED, the future of commerce belongs to the

frictionless.5 In a world where convenience is currency, the authors state that:

For example, as a retailer, you may want to continually

increase your SKU assortment to compete with big
marketplace players. But you can’t rapidly launch Striving for a frictionless experience
new products or scale your assortment when siloed
data and manual processes get the way. And if your
for your customers, employees,
product line is lacking, your customers will feel suppliers, or other stakeholders isn’t
that friction in their shopping experience – by
encountering out-of-stock items or having just something that the digital era has
an order canceled due to lack of availability. enabled you to do. At this point, it’s
Friction is a vicious cycle that can be felt across
the value chain. a requirement. If you aren’t reducing
friction in every part of your business,
But there is a way forward. The last two years
have thrown many challenges our way – but for you will soon be done.
those who can deliver frictionless commerce,
the best is yet to come.

Page 5 | 1-877-767-5577 | salesinfo@pivotree.com | pivotree.com

 READY TO JUMPSTART
A SUCCESSFUL 2022?
This February and March, we have made available
a limited number of complimentary
$10,000 strategy sessions.

Book your session with Pivotree’s consulting team

to gain insight on friction affecting
Pivotree is a leader in frictionless
your commerce business the most. commerce. Designing, integrating
and managing digital platforms
in Commerce, Data Management,
and Supply Chain for over
250 major retail and branded
manufacturers globally.
CONTACT US Pivotree provides a combination
of application support and
managed hosting with digital
strategy and software
implementation services.
1-877-767-5577 | salesinfo@pivotree.com | pivotree.com

1. https://www.businessinsider.com/supply-chain-crisis-when-it-will-be-over-end-2021-11
2. https://www.businessinsider.com/ecommerce-sales-first-trillion-dollar-year-2022-covid-pandemic-adobe-2021-3
3. Connected Shoppers Report, Fourth Edition: The Age of Unified Shopping Experiences, November 2021,
https://www.salesforce.com/resources/research-reports/connected-shoppers-report/chapter-1/.
4. https://www.retaildive.com/news/58-of-retail-sales-will-be-influenced-by-digital-by-2023/545080/
5. https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-the-future-of-commerce-belongs-to-the-frictionless/