The e-commerce context is
changing each moment and the Businesses have to anticipate strategies to manage
these changes in their favor. In this context, sharing the 5 Ecommerce trends
to watch out in 2014
1- Growth of Mobile as a key Platform
Mobile has a high potential
and is expected to be the key channel in times to come as Mobile makes shopping
very convenient. With falling internet data prices, Users find it cheap and
convenient to access Internet from any location be it Airports, Traffic Signals,
Cafes or waiting in the line etc. This ease of Ordering through Mobile has
further fuelled Impulse purchases.
Businesses are investing more resources for
optimization of their mobile sites to enable customers to have seamless
shopping experience across platforms.
In first half of 2013, United
States citizens spent $10 billion in mobile commerce and could exceed $25
billion by the end of the year, according to a recent study by comScore
. IN BRIC countries like Brazil, Russia, India and China, mobile is expected to
surpass Desktop and Tablet traffic by 2015. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India (TRAI) in its recent report stated that mobile users were 89 percent of
the total Internet subscriber base in Q2 2013.
2- Personalization for Customer Engagement
Personalizing customer
experience is a key customer engagement tool and is expected to drive
e-commerce growth in 2014 .With increase trend towards online shopping , Brands
are becoming more sophisticated in their ability to collect information about
customers and using this data to deliver personalize recommendations , tailored
offers and delivering differentiated experiences each time.
Retailers have realized the
importance of personalization. According to recent Aberdeen Group research, 41
percent of surveyed retailers stated that personalization leads to higher
levels of customer satisfaction, increased average order values and greater
customer loyalty. Also, Cross-selling and up-selling tools benefited with 25
percent sales lift by presenting targeted offers based on both related products
and similar products purchased from other.
3- Big Data
The excitement surrounding
Big Data has arguably been generated primarily from Web and E-commerce
communities. Significant market transformations have been accomplished by leading
e-commerce vendors such as Amazon and E-Bay through innovative and highly
scalable e-commerce platforms and product recommender systems. Major internet
firms such as Google , Amazon and Facebook continue to lead the development of
web analytics ,cloud computing and social media platforms.
Tesco, for instance, is a
good example of a retailer making the most of big data to innovatively increase
sales. It uses weather records and detailed sales data to help predict demand
for certain products based on weather forecasts.
4- Social Networks as a Key Influencer Channel
In analyzing traffic and
sales from nearly 800 retailers, IBM found that only 1 percent of visits to
ecommerce sites came from social networks. (IBM’s measurements consisted of
sales that could be directly attributed to traffic from social media — a “last
click” from the social site to an ecommerce site)
An
article from Google Think Insights points out that social media does, indeed, play a role,
albeit a supplementary one. The article outlines four different segments where
marketing channels fit along the customer path to purchase: Awareness,
Consideration, Intent, and Decision
These findings are
commensurate with a 2011 survey conducted by Practical Ecommerce, which revealed that 77
percent of responding merchants saw less than 5 percent of sales coming from
social media.
Social Networks though not a
direct Sales channel for Big Retailers, supports E-commerce in Promoting Brand Awareness,
helping in overcoming customer reluctance to purchase, improving customer loyalty,
providing marketing insights, supporting search engine optimization.
