Over the past year, retail marketers have been forced to combat multiple industry curveballs to stay ahead of the competition while working towards keeping their once loyal consumers. From constantly shifting consumer buying behaviors, to the Delta — and now potentially Omicron — variant affecting e-commerce sales, to manufacturing and shipping delays.
Long story short: Retail marketers have dealt with it all. In fact, retail marketers that managed to think quick on their feet and pivot strategies, ultimately thrived this past year.
But… what will the road ahead look like as we wrap our hands clean with 2021 and enter 2022?
Will the same challenges linger into the new year or will retail marketers be faced with new industry-related problems? Let’s find out.
Out with the old, in with the… old again?
The various challenges retailers were facing this past year are going to be around a little bit longer. Yes, that means dealing with ongoing e-commerce sales fluctuations, the (final?) deprecation of third-party cookies, and lingering supply chain disruptions. Retailers need to revisit every obstacle that occurred during each quarter this year, analyze their solution and re-evaluate if said solution will continue to be the most viable — and successful — option.
E-commerce sales fluctuations are becoming the new constant.
After a strong first quarter, e-commerce sales growth flattened as vaccination rates grew and consumers began to shop in-store again. But have those numbers stayed consistent?
Consumers shocked retailers once again during this past Cyber five weekend. It was more of a red holiday, than a black one. The year-over-year decline was prominent across all categories, with only two exceptions: fashion apparel (+6.5%) and beauty (+4%).
In fact, 2021 marked the first time Cyber Monday sales did not exceed Black Friday sales in more than 10 years. In 2022, forecasting e-commerce growth will be extremely difficult. Marketers will find it challenging to create their marketing mix as product, price, place and promotion are all in flux: These 4 Ps are crucial to efficient e-commerce merchandising. 2022 will be the time to lean into the uncertainty.
