When we look at the vast array of retailers out there today, it’s clear that there are tons of different ways to build an eCommerce site. Even though there’s so much freedom in this field, though, some options will be more effective than others—especially in five years down the road. For that reason, it’s worthwhile to take a look at some of the top trends in eCommerce development and try to see where they might be going over the next few years as we head toward 2022. Here are 10 that we expect to see play big roles in how sites will operate in the future.

Here are 10 Unique Trends in eCommerce Development in 2022

1) Faster and Faster Payments

Although we may not even realize it, we now live in a mobile-first world. Ecommerce can expect mobile traffic to continue to grow exponentially over time. In fact, according to Statista, global mobile commerce sales are projected to be around $750 billion by 2020. 

That’s a significant increase from 2016’s estimated $450 billion. To handle these payments securely and quickly, merchants need a service that is faster than traditional card processing options—one that utilizes real-time transaction updates as well as mobile wallets and biometrics. The same goes for anything mobile; consumers don’t want to wait on content or media updates if they don’t have to!

2) Automated Commerce

Decades from now, we’ll likely think back on today’s online shopping experience as quaint and archaic. Many businesses already have automated checkout and order-placement processes, but those are just early steps toward making online shopping fully automatic. 

Some retailers are already taking big strides in that direction by introducing robots to their sales staff, ranging from shelf-stockers to customer-service representatives—all with mixed results so far. Even if these bots don’t pass muster with consumers yet, it won’t be long before they do. In 10 years, expect to see more of them actively participating (in a limited capacity) at any given time throughout your interactions with major retailers.

3) Artificial Intelligence-Driven Assistants

Artificial intelligence is going to be a huge part of any website development services. The way you interact with your website will change drastically. Think about how Alexa, Google Home, and Siri are developing right now. In just a few years they will seem like old technology. AI assistants are going to become so good that they know what you want before you know what you want!

4) Customer-Focused Design

Today’s shoppers are tech-savvy and have high expectations. It is no longer enough to just stock a website with products. You must develop your eCommerce site with an intuitive, easy-to-use interface that allows customers to find what they want when they want it. This type of interaction will set you apart from competitors, allowing you to generate more sales and increase customer loyalty.

5) Sustainable Materials and Recycled Content

Customers want to feel good about their purchases and support environmentally-friendly companies. Businesses that use recycled content and sustainable materials on their site are increasing in popularity because they are showing customers they care about how people live today. As a result, these sites have higher conversion rates than other types of development and a better chance of surviving difficult economic climates. 

In fact, several economists predict we will be living through an era of intense volatility caused by climate change and social unrest over unsustainable business practices, which means businesses will have to work extra hard to compete. Customers want to feel good about their purchases and support environmentally-friendly companies. Businesses that use recycled content and sustainable materials on their site are increasing in popularity because they are showing customers they care about how people live today.

6) Collaborative Environment and Crowdsourcing

Digital development is a collaborative environment. The increasing popularity of crowdsourcing sites like Fiverr and Upwork gives developers access to resources previously not available to them. Web development services become more of a craft and less about individual contributors; teams become larger with each additional member contributing their own unique skill set and perspective. 

Just as physical work environments have transitioned from assembly lines to self-managed teams, so will digital development, bringing benefits such as better communication, access to talent pools previously unknown, greater accountability for non-performance of duty, and shared ownership of client objectives. Digital development will be increasingly led by project managers who are responsible for organizing entire groups or teaming up with external project managers while they manage their own individual contributor groups or team.

7) Caring About Local Economy and Sustainability

With increasing local demands, it’s likely that most of those demands will be met by local providers. Right now, a lot of cities lack essential resources, but businesses today can work to change that and make their communities stronger as a result. 

Businesses can get involved with groups that are working toward making their city more sustainable or they can simply provide goods and services themselves. In any case, supporting independent businesses goes a long way toward developing an economy where people want to live and shop.

8) Brand as an Invaluable Service with Storytelling

Consumers often don’t know exactly what they want until they see it, but an incredible 20% of sales are generated by customers who say they were completely satisfied with a brand. That means that as long as you deliver superior products and services, you can use storytelling to convince buyers of your worth as a company. 

Use stories to connect with your audience about how you develop your products or how you make them accessible to people around the world. You can also use stories about yourself or individual members of your staff to connect directly with consumers and spark their interest. The more value you communicate, rather than just talking about things like eCommerce development and distribution infrastructure, will mean fewer customers will leave without buying because they feel more connected with what you have to offer.

9) New Payment Methods, Means, and Gateways
3% of internet users (around 100 million people) currently pay online via cryptocurrency. That number is expected to rise over 3x by 2022, and at least 20 million of those transactions will occur on eCommerce websites. Cryptocurrency will also open up new payment methods such as peer-to-peer payments, and new ways to pay for goods and services such as invoicing with digital tokens. 

In addition, more businesses are using apps instead of their sites to handle processing payments; that’s good news for vendors who want to process payments from anywhere but can’t build an app themselves! This trend is being driven by companies like Stripe, which makes it easier than ever before to integrate online payments on a website.

10) Predictive Analytics With Machine Learning

You might have heard about machine learning or artificial intelligence (AI) and thought, That sounds complicated. But the truth is, you use AI every day. Think of Amazon recommending products to buy based on your browsing history. That’s AI at work! The same goes for Facebook tagging your friends in photos and Netflix suggesting movies based on what you previously watched. It’s even present in search engines like Google that base their results on past searches and sites like Yelp that suggest restaurants nearby. 

When it comes to creating a great user experience, machine learning can help with customer experience optimization by helping predict user behavior so you can take action beforehand rather than reacting after something bad happens—which is how most businesses handle customer service these days.