Six ecommerce predictions for 2022

The ecommerce industry is one of the many sectors that had a turbulent year due to a combination of global Covid disruption, Brexit, and IOSS, which has brought new challenges and set of requirements for businesses that want to sell to international customers.

Against this backdrop, George Trantas, senior director, global marketplaces at Avalara, today sets out Six ecommerce predictions for 2022 as the ecommerce and retail sectors continue to grapple with the impact of the Omicron variant.

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Six ecommerce predictions for 2022

The tax compliance burden will take centre stage

Retailers that went online or expanded their ecommerce operations during the pandemic and those selling omnichannel will face a mounting tax compliance burden from tax authorities to refocus on enforcement of compliance as the economy, and consumer behaviour begins to adjust to the new normal.

Supply chain will continue to cause major disruptions

Retailers will have to prioritise and rethink how they manage their inventory and set expectations with customers to prevent poor experiences due to continued delivery delays.

Inflation will drive adjustments to pricing for retailers to remain competitive

Due to inflation, sellers will face higher costs across brick-and-mortar, ecommerce, and marketplaces and will have to adjust pricing in the buy box to convert and keep customers.

Supply chain issues and inflation will disproportionately impact small businesses

Supply chain challenges and inflation will create higher costs for retailers, but small businesses with smaller budgets and teams will be more heavily impacted.

Ecommerce growth will normalise; Omnichannel will soar

With the continued uptick in COVID-19 variants, we will continue to see the adoption and expansion of omnichannel commerce grow in 2022 as consumers seek convenient, hybrid shopping experiences across in-person and online channels.

Ecommerce-first retailers will seek alternative channels for distribution

With the rise of omnichannel commerce and continued supply chain woes, ecommerce-only sellers will look to other channels with robust distribution networks to offset the impact.