It’s interesting what types of products become the new eCommerce trends each year and what stays consistently trendy. Why do certain items sell so well, and what value do they bring to consumers? Considering we’re already nearing the end of 2022, the trends have been clearly obvious.
As an online business, it’s important to follow the trends to decide your own offerings – to see where there may be some opportunity in the online marketplace – especially leading up to peak season. If your business can benefit in a way to scale your revenue and expand your brand to emerging markets, then following eCommerce trends matters.
Today we’ll be going through different online retail industries to determine the best-selling products and the latest trends in those categories. From Babywear to subscription boxes, we’re covering the most popular offerings and product trends in 2022. As a 3pl like Selazar, we house and ship thousands of different products each year for online order fulfilment, so we too like to stay up to date on the latest eCommerce trends. Please read through the article to find out more about how your business may be able to benefit from emerging markets.
ECOMMERCE TRENDS AND MARKET IN 2022
The eCommerce market in 2022 is booming, and thousands of new products are being released daily. At the moment, the eCommerce industry is valued at over five trillion dollars. Last year global sales were just below that – but predicted to reach 5.4 trillion in 2022. With advances in technology, manufacturing, and trends, something new and exciting is always coming out. Plus, in the post-Covid world, consumers are more comfortable today than ever shopping online. This allows exciting new product offerings to gain traction rapidly!
Some of the biggest product trends we’re seeing this year include the baby market and general health and well-being retail. Covid has had a positive effect on many industries, creating innovation but also shop-from-home confidence.
Now to play devil’s advocate, if you’re thinking about expanding your online product offerings, the bestselling products may not always be the best option for your business necessarily. For example, products with a low-profit margin. If the profit derived from hot-selling products is fairly low, it will take significantly more time and effort to scale. Your business may be more prudent to target hot-selling items (or bestselling niche items) with better margins. That specific counsel is for your business to decide.
Furthermore, in this process, you can develop sound strategies to increase your revenue if you understand which products are best to sell and why customers are buying them. Your strategy will also benefit by studying buyers’ demographics, comparing competitors’ prices and assessing the shipping costs.
BABY PRODUCT FULFILMENT AND TRENDS
The global online baby product retail market is worth £11.3 billion pounds, progressing at a CAGR of 9.83%. This meteoric rise includes baby toys, baby gear, baby apparel, and baby diaper products.
Many of the baby product trends predicted in 2021 have come true, from online shopping and artificial intelligence to new health strategies. More than ever, parents are shopping online. With schedules that don’t allow much time for shopping in-store, they are shopping online instead. Selling trends for baby products for 2022 include items that help parents manage their children’s sleep, feeding and other daily care. This includes baby bottles, baby bouncers, and baby highchairs.
Babywear and accessories are on a major rise right now, with lots of growth potential. In a single category, baby clothes are estimated to increase by 17% by the end of 2022. Technology is also advancing baby swings to mimic a host of different movements, such as rocking, swinging, and bouncing – a big advantage for parents that need to rest weary arms. Companies like 4moms are innovating this niche, and the popularity will certainly grow into 2023.
BEAUTY PRODUCTS FULFILMENT TRENDS
Beauty products include a range of products such as skincare, personal care, fragrance, hair care and colour cosmetics. In 2022, beautiful skin is the focus of beauty collections, with products to help reduce imperfections and promote a healthy glow. In 2022 eCommerce will account for 25.4% of the global beauty and personal care market.
Beauty product trends now have a hyper-focus on organic, all-natural ingredients. More consumers want quality, not quantity. Following the rise of K-Beauty and a wider knowledge of ingredients, beauty shoppers want to see what they are paying for. A growing holistic approach means more products with powerful active ingredients will be used to solve a variety of skincare problems. In the UK, the beauty industry is valued at £12 billion, but the UK organic cosmetics market specifically is expected to grow to £339 million by 2025.
In a post-Covid world, there’s more emphasis on health which is why clean makeup brands are coming to the forefront. Meeting consumer expectations for quality all-natural ingredients are expected to skyrocket further in the coming years.
FASHION FULFILMENT ECOMMERCE TRENDS
Online spending habits have created seismic shifts in the online fashion industry. Brands that focused on athleisurewear in 2021 saw a huge demand – in fact an 84% increase since 2020. Again, a likely trend in a world focused more on health than ever.
The online fashion trends in 2022 include a wide variety of colours to wear to work or for fun and are getting ever more creative. We see new techniques and concepts being taken advantage of by fashion designers worldwide, leading to an endless stream of new products being released regularly.
A major fashion trend we’re seeing now is jumpsuits. They are one-piece outfits designed for comfort as well as style. Women like them because they can be used for smart and casual occasions, reducing the amount of time it takes to make decisions for two-piece outfits. Jumpsuits are a one-stop shop for women and taking the fashion world over.
FITNESS FULFILMENT AND SPORTS EQUIPMENT ECOMMERCE TRENDS
Online shopping is the fastest-growing market space for sports and fitness products. In 2022, 90% of those with a fitness or health interest are expected to purchase sports equipment online, while another 72% will browse the internet to find out more information.
DIY fitness and exercise from home were increasingly popular last year – with 52% of people surveyed saying they have done home workouts since March 2020. However, as lockdown protocols slowly lifted in 2021, more people started getting back into the gym.
Fitness and sports equipment buying trends indicate in 2022 that the industry will continue to innovate by delivering new, improved products – but we’re seeing a shift from self-taught exercise programmes at home toward formal training sessions, which will drive demand for new devices for personal training. This includes gym bags and duffle bags, which are functional gear designed to make it easy to transition from home to the gym or office to the gym. Statista’s global market value of gym bags was £3 billion in 2021, which is increasing this year.
The next on the list of bestselling sports equipment in 2022 includes smartwatches. More and more brands are popping up around health and technology, driving prices down for consumers who appreciate real-time data around their health journey. The global smartwatch market has continued to increase for the fifth consecutive quarter, a 13% increase from last year. While Europe has maintained flat growth, the largest markets for smartwatch purchases include North America, India, and China.
HEALTH AND WELLNESS FULFILMENT AND TRENDS
Health and wellness are a constantly changing product category with innovation, technologies and start-ups bringing new products to the market. As our lives are getting busier, with less time for proper nutrition and exercise, the demand will grow. We’ll see more opportunities for companies to provide their customers with unique new products that help them take control of their health.
Top health and wellness decision-makers will increasingly turn to online sources as their first point of contact for product/service information. This growth will be driven by an increased number of healthcare professionals, consumers, business analysts and others who are utilizing eCommerce platforms to find answers to their questions. Forums, social media channels, video channels and review sites will also grow in popularity with consumers.
The health and wellness product trends in 2022 currently include meditation aids, gut health support, and products to help with immunity and a better night’s sleep. This includes vitamins, sleep sprays (such as relaxation-inducing magnesium), bedtime drinks, and even CBD products. Globally the health and wellness market has reached a market evaluation of $1.5 trillion. Fulfilling health and wellness products is very popular and easy with a 3pl, as many of them have a longer shelf life.
HOMEWARE FULFILMENT SELLING TRENDS
The trend of online shopping is continuing to grow steadily since Covid – even for homewares. The best-selling homeware products in 2022 are the ones that are useful and convenient to use. The bestsellers not only include furniture, such as coffee tables or wardrobes, but also electronic appliances, like laptops and TVs. The top 10 bestselling homeware products in 2022 increased by 10% compared to last year’s sales.
One of the bestselling products on Amazon includes the Vertuo Plus Coffee and Espresso Machine. It has over 10,000 five-star ratings. 2020 created a trend of ordering everything online, including coffee. With billions of coffee drinkers globally, it’s no surprise that coffee machines are on a steady rise. Other popular products include: Memory foam mattresses, knife and cutlery sets, outdoor patio gear for hosting, mini-fridges, fans, and egg cookers. The UK and abroad have seen steady and robust growth in the last year due to rising urbanisation and increases in online buying. The UK and United States are some of the largest markets for homewares and will be expected to increase by 4% from 2022-2031.
JEWELLERY FULFILMENT ECOMMERCE TRENDS
More and more people are discovering the benefits of online jewellery shopping. Online jewellery sales are growing faster than those at traditional retail stores, and the majority of shoppers prefer to shop from home rather than go directly to a jewellery store. While the majority of shoppers prefer to research their products online before buying anything, once they get to a physical store, many will buy quickly without even looking at other options on their phones.
According to google trends data globally, second-hand and minimalist jewellery are on an upward trend. There is also a growing attraction for consumers to recycle their unworn pieces and recycle for vintage and antique jewellery. Movies like House of Gucci have led to an uptick in vintage jewellery, with more affordable second-hand prices. One popular company called Second Life helps clients restore old pieces in the jewellery collection and have it redesigned. Watch this trend more as we go into 2023.
PET FULFILMENT TRENDS
When it comes to pet fulfilment and ordering pet products, we pet owners will spare no expense! During the pandemic, 21% of pet owners spent more money on pets than in previous years.
Because there are so many pet owners today globally, this market will remain strong online. Pet food continues to be popular, with new organic products being introduced to the market to improve immunity and healthy digestion. One of the bestselling UK companies for organic products and improving gut health for animals is Buddy and Lola. Their products help support healthy digestion, firm up stools, support healthy skin and allergies, and helps long term-health. As with other wellness industries and increased focus on health
Some of the other most popular pet products in 2022 include the pet plunger (to clean paws before coming back in the house), pet raincoats, pet travel bags, and pet grooming products. Now that we are travelling more again, outside, and active, pet products reflect this trend. The ease of shopping online combined with eCommerce shopping trends has exploded the pet industry. This is always a stable market to be a seller in. If you can niche down with innovative new products, the better.
SUBSCRIPTION BOX FULFILMENT TRENDS
From beauty and wellness to fashion and home products, subscription boxes are a popular trend in the eCommerce world. Customers enjoy receiving monthly “trinkets” from brands they are passionate about. To find out what the most popular subscription box items of 2022 are, we looked at all their sales over the past year.
The most popular subscription products sold online in 2022 are: 1) Beauty Boxes 2) Food Boxes 3) Fitness Boxes 4) Health and Wellness Boxes 5) Kids Boxes 6) Outdoor/Garden Boxes 7) Pet Supplies 8) Home Decor 9) Stationery 10) Food & Snacks
The subscription box industry is expected to grow to £99 billion by the end of 2022. Demand for subscription services have increased in various industries, and consumers are clearly loving it. Recurring goods with instant gratification arriving in the convenience of your home will continue to be popular throughout 2022 and beyond.
ECOMMERCE MARKET 2022 CONCLUSION
With trillions in annual retail sales, e-commerce is one of the world’s largest markets and fastest-growing industries. The industry has experienced rapid growth over the last decade, resulting in a competitive landscape allowing retailers to offer millions of products across various categories. Whatever eCommerce retail industry you choose to sell in, make sure to focus on the selling trends and advances in technology to scale your brand. Contact us today if you are interested in our order fulfilment services to automate product delivery to your customers.