Good Friday Morning and Happy New Year  🎇

As we close the year out and look forward to 2022, we are excited to see what will happen in the e-commerce industry! So, we've compiled a list of the top stories we'll be watching closely in the next few months. Stay tuned!

• With the increased use of technology, e-commerce is becoming more popular than ever. Now augmented shopping may be on its way to take over!
• Google is making it easier than ever to promote your business. They just introduced a new feature in their products section that lets you mark items as “special” and they will be moved up front!
• Experts are warning that a looming port crisis may extend into 2023

Top Retail and E-commerce Stories

Black Mirror or the Future of Retail? Augmented Shopping: Are You Ready for This?

Virtual shopping in our PJs? Why not! Augmented reality (AR) Tools are being used to allow consumers to virtually experience products at home, at the workplace, or even on their bodies. Some well-known companies have already implemented augmented shopping technology or a comparable concept. Various prominent firms have already begun employing AR technologies or a variation of it. For example, Amazon has done so.

Amazon has utilized live shopping events to create real-time interaction between customers and items. Walmart is another firm that's jumping on the augmented shopping bandwagon. The world's largest store, Walmart, has used AR technology in several of its physical locations, allowing for new features like dynamic signage.

Google-tise Your Products: Get Your Products to the Top of Google Maps in Seconds

It looks like Google has a new trick up its sleeve. The products section of the google my business page now allows you to mark individual products as “specials” which will move them from underneath your original listing and make it easier for customers to find what they are looking for, without scrolling through pages upon endless pages!

Clearly, some local SEOs and firms wanted a method to get their goods higher up on the page. This gives them the ability to put one or more items further up in their Google local search results and Google Maps listings.

Supply Chain Apocalypse: Experts Say the Supply Chain Crisis Can Extend to 2023

With the US approaching its peak of consumer demand and the winter holidays coming to a close, experts predict that the following few months will be crucial to determining whether the supply chain crisis triggered by the pandemic will continue into 2023.

Ports have become one of the world's many bottlenecks, with ships now packed full of boxes containing everything from electronics to food and clothing. During the busy holiday shopping period, some empty shelves have emerged at shops as a result of the queues, making inventory efficiency even more important. 

A LITTLE MORE

• The Retail Startups That Will Change Shopping Forever in 2022 and Beyond
• Nominate your favorite women in e-commerce
• Learn how to grow and scale your e-commerce brand in 2022 according to Entrepreneur

FUN FACT

The world's top five e-commerce countries are India, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia Australia, and the Philippines.

QUICK TIP

Try this. Email marketing is a much-underutilized marketing tool. The advantage of email marketing is that you are targeting people who are already interested in your products. They have given you permission to communicate with them directly rather than through advertisements.

TWEET TWEET

“There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas, what’s missing is the will to execute them.” – Seth Godin

OLDIE BUT A GOODIE

A look back at Apple's website in July 1997, just two weeks after Steve Jobs took over again as CEO.