As we know, change is the only constant factor. So the answer to, “What is eCommerce” is always changing. However, experts predict a very promising future for eCommerce in the years to come. In the foreseeable future, eCommerce will be considered the major tool of sale. As e-shopping is becoming more and more widespread, so the sales volume of online stores becomes much higher when compared to brick-and-mortar stores.
But what promotes eCommerce changes?
It is the efficient and profitable relationship it builds with the consumer and their favorite brands. Undoubtedly, consumer behavior is an important factor in the current eCommerce boom. However, popular eCommerce brands have realized that consumer behavior is not the only ingredient in the online retail formula. Retailers will have to seek to improve eCommerce capabilities by aligning several strategies.
The ‘quantity to quality’ tendency of eCommerce is gradually becoming more prominent in this growing age of globalization. The primary objective below is to reflect the growing eCommerce trend and its impact on the business.
Shaping Future eCommerce
Online Store Upgradation
Constant innovation and customization of your website will diversify your trade. The trend shows that eCommerce will drive consumers towards alternatives by offering several products and services with attractive schemes to attract online visitors. In addition, users will be more encouraged to leave feedback and suggestions once they are through with their shopping experience.
Re-Marketing
Businesses of any scale should highlight themselves in the market. In this context, eCommerce has the benefit of a new strategy popularly known re-marketing, to make the potential customer take continued interest in the products and services with repeated exposures.
A consumer who sees a commercial that is appealing that they have never seen before actually experiences re-marketing. If a potential customer visits an online shopping website and leaves without purchasing anything, those customers can be tracked on the Internet and the required ads and promotional information can then be shown on the Web pages the customer browses to draw them back.
Personalization
Personalized customer experiences are becoming more popular in their ability to assemble information about the customers. Therefore, they are expecting etailers to deliver one-of kind experiences every time. Research shows that personalization will drive the growth of eCommerce.
Cross-Channel Integration
Single channel experiences are replaced by multi-channel opportunities, thus enabling consumers to enjoy consistent brand experiences through the connection process of their choice.
For instance, using a mobile device during an in-store shopping experience. Online merchants should provide similar brand experiences across all touch points, regardless of whether or not the customer is purchasing the products through their smartphone app or on a store shelf or through company websites. This need for cross-channel integration has made retailers ensure that their logistic suppliers are proficient at delivering real-time inventory feeds without sacrificing a steady experience.
M-Commerce – the New Buzzword
With the increasing use of responsive Web design, eCommerce has realized the need for mobile integration. From the perspective of the user interface, online businesses will continue to adapt and make the utmost utilization of the different screens of the devices from where they are being accessed. However, there will not be one eCommerce site for a mobile device and another for a desktop. Instead there will be one website which will adapt itself to be viewed in an ideal manner on any screen size, be it a tablet, a 46 inch TV screen, a 24 inch monitor, a mobile device or any other device from which user’s access websites. The user experience will be the same across all these devices.
Scalability
Scalability and growth go hand-in-hand. Nowadays, retailers are focusing more on creating an eCommerce system that can seize a large section of market share. However, many have ignored the back end of the operation and their fulfillment systems are struggling to keep up. In order to accommodate future development and meet mass expectation, the majority of online retailers proactively assess their ability to quickly scale for higher order volume.
Interactive Product Display Will Replace Images
Customers become more apprehensive with numerous products and services at their disposal. Moreover, images are not always a convincing tool for customers to judge online products. However, product demonstration videos are becoming popular to address these needs. Social network integration has helped online merchants to share videos via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and many other sites. Social shopping imperatives are continuously evolving. This shopping trend influences retailers to leverage social shopping integration.
Shipping Differentiation
So far, eCommerce has viewed shipping as a cost of doing business. The importance of fulfillment networks and same-day delivery has been widely addressed. However, most brands have not efficiently invested in the post-transaction experience. This approach might change in the upcoming years. By paying more attention to fulfillment capabilities, brands differentiate themselves through accelerated shipping clubs, delivery programs and many other opportunities.
Adding a Human Element That Sells
Despite all the bells and whistles, most eCommerce websites are no less than electronic catalogs. Many may lack the human element – those elements that convince you to change your mind. Thus, if there are no surprises and no human touches, the retailer may struggle to maintain a good position in the market. Thus, this attitude is widely changing thanks to dynamic and innovative Web technologies.
Online Loyalty
It is estimated that the cost of acquiring a new customer is 21 times higher than retaining an existing one. To increase customer lifetime value and strengthen Web loyalty, retailers are focusing on packaging and delivery options, thereby making the shopping experience hassle-free to incentivize it to existing customers.
With the right strategies and investments, online retailers can actually transform eCommerce into a greater market share and enhanced growth in sales.
Future Photo via Shutterstock
Shawn Hessinger
Hi William,
Great post and list of approaches. From the data I’ve seen, creating a mobile friendly approach to online selling is extremely important. The practice of showrooming in particular demonstrates the importance of M-commerce from a consumer’s perspective. So, if you aren’t prepared to accommodate mobile buyers, you may be ignoring a huge customer base.
William Johnson
Absolutely, that is why I mentioned about responsive design that commensurates with any kind of devices be it a Smartphone or a a tablet or PC or Mac. Mobile is the platform that is going to make a maximum business in the coming days… I am sure that more and more mobile apps will be built in next few years, only to support the purchasing mechanism within an eCommerce store.
Thank you for the great list of approaches – would be great if more ecommerce sites payed attention to human touch – most still lack it. I would also add that shipping & payment possibilities should be various, if you want more users, from all over the world
William Johnson
Hello Victoria,
I agree to you on this. Sometimes we go overboard while selecting the design template and adding navigational features. We make the layout crowded which ultimately works negative from usability point of view.
This was an interesting article, as the web begins to explore new territories the growth of eCommerce will continue to break the mold of traditional online shopping. I particularly found it interesting when you pointed out the lack of human touch within eCommerce websites. That is a influential component at times overlooked for shoppers. I look forward to see the different approaches websites will use to accommodate for this lack of human touch.
William Johnson
It is simplicity in design and easy-to-navigate products that makes most of it, I believe.
Kathy Daunt
I find online loyalty is very very important in ecommerce business now. Because if we scored a good name among our customers doubtlessly we could get some more customers through referrals.
Sahar
Hi.I want to write an article about eCommerce. What should I do? Please help me.