Digital Customer Experience Trends to Know in 2022

January 20, 2022Josh Morrow

In 2021, as online commerce continued to proliferate, organizations were faced with the dilemma of how to thrive among serious online competition. Organizations began prioritizing their customers’ needs over their own profits. Many brands worked to connect with their customers’ core beliefs and values. Businesses doubled down on creating a rich online and offline digital experience. The rapid progression of artificial intelligence (AI) made deep personalization and automation more accessible for everyone. Privacy and security became top priorities. And the list goes on.

It’s safe to say that 2021 was all about catering to the customer to stay ahead. Many of the themes we saw in 2021 will continue to become the norm. Still, if you wish to continue to dominate your industry and differentiate in a sea of “sameness,” your organization must look ahead and continue to optimize the digital experience.

Below, we summarized the top five digital customer experience trends we expect to see in 2022.

1: Enhanced Digital Privacy Experience

Customers want an engaging and personalized digital experience. However, with the sunset of third-party cookies on the horizon and increased privacy regulations, it’ll only become more challenging to craft the digital experience customers expect. So it’s safe to say that privacy is now a customer experience issue.

2: Supply Chain Contingencies

Over the last few years, the surge in online shopping has created unprecedented demand for consumer goods, and this demand will only continue to grow. Unfortunately, supply chain issues have bubbled up as of late and have reared their ugly head. While much of these issues are beyond your control, you can change how you communicate them to your customers.

3: The Rise of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and the Metaverse

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have been around for some time now, but we’re finally seeing these innovations go mainstream. While VR has long been reserved for gaming and simulations, we cannot ignore its potential for transforming commerce. On the other hand, AR has become more and more popular with brands that sell physical goods.

The metaverse became a big buzzword after Facebook announced its new name and changing focus. But, of course, Facebook isn’t the only company betting on the future of the metaverse. To some, it sounds like a breakthrough. To others, it’s a seemingly dystopian nightmare. But the metaverse may not be as far out as it seems.

4: Human-Centric Digital Experiences

In an era where companies collect more data than ever before, it’s more important than ever to focus on the customer. And what better way to focus on the customer than by creating human-centric digital experiences? Human-centric digital experiences are designed with the customer in mind. They’re based on the understanding that each customer is unique and deserves a truly personalized experience.

5: In-Session Personalization

The problem with traditional, static personalization is that it’s often disconnected from what users actually want, and it’s not exactly personal either. Traditional personalization often spans multiple sessions and is more of a long-term strategy. And with the increasing privacy restrictions and deprecation of third-party cookies, these personalization efforts will be affected. The good news is that you can overcome this obstacle with in-session personalization.

Transform Your Digital Customer Experience Strategy in 2022

While we can never predict the future with 100% certainty, we believe that the theme for 2022 is privacy, customer-centricity, and innovation. Now that you know what trends to expect, ensure your digital strategy is equipped to take advantage.

Read about these trends in more detail here.

About the Author

Josh Morrow

Josh Morrow is a Senior Conversion Optimization Strategist at Blast Analytics. He has extensive experience in helping enhance their customer experience through strategic a/b testing, personalization, user experience design, and conversion-focused copywriting.

Connect with Josh on LinkedIn. Josh Morrow has written 7 posts on the Blast Digital Customer Experience and Analytics Blog.