2021 ecommerce & digital predications review... 5 out of 6 ain’t bad!

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Insight

Before firing up my crystal ball to see what 2022 has in store, let’s review the potentially embarrassing predictions I made this time last year for 2021.

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Prediction 1: Remote working.

I said people would return to the office around 2/3 days per week and make more use of decentralised serviced office space. Firms insisting on a full time return to the office would struggle to hire. 

Tick or Cross? I will give myself a solid tick here on all counts, though this was not a difficult one to call.  Managers and individuals are finding ways to balance the needs of the business with the needs of the individual.

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Predictions 2 & 3:  Aggressive hiring and competition for talent in ecommerce will mean less reliance on automated tech and a greater role for recruiters.

Tick or Cross?  Tick.  It might seem obvious now but a year ago there were still a lot of people sat at home on the government furlough scheme and some commentators thought it would be a hirers market.  In reality it’s been the most competitive market I’ve seen since starting Beinger Tame 17 years ago - the role for pro-active headhunting and human emotional intelligence in the hiring process has never been more important.

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Prediction 4:  New roles will emerge on boards as ecommerce and digital channels need greater representation.

Tick or Cross? Neither - this is a trend that has been present for some time so we did see some examples in 2021 but it hasn’t accelerated as much as I expected. Yet.

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Prediction 5:  There will be a rush to invest in ecommerce business, leading to both bad and good investments.  

Tick or Cross? Tick: According to CB Insights in the first quarter of 2021 alone, funding for ecommerce start ups hit $11.7 billion up from $5.2 billion for the same quarter in 2019.   EY reported that the first half or 2021 was an all time high, though not specific to ecommerce that was mentioned as major growth area. 

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Prediction 6: Universities will react to the digital skills gap with their range of courses

Tick or Cross?  Cross.  Though there has been some evidence of this, it was probably unreasonable to expect Universities to react at the same speed as markets. However, there have been plenty of reports in the media that Universities have been very quick to exploit digital tech for course delivery.  

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5 out of 6 isn’t bad so lets see if I can repeat that batting average for 2022. 

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Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash