The first-rate buying developments of 2022 and past [State of Consumer Trends Data]

Shopping habits have changed drastically in the last few years.

For example, while most of us used to browse stores on Saturdays to find great deals, we now turn to Instagram to find discounts offered by influencers.

And instead of watching TV commercials to learn about new products, these days most of us come across ads between YouTube videos.

Here, we’ll explore shopping trends in 2022 to ensure you can meet customers where and when they prefer to shop. In addition, we will discover purchasing differences between generations. Let’s dive in.

The best shopping trends of 2022

1. Recommendations from influencers are more important than recommendations from friends and family.

Influencer marketing has proven to be an incredibly effective strategy for brands over the past few years – in fact, as of 2021, almost 60% of marketers said influencer marketing is the most effective marketing trendbefore SEO, experiential marketing and short video content.

And in 2022, 30% of consumers now report that influencer recommendations are one of the most important factors in their purchase decisions compared to 27% for recommendations from friends or family.

In many ways, this makes sense: influencers are traditionally considered experts in their niche. If I follow a makeup influencer, I can assume she knows more about makeup than most of my friends.

For e-commerce businesses, this is powerful news: it means you no longer have to rely on word of mouth alone. Instead, it’s wise to focus your efforts on influencer marketing, as influencers have proven to have a level of influence over their audience that surpasses even that of friends and family.

2. Generation Z prefers to discover new products through social media — but they still like to shop in stores.

Ours State of Consumer Trends Survey found Generation Z (18-24 years old) most often discovers new products on social networks (71%)followed by YouTube ads (56%), music streaming ads (55%) and internet searches (50%).

If your eCommerce business is targeting Gen Z, it’s critical to focus your efforts on social media rather than paid advertising when it comes to attracting new leads to your products and educating those leads about your products.

In addition to the question of what content formats Gen Zers prefer to learn about a product and its features on social media, with about 50% saying they would like to learn about a product through a story post. This is followed by a short video (42%) and then a feed post (42%).

however 73% of people (especially 55% of Gen Z) say they would still prefer to buy a product in store. This is an important call: While you’ll want to focus on social media for your lead generation efforts, it’s still critical to have a strong and effective in-store shopping option for those who would like to make the final sale in person. .

3. When it comes to millennials and Gen Xers, retail stores and internet searches are two popular options for discovering new products.

Similar to Gen Zers, social media (51%) is the most popular method for discovering new products among millennial shoppers.

However, va a close second among millennials is internet searching (50%) – meaning that if you are targeting the millennial demographic, you may want to consider using paid ads and strong SEO strategy to display your products in front of your target audience.

And if your target audience is Generation X (ages 35-54), retail stores are the most popular option for new product discovery, so you’ll want to invest time and resources in partnerships with brick-and-mortar retailers to ensure products are in many brick-and-mortar locations. locations.

Additionally, similar to millennials, 39% of Gen X shoppers also search for new products online, so SEO is another good option.

4. Millennials and Gen Xers prefer to discover new products on social media through ads or sponsored content — while Gen Z prefers to discover new products on social media through short videos.

Depending on your target demographic, you’ll want to vary the type of content you create for social media when it comes to attracting new audiences to your products.

For example, if you want to attract Gen Z, you’ll want to consider short videos like TikTok or Instagram Reelswith 41% reporting short video as their preferred medium for new product discovery.

If you’re looking to reach Millennials or Gen Xers instead, you’ll want to consider leveraging ads or sponsored content, with 44% citing this as their favorite option.

5. Mobile phones are the most popular device for online shopping.

When shopping online, approx 75% of consumers prefer to use their mobile devicescompared to 15% who prefer desktop computers and 6% who prefer tablets.

This means that your website is crucial as an e-commerce business optimized for mobile devicesand have mobile responsive product pages.

If I’m navigating a company’s products and find it too difficult or cumbersome on my phone, I usually leave the site — and never come back. That’s why it’s critical to make sure you’re following mobile best practices (including large text, lots of white space, responsive templates, and mobile-friendly calls to action).

6. Price is the most important thing when it comes to buying decisions – but other factors may surprise you.

In general, price is considered to be the main factor in purchasing decisions. 78% of Gen Z, 74% of Millennials, 74% of Gen X and 73% of Boomers state that price is one of the most important factors when deciding whether or not to purchase a product.

Product quality is also important, with 65% of Gen Z, 78% of Millennials, 82% of Gen Xers and 72% of Boomers citing it as the next most important factor when it comes to purchasing decisions.

But aside from having a reasonably priced and high quality product, there are a few other factors that you’ll want to keep in mind when marketing your brand.

For example, 57% of Gen Z will consider purchasing a product if a percentage of the proceeds from the purchase is donated to charity. And 55% of millennials prefer to buy a product that has good reviews. 62% of Gen Xers value whether a brand has an active community around it, and 55% of Boomers look for product features and functionality when considering a purchase.

Shopping trends to expect in 2023

As we move into 2023, here are some trends you’ll continue to see:

• The use of mobile devices for shopping will continue to dominate the e-commerce industry. In 2018, it comprised 63.5% of total e-commerce sales, and in 2020, this figure jumped to 70.4% (Source). As mentioned above, we found that approximately 75% of consumers prefer their mobile devices in 2022, suggesting that mobile sales will continue to dominate e-commerce.
• TikTok and other short video platforms will become increasingly popular for advertisers. As TikTok continues to change its advertising offerings (such as its new Branded Mission feature), we’ll see more advertisers join TikTok in 2023—we’ll also see additional advertisers testing other platforms like Instagram Stories from a short time ago . -the video form is became the most popular video length.
• The influencer industry will continue to grow and remain one of the most popular avenues for brands looking to connect with their audience.. Influencer marketing has grown rapidly over the past few years, from $1.7 billion in 2016 to $9.7 billion in 2020 and $13.8 billion in 2021. Nowadays, Gen Z and millennials aren’t looking to celebrities for inspiration when it comes to buying products or services. , they also don’t turn to friends—they seek out those influencers.
• We will see an increase in people using the metaverse or buying virtual currency. HubSpot Blog Research found more than half of those who have when have used the metaverse or purchased virtual currency/items in the last three months – including 56% of those who visited the metaverse, 56% of those who purchased cryptocurrency, and 75% of those who purchased NFTs for the first time.

Taking the time to understand how customers want to shop today – and in the future – is critical to creating an effective e-commerce strategy. Shopping behavior changes over time. The more your business can meet the evolving needs of your consumers, the more likely you will be successful in the future.