E-commerce took a drastic turn since the world witnessed its first-ever online transaction in 1994. It was a “huge deal” when the first of its kind online business NetMarket, owned by Dan Kohn, sold a CD to the world’s first online customer. Fast forward it to the start of the last decade; websites saw a significant shift from desktop to mobile shopping in 2010. And today, customers can buy products and services through social media apps like Instagram. E-commerce has gone through a major revolution in the last 26 years, and its is only going to evolve in the coming years with its disruptive power.
The convenience of products and services being delivered right at your doorstep is the driving force behind the growing significance of the e-commerce industry. And such services require developing competitive marketing strategies to stay ahead by fulfilling customer demands.
As the businesses are focusing more on meeting the increasing customer demands, it is essential to embrace the technological opportunities that lie ahead. Here are some of the opportunities that e-commerce industry can bank upon:
Chatbots replace the traditional way of one-way conversation with two-way customer communication. Chatbot development services serve as a great way to continue the conversation with customers and handling more than one conversation at a time. They provide the exact and straightforward answers to the questions asked by customers while maintaining a consistent brand voice.
AR solves one of the major problems of online business – being able to see the product firsthand before customers shop for it. Customers can understand the products better in terms of being capable of fulfilling their demands. Similarly, AI marketing tools help marketers in improving their customer services in different ways. These tools vary from automated platforms for marketing capable of generating offers, to optimized discounting and demand forecasting for retailers.
The current e-commerce scenario calls for a heavy emphasis on customer satisfaction. Apart from the customers buying various things according to their needs, they also need equally rewarding experiences. According to a 2018 report by Evergage, approximately 74% of marketers are of the belief that personalized experiences play a significant role in impacting customer relationships.
Multiple channels enable sending platform-specific notifications to the customers. The most significant component of marketing is sending the right message to the right individual at the right moment. Omni-channel marketing empowers them to provide the exact service a customer desires and engaging with them for future conversions.
With so many people on Facebook and Instagram, linking an online store with the business social account can encourage even better revenues. The convenience of clicking on the buy button social account page and directly taking to the business site will generate even more traffic. Additionally, brands can increase their online presence and sales through different online activities like digital marketing services by 9series.
Voice search is another emerging tool for increasing convenience and user experience and is expected to grow almost 50% till the end of 2020. Using personal assistants like Siri and Alexa has made it easier to just speak into your device to order something online, instead of picking it up and ordering. These are capable of reading out descriptions too on the online store by optimizing it accordingly.
Repurposed content is based on the concept that each individual learns and seeks the content in different ways. If you deliver the information in a format that is best suited for them, it increases the chances of engaging. Repurposed content is using a part of the content that forms the base for another piece of different content. It includes a combination of interviews, blog posts, and infographics.
Direct-to-Consumer marketing is a replacement for traditional marketing that starts from a manufacturer, moves through advertising platforms, and goes directly to the customer. It has many benefits for the online business in terms of developing a better digital marketing service and understanding their customers. They can market their product quickly while capitalizing on the latest trends. Plus, they would have complete control over products and reputation.
PWAs are mobile websites that reflect the look and feel of native mobile applications. These are slowly becoming a trend for many brand websites as they ensure optimal mobile device usability of an e-commerce site. Since it matches with the other native apps of devices, it eliminates the need to download and offer a much seamless experience. PWAs are an excellent investment as they become an essential part of the multi-channel experience along with providing speed, navigability, and functionality.
Product videos allow both consumers and marketers to interact with the products in a way that leads to a purchase or sale. Since customers want to know what they are buying, product visualization through interactive videos and images work as a great way to make an informed purchase. Other interactive content, like user-generated content and storytelling videos, are also emerging as a part of visual commerce.
9series is one of the top web and app development companies that offers next-generation solutions for e-commerce businesses. Our solutions are custom made according to the needs and ideas of an online store that enable them to enhance performance, traffic, and revenues. Our innovative solutions always focus on increasing the user experience that ultimately helps in expanding your reach.
One of the main challenges in online business is a simple and secure checkout process from the shopping cart. Hence, we develop a solution that makes a customer add more items to cart, helping their buying decisions. Similarly, uninterrupted communication between customer and customer service is a crucial part that is solved by our ERP and CRM integration with feature-rich solutions. Inventory management and a streamlined supply chain are two vital components of an online business that need to be in constant interaction. We provide a systematic inventory management system that enables you to track the movement through their unique IDs. It eventually helps in better management of supply chains through our highly functional solution.
For enhanced customer traffic and user experience, we offer mobile apps that allow you to continue your operations anywhere, anytime. With elegant business apps, we ensure that your customers have a better place to shop at.