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This year has seen the continued growth of online marketplaces听such as Amazon,听eBay听and Wayfair. The trend away from the traditional high听street听was turbo charged听as a result of听the Covid outbreak in 2019,听but听that trend looks set to carry on听into 2022.听

The latest statistics show that听91% of UK shoppers听now听use an online marketplace at least monthly [2021, IMRG].听Amazon was again the dominant marketplace.听Amazon鈥檚 profit听has now听soared听to $469bn, almost doubling within five years [2021, Statista].听In fact,听Only听6.2% of shoppers in the UK听say they听never use Amazon听at all听[2020, Statista].听

But what does the future hold听for online marketplaces, and what can we expect in 2022?听

Here, a selection of marketplace experts from Optimizon, a听leading听, share their predictions and insights so that you can听get听business听ready听for the coming year.听

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Marketplace Predictions听for 2022听

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Year of the Marketplace听

Mel Henson, Head of Creative听at Optimizon, predicts:听听

鈥�2022 will be the ‘year of the marketplace’. Amazon led the way, but others are fast catching up.鈥� They come from different roots – auction (eBay), retail (Next), publishing (Country Life), Social (Facebook and Tik-Tok), makers and craftspeople (Etsy)听–听but they’re听all听growing up to be in the same place – a purchasing channel.鈥澨�听

鈥淚n future, protecting brands will mean making sure that your customers have the same emotional experience wherever they buy in the ecommerce environment. That means making sure that the tone of voice and visual look and feel is consistent across the multiple different layouts and formats dictated by the new superpower marketplaces.鈥�听

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Live Stream Shopping听

Nicola Graves, Operations Manager听at Optimizon, says:听

鈥�2022听will see a rise听in worldwide听Live听Stream听Shopping听in the digital听ecommerce听landscape. From live听stream听shopping on听TikTok, Facebook听& Amazon.鈥澨�听

鈥淟ive stream shopping has taken off in a big way in the Asian markets, and according to Statista, it doesn鈥檛 stop there. There were听听in 2020, which equals a 30% increase over 2019. We expect the 2021 figures to show another large jump.鈥�听

鈥淚 forecast this trend will grow in other听marketplaces and other social media platforms as well.听So听get your business prepared if you want to tap into this growing market.鈥�听

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Brand Control听

Dean Hawes,听Optimizon鈥檚听Head of Account Management, highlights brand control and continued supply chain disruption:听

鈥淲ith more focus and confidence from consumers on marketplace platforms, 2022 is the time to own your brand and ensure represented in the way you intended.听Marketplaces like Amazon are desperate to deal directly with brand owners听over retailers for a number of听practical and commercial听reasons, so expect to see more incentives听for brands.鈥�听

鈥�听and other marketplaces is no longer a choice, it is essential. Nobody else will give your customers the same brand experience听as you can.鈥澨�听听

鈥淲e expect that听2022 will continue to see supply chain disruptions. Plan your stocks well in advance. Use the opportunity to steal a march on your competition by keeping in stock.鈥�听

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More Tools for Brands听

Christina听Leighfield, eBay Channel Manager听&听Bert听Basset,听eBay Channel Director听at Optimizon:听听

Christina says听鈥淥n eBay we predict the introduction of more tools for brands to present themselves professionally,听and more self-service听promotional tools.听听eBay appears to be following Amazon鈥檚 lead in attempting to attract more brands directly, by allowing them to present themselves in the best possible light.鈥�听

Bert adds 鈥淚n wider听ecommerce we听think 2022听will be a boom听year for Q-commerce听(ordering听goods to arrive听within hours, not听days) as听society听accepts that听covid听is going to be with us听for years听and听shopping in听store听is going to continue听to have听restrictions and听risks.鈥�听

鈥淐apitalising on speedy听end-to-end听fulfilment options such as 鈥�鈥� and听鈥楩ulfilled by eBay鈥櫶齣s an easy way to achieve fast delivery speeds for most sellers.鈥�听

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Environmental听听

Amelia听Bourton,听Optimizon听Business Analyst听&听Laura听Harvey, Data Administrator听focus on听environmental concerns. Amelia says:听

鈥淲ith greater focus on the environment听and the impact of climate change, we predict that consumers will be more focused on the sustainability听and environmental impact听of their products听in 2022.鈥澨�听

鈥淐onsumers are likely to be more swayed by Climate Pledge Friendly products over the price.鈥�听

Laura adds,听鈥淏usinesses should ensure that they have considered every aspect of their environmental impact, from听sourcing,听packaging,听to听end of product lifetime planning.鈥澨�听

鈥淓nsure your environmental pledges are genuine听too. Companies are increasingly being shamed on social media for听鈥楪reen Washing鈥櫶�(whereby they over-egg their environmental credentials and use them for promotional purposes).鈥澨�听

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Split Testing听

Charlotte Boaler, Brand Content Specialist听at Optimizon,听envisions:听听

鈥淚 expect we will see a bigger drive for split testing content听added to听listings. This could be听different forms of听images, titles, bullets or A+ content.鈥澨�听

鈥淭owards the end of 2021 Amazon introduced 鈥楢mazon experiments鈥� for this reason and听currently听it has very limited capabilities. I expect we鈥檒l see听Amazon听bring in more options for this feature so sellers can monitor听and A/B test听which form of content听has听more success over another.鈥�听

鈥淲hy does this matter? Well, your competitors will be using these tools to fully optimise their listings. If you don鈥檛 do the same,听you鈥檒l find you products being pushed down the listings.鈥�听

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Attribution Tools听

Jon Ellis,听Optimizon鈥檚听Head of Advertising听听

鈥�2021 saw听Campaign Manager听take a whole new look, where features such as reporting, brand metrics, stores and creative assets can be located on the left-hand side of the interface.鈥澨�听

鈥淣ew features such as听the budget tab听to听assess how long your campaigns听were in budget for听(on average), have been launched.听Could 2022 be the year听that Amazon finally release an attribution tool which measures听and听appropriately听credits听all of听your听Amazon听marketing听activity?听Many will be hoping so!鈥�听

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1P to 3P听

Isobel Wormald, Business Development Director,听explains that selling on Amazon has become increasingly professional:听

鈥淔or those听selling听on Amazon,听there are a lot of other platforms looking to entice them away. The trend in conversations is around how to get the best out of Amazon, and if that means exploring a move from 1P to 3P to get more brand control then businesses will look at this.鈥�听Onbuy, Wayfair and eBay all launching new offerings.鈥�听

What is a 1P and 3P? A first-party relationship? 1P means the marketplace acts as the retailer, and the brand is the wholesale supplier. A third-party relationship, 3P, is when the brand is the retailer, and sells directly to buyers via the marketplace.听听

鈥淭hose looking to launch on Amazon are looking for global reach and have a keen focus on getting EU or US logistics right.鈥澨�听

鈥淎mazon support is popping up in many places. Those who have been round the block a couple of times with independent freelance support and not seen the results or deliverables they wanted are now looking to more established agencies听(like Optimizon!)听to pick up the pieces and do 鈥榖est practice鈥� to get it right on Amazon.鈥�听

鈥淭here is also a trend in recognising that Amazon can鈥檛 just be done by anyone and everyone from a freelance network. 鈥疉mazon is the largest marketplace on the planet, and competition is fierce. Therefore,听Amazon best practice is now a multi-team expert skill set that companies recognise they need to听outsource. 鈥�听

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Direct to Consumer growth听

Finally,听James Pitts-Drake, CEO and Founder of Optimizon, predicts that:听

鈥�2022 will see many brands created on Amazon听fostering听their D2C听(Direct to Consumer)听channels to build听their brands for the future.鈥澨�听

鈥淭here has been $billions invested into Amazon aggregators globally听to buy up FBA brands听that carry no brand equity听on the channel. The owners of the brands will now begin to create their own D2C and social presence听to capture more听market听share听on and off Amazon.鈥�听

鈥淚n addition,听2022 will see the rise of brands from outside the EU wanting to plant听their听roots into the UK.听They听will be looking for听Marketplace听Agencies like Optimizon to manage and听control听their brands,听to scale their presence,听and听increase their听market听share in the UK and EU.鈥�听

鈥淓xisting businesses need to be ready for the changing landscape of competition.鈥�听

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2022 Amazon Insights听

As always, if you have any questions or need help with your Amazon, eBay,听Wayfair听or other marketplace听accounts, please feel free to reach out to the Optimizon team.听We鈥檙e here to help.听

We have also prepared an听Amazon Insights Report听for 2022,听full of insider tips and expert insights,听.听听

Written by Optimizon.